Pirates' problems with runners on is historically bad

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Oracle Park crowd rose to its feet and got louder than it had been that entire windy, cool Saturday night.

Logan Webb's 99th and final pitch was one of his best, a changeup to Ben Gamel that dove late. All the Pirate designate hitter could do was tip it, catcher Austin Wynns snagged it and the inning was over. The Pirates had left the bases loaded in the eighth.

That would end up being their best chance to score Saturday, and they would go on to lose 2-0 to the Giants. As a team, they went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. That follows an 0-for-9 performance in game one of the series Friday.

"It's obviously tough," Kevin Newman said. "Those are times when you want to come through. You want to put runs up on the board. Again, sometimes you've got to tip your cap to the guy. He pitched a heck of a game."

Newman flew out with two runners on base in the eighth inning and failed to bring home Rodolfo Castro from third base with two outs in the third.

And not to take anything away from Webb's performance, but this has been a recurring problem for the Pirates all season. They have not hit well with runners on base or in scoring position at historic rates.

According to a Stathead search, the Pirates' .208 team batting average with runners in scoring position is the fifth-lowest since 1901:

1969 Padres, .200
1942 Phillies*, .202
1968 Mets, .204
1963 Senators, .207
2022 Pirates, .208
*- Full season split data is not available. Sample taken from available records.

Enough can be made about the Pirates not creating enough scoring opportunities -- there were only three times Saturday where the Pirates even advanced a runner to second base -- but more chances doesn't do as much good when they struggle at a franchise-worst rate to get those clutch hits.

The current franchise-worst mark for batting average with runners in scoring position is .220, set last season.

Speaking of franchise marks, the Pirates went 0-for-11 with two walks with any runner on base Saturday. Again, with anyone on base, they have the lowest batting average in their franchise's history since at least 1901:

2022 Pirates, .226
2020 Pirates, .234
1952 Pirates, .235

So what can they do to do more with those opportunities?

"I think consistency of approach," Derek Shelton said. "The one thing that we’re going to work on is that consistency of approach. When you have a young club, you’re going to see stretches where we can maybe get too aggressive or we can get too on the pull side, and that’s just something our guys have to continue to learn."

"Putting it behind you," is how Newman answered it. "There's so many games. There's going to be opportunities tomorrow. There's going to be opportunities the next day. If you dwell on the past, you know, tonight's over. If you think too much about it, then you definitely don't want it to carry into the next day. I think that's the best way to go about it."

"We have to continue to grind," Shelton said. "We have to continue to come out and play hard."

But over the course of a season, it does weigh on hitters.

"It's hard, especially because we're obviously all competitors," Newman said. "We go out there, and we never want to get out. So it definitely is tough. But we're in the dog days and just going out there and keep competing and waiting for it to turn, not giving away pitches, not giving away at-bats. That's what being a pro calls you to do."

MORE FROM THE GAME

• Pirates' offensive struggles aside, Webb is a stud. The Giants' young right-hander allowed five hits and two walks over eight shutout innings before handing the ball over to Camilo Doval in the ninth.

"Good depth on his changeup, threw the fastball, kept it away, missed barrels all night," Newman said. "He had really good stuff tonight."

The changeup in particular was a problem for the Pirates, who got six of his nine strikeouts with it. Of the 11 balls the Pirates were able to put in play of it, six were on the ground to the pull side.

"The one thing that we have to continue to learn, especially with our left-handed hitters, is when that is, we have to use the other side of the field," Shelton said. "... With the sinker and with the changeup being able to work off it, if you start to chase and put the ball on the ground on the pull side, that’s when you get into trouble and that’s where we ended up."

• The bullpen game went about as well as the Pirates could have hoped. Tyler Beede needed 74 pitches to get through three innings of two-run ball, but Eric Stout, Duane Underwood Jr. and Chase De Jong each pitched more than an inning without allowing another tally. 

The question now becomes will they do another bullpen game or will they hand the ball over to Roansy Contreras? The Pirates wanted Contreras to reach at least five innings in a start during his build-up before he could be recalled, and he did that Thursday.

• Castro was the only Pirate with a multi-hit game. Taking into account his multi-hit performance Friday, he hit for the cycle in a span of five appearances between the two games.

• 15 of the Pirates' last 20 games have been decided by two runs or fewer. They have played 69 games this season decided by a bloop and a blast. Of their last 45 losses, 33 have been decided by two or fewer runs. That's 73%.

I rattle off those stats to show A. The Pirates are at least in most of these games, and B. Man, they need to get those hits with runners in scoring position. This team is 37-13 when they score at least four runs and 8-56 when they score three or fewer.

It just takes a little bit of offense.

• Ke'Bryan Hayes was out of the lineup again Saturday after his lower back "completely locked up" Friday.

"Just taking it day by day right now," Hayes said pregame. He received treatment Saturday, but before it, he said his condition was "stagnant" from the day before.

Hayes leads the team with 103 games played and 434 plate appearances.

• The Giants honored their 2012 World Series team before the game. Among the group recognized were former Pirates Javier Lopez, George Kontos, Aaron Runzler and Ryan Vogelsong:

• With the loss, the Pirates fall to 45-69. Their .395 winning percentage puts them on pace for a 64-98 record. They need to go at least 18-30 down the stretch to avoid a 100-loss season.

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard

THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE INJURIES

• 10-day injured list: C Tyler Heineman (right groin strain)

• 15-day injured list: RHP David Bednar (low back), LHP Dillon Peters (left elbow inflammation)

• 60-day injured list: RHP Yerry De Los Santos (lat), OF Canaan Njigba-Smith (wrist), RHP Blake Cederlind (UCL), RHP Nick Mears (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow), C Roberto Pérez (hamstring)

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Kevin Newman, 2B
2. Bryan Reynolds, CF
3. Ben Gamel, RF
4. Oneil Cruz, SS
5. Greg Allen, RF
6. Bligh Madris, 1B
7. Rodolfo Castro, 3B
8. Tucupita Marcano, LF
9. José Godoy, C

And for Gabe Kappler's Giants:

1. LaMonte Wade Jr., DH
2. Joc Pederson, LF
3. J.D. Davis, 3B
4. Mike Yastrzemski, CF
5. Brandon Crawford, SS
6. Thairo Estrada, 2B
7. Tommy La Stella, 1B
8. Luis Gonzalez, LF
9. Austin Wynns, C

THE SCHEDULE

One more before the plane ride back to Pittsburgh. Zach Thompson (3-9, 5.08) will face Alex Wood (8-9, 4.17), with first pitch coming at 4:05 p.m. Eastern. I'll be there for it.

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