Make that eight in a row.
For the second night in a row, the Pirates wasted a quality start from their starter because their offense failed to gain traction, resulting in a 4-0 loss to the Cubs at PNC Park Tuesday. It was their eighth straight loss, all against National League Central opponents, and given how wide open the division is, they have dropped from first place to fourth.
"Obviously the natural instinct is to want to push and rip this losing streak apart, but we can't do that," Josh Palacios was telling me.
Five hits and a walk was all the Pirates could muster against Marcus Stroman, the National League's ERA leader, who coasted through seven innings without much resistance. The only time the Pirates threatened seriously came in the seventh when pinch-hitter Cal Mitchell lifted a fly ball down the left field line with two men on that fell just foul. Rather than a potential run-scoring hit, Mitchell would strike out on the next pitch and end the Pirates' rally.
And while losing streaks can rarely be attributed to just one part of the team, the offense has scored just 17 runs in this stretch and been shutout in three of their last four games.
“Extremely," Derek Shelton answered when asked if this stretch has been frustrating. "We got a figure out a way to score runs. We’ve got to figure out a way to pull ourselves out of this.”
When there are struggles like this, the problem is rarely just one thing. It's a series of small fires, like not swinging at the right pitches in run-scoring opportunities, like Shelton said Monday. Shelton has also maintained recently that it can just take a key hit or two to get the offense going. A hit with men on base. A gap shot to start a rally.
Andrew McCutchen's standards aren't even that high.
"Most of these games we’ve lost, there was a point in time in the game where we were one hit away, one big hit away, and it could have been a 50 mph bleeder like the majority of the hits that they [the Cubs] get over there that scores two runs," McCutchen said. "It just seems that’s not happening for us. Balls aren’t falling. We’re hitting balls hard. We’re squaring them up, hitting them right at guys, not able to get that big hit."
The Pirates had eight hard-hit balls off of Stroman, a decent number considering his excellent body of work, but rarely made that quality contact when there was a man on base. That's been all too common of late, and the Pirates haven't recorded a hit with a runner in scoring position since Friday.
"That happens," Carlos Santana said. "It’s a long season. The season is up and down... I know we have many younger guys. We have great talent and a great team. We have to keep it up. We’ll get better."
That's been the message from the veterans Santana and McCutchen to the group of late: It's a long season. Don't press. There's still time.
"We’ll work it out," Santana said. "We’re trying to do an approach to make it better and try to win the game. We have hard moments right now. The team is losing a lot, but the team will get better."
"Change your attitude as much as you can because when you get in these situations, sometimes you feel like you want to press, especially if you’re a younger team," McCutchen said. "It’s up to me to keep the clubhouse light and not focus so much on the game itself. The game is already hard enough. You gotta find ways to have some joy and figure it out."
Their words aren't falling on deaf ears. Palacios, one of those young players, appreciates their level-headedness in an elongated losing streak because it gives them confidence moving forward.
"We're a good team," Palacios said. "We're a really good hitting team as well. If we trust what we do and lock-in pitch by pitch, I think we'll have a lot more wins in front of us."
During the Pirates' last homestand, the team picked up big series wins against the Cardinals and Mets to move into first. McCutchen downplayed the playoff ranking at that time, reminding everyone that it was still only June. It works the other way here, now. It's still only June. A hot week or two before the All-Star break would greatly change the outlook on this team.
For that to happen, though, they're going to have to score.
"We just have to tread," McCutchen said. "We have to know where we are and understand that, yeah, we’re struggling. But understand that we’re still in a place and a position where we can have an opportunity to come back and get the division. It’s not out of reach. We also need to understand that we can’t just lose games either. We need to take care of business, stay in this race and try to do our best to get ourselves out of it and give ourselves a chance. It’s reachable. We have to turn it around and get going again."
JOE SARGENT / GETTY
The Cubs' Marcus Stroman thumps his chest after striking out Cal Mitchell with two aboard in the seventh inning Tuesday night at PNC Park.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• 15-day injured list: LHP Jose Hernandez (calf), RHP Colin Holderman (wrist), LHP Rob Zastryzny (forearm), RHP Vince Velasquez (elbow)
• 60-day injured list: SS Oneil Cruz (ankle), 1B Ji-Man Choi (Achilles), RHP Wil Crowe (shoulder), RHP JT Brubaker (elbow), LHP Jarlin Garcia (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow)
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Josh Palacios, LF
2. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
3. Jack Suwinski, CF
4. Carlos Santana, 1B
5. Henry Davis, DH
6. Tucupita Marcano, SS
7. Connor Joe, RF
8. Ji Hwan Bae, 2B
9. Jason Delay, C
And for David Ross' Cubs:
1. Mike Tauchman, CF
2. Nico Hoerner, 2B
3. Seiya Suzuki, RF
4. Ian Happ, LF
5. Dansby Swanson, SS
6. Cody Bellinger, 1B
7. Christopher Morel, DH
8. Nick Madrigal, 3B
9. Tucker Barnhart, C
THE SCHEDULE
Is the ninth time the charm? Rich Hill (6-6, 4.31) will take on Kyle Hendricks (2-2, 3.18) in a matchup of two crafty veterans. First pitch is set for 12:35 p.m. DK will have you covered.
THE CONTENT
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