The Pirates aren't just losing ... they're being blown to bits
The way in which the Pirates concluded matters in yet another lopsided defeat, this time by a 10-4 score at the hands of the Yankees this evening at PNC Park, encapsulated their 2-7 spiral to start the season.
After mustering all of four hits through six innings, six of the final nine hitters in the Pirates' lineup were retired via strikeout. Enmanuel Valdez, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Bryan Reynolds went down swinging at non-competitive pitches out of the zone, while Jared Triolo, Oneil Cruz and Alexander Canario stared down called third strikes.
No fight in the latter stages of a six-run loss.
The late surge of strikeouts led to a total of 10 that added to the team's season total of 87, third-most in Major League Baseball. The lack of offensive production on this day, aside from a four-run fourth inning that included two hits -- a two-run double by Valdez and an RBI double for Ke'Bryan Hayes -- and three walks against New York starter Marcus Stroman, only worsened the Pirates' standing as one of the worst-hitting teams in the game: They now rank 27th in team batting average (.198), 26th in team OPS (.586) and they're among five teams who have scored just 27 runs over at least eight games. Only three other teams in baseball have generated fewer runs. When runs aren't being scored consistently and support isn't being provided, two wins in nine games sounds about right.
“Obviously not thrilled about it," DerekShelton said when I asked about his degree of concern regarding the start to the season. "Offensively, it was good to see us have a big inning today and actually work some counts. We have got to figure out the middle part of the game. It seems like right now we’ve got just a couple guys in our bullpen clicking. We’ve got to get more people clicking to be able to sustain.”
What makes matters even worse is the manner in which this team has lost. They dropped three via walk-offs in Miami before losses of five and seven runs in Tampa, and now two in a row to the Yankees in which they've been outscored, 19-8.
They've also allowed the second-most runs (50) and have compiled the second-worst team ERA (5.22) in all of baseball.
On this day, Bailey Falter allowed seven earned runs, three of which scored following his fifth-inning exit when Colin Holderman allowed a bases-clearing double to Anthony Volpe. The Yankees' six-run fifth erased the slight glimmer of hope the Pirates' offense provided when they scored four in the fourth to take a 4-2 lead. From then on, the visitors added on, while the home team faded into yet another loss.
Holderman, who has experienced his share of rough outings to start the year, said the players aren't pressing the panic button yet.
"We know who we have out there. We know we have a lot of good dudes and a lot of good stuff," he said. "We're not trying to get too down right now. The next couple games, we could all have zeroes for the next two, three weeks. You just never know. It's baseball. Hitters get paid a lot, too. We're going to take it one day at a time and see what we've got."
Full game highlights:
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THE ASYLUM
José Negron
12:24 am - 04.06.2025North ShoreThe Pirates aren't just losing ... they're being blown to bits
The way in which the Pirates concluded matters in yet another lopsided defeat, this time by a 10-4 score at the hands of the Yankees this evening at PNC Park, encapsulated their 2-7 spiral to start the season.
After mustering all of four hits through six innings, six of the final nine hitters in the Pirates' lineup were retired via strikeout. Enmanuel Valdez, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Bryan Reynolds went down swinging at non-competitive pitches out of the zone, while Jared Triolo, Oneil Cruz and Alexander Canario stared down called third strikes.
No fight in the latter stages of a six-run loss.
The late surge of strikeouts led to a total of 10 that added to the team's season total of 87, third-most in Major League Baseball. The lack of offensive production on this day, aside from a four-run fourth inning that included two hits -- a two-run double by Valdez and an RBI double for Ke'Bryan Hayes -- and three walks against New York starter Marcus Stroman, only worsened the Pirates' standing as one of the worst-hitting teams in the game: They now rank 27th in team batting average (.198), 26th in team OPS (.586) and they're among five teams who have scored just 27 runs over at least eight games. Only three other teams in baseball have generated fewer runs. When runs aren't being scored consistently and support isn't being provided, two wins in nine games sounds about right.
“Obviously not thrilled about it," Derek Shelton said when I asked about his degree of concern regarding the start to the season. "Offensively, it was good to see us have a big inning today and actually work some counts. We have got to figure out the middle part of the game. It seems like right now we’ve got just a couple guys in our bullpen clicking. We’ve got to get more people clicking to be able to sustain.”
What makes matters even worse is the manner in which this team has lost. They dropped three via walk-offs in Miami before losses of five and seven runs in Tampa, and now two in a row to the Yankees in which they've been outscored, 19-8.
They've also allowed the second-most runs (50) and have compiled the second-worst team ERA (5.22) in all of baseball.
On this day, Bailey Falter allowed seven earned runs, three of which scored following his fifth-inning exit when Colin Holderman allowed a bases-clearing double to Anthony Volpe. The Yankees' six-run fifth erased the slight glimmer of hope the Pirates' offense provided when they scored four in the fourth to take a 4-2 lead. From then on, the visitors added on, while the home team faded into yet another loss.
Holderman, who has experienced his share of rough outings to start the year, said the players aren't pressing the panic button yet.
"We know who we have out there. We know we have a lot of good dudes and a lot of good stuff," he said. "We're not trying to get too down right now. The next couple games, we could all have zeroes for the next two, three weeks. You just never know. It's baseball. Hitters get paid a lot, too. We're going to take it one day at a time and see what we've got."
Full game highlights:
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Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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