The Pittsburgh Pirates bottomed out in the Bay, especially when they had chances to cash in.
If the Pirates (14-18) losing 13 of their past 16 games to complete a freefall from first place in the NL Central to the basement of division standings in a two-week stretch isn’t alarming, consider how they hit with runners in scoring position on the six-game road trip: 2 for 36.
That .056 average is so mind-numbing that manager Derek Shelton couldn’t offer a solution when asked about their putrid performance with two outs and runners in scoring position in Wednesday’s 4-0 loss to the Oakland Athletics to complete a three-game sweep.
“I don’t know. I wish I had the answer to that. If I had the answer to that, it would be a lot easier conversation,” Shelton said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. “Right now, we’ve got to keep grinding and we’ve got to figure out a way to get that two-out hit.”
The Pirates have only three players batting better than .300 with two outs and runners in scoring position this season: Connor Joe is 4 for 9 (.444) with four RBIs, Jared Triolo 6 for 16 (.375) with seven RBIs and Ke’Bryan Hayes 4 for 12 (.333) with three RBIs.
What’s worse, Bryan Reynolds (5 for 19, six RBIs) and Alika Williams (1 for 5, two RBIs) are the only other Pirates batting better than .200 in such situations. And Williams is straddling the Mendoza line.
The Pirates need to change their fortunes in a hurry, before this season spirals any further. It helps that the worst team in baseball, the Colorado Rockies (7-23), is visiting PNC Park this weekend, followed by the Los Angeles Angels (11-20) and the Chicago Cubs (19-12).
Here’s five things that could help the Pirates reverse course.
Christopher Horner | TribLive
Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes watches his sacrifice fly during the first inning against the Red Sox on Sunday, Apr. 21, 2024, at PNC Park.
1. Have a heart: Shelton has always favored matchup-based lineups, loading up on left-handed hitters against right-handed pitchers and vice versa.
The Pirates have used six different hitters at the leadoff spot, with Oneil Cruz (11) and Connor Joe (10) getting the most starts. They have tried five hitters in the three-hole, with Ke’Bryan Hayes getting 24 starts before switching to leadoff the past four games.
Jack Suwinski, who is batting .168 with two home runs and eight RBIs, has the most starts (10) in the cleanup spot. And Andrew McCutchen, hitting .188 with three homers and seven RBIs, has 10 starts batting fifth in the order.
Perhaps it’s time for the Pirates to slow down on the mixing and matching and find some stability. Building a lineup based on their best performers at the plate through the first 32 games should involve some combination of Joe (.283), Hayes (.264), Reynolds (.248) and Cruz (.239) consistently in the top four.
Christopher Horner | TribLive
Pirates catcher Endy Rodriguez watches batting practice with Yasmani Grandal and Henry Davis during a workout on Feb. 15, 2024, at Pirate City in Bradenton.
2. Fix a plate: Pirates general manager Ben Cherington revealed Sunday on his weekly radio show that Yasmani Grandal requested to catch back-to-back games to determine if he was ready to return from a rehabilitation assignment.
Grandal started for Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday and is expected to do so again on Thursday. After being shut down in late February with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, Grandal could be recalled in time for the Pirates’ nine-game homestand.
That will require a roster move, likely involving one of the catchers. What seems like an easy decision on the surface is actually a bit more complicated.
Given that he has minor league options available and is batting .162 with only three extra-base hits (all doubles) and 29 strikeouts against 11 walks, sending Henry Davis to Indianapolis makes the most sense.
But Davis is a former No. 1 overall pick whose future is important to the Pirates, so it could be a touchy situation. Where a stint in the minors could benefit Davis, especially at the plate, how he would handle such a demotion has to be taken into consideration.
Joey Bart got off to a hot start after being acquired from the San Francisco Giants when Jason Delay (knee) went on the injured list, hitting .304 with a double, three home runs and eight RBIs in his first seven games with the Pirates. But Bart is 0 for 9 in his last five games, while Davis is 2 for 13 in his last six.
Bart is out of options, so the Pirates won’t want to risk losing him, especially with Delay out for at least six weeks and Grandal not being an everyday catcher at age 35.
Christopher Horner | TribLive
Pirates second baseman Nick Gonzales works out on Feb. 16, 2024, at Pirate City in Bradenton.
3. Going Gonzo: The Pirates could turn to Indianapolis for help, given how some of their position players are hitting.
Nick Gonzales is absolutely raking, slashing .374/.436/.606 with 12 doubles, three homers and 15 RBIs through his first 24 games. Another possibility is first baseman Jake Lamb, a 2017 All-Star with Arizona who was slashing .391/.481/.609 with five doubles, three homers and 14 RBIs through Wednesday.
Liover Peguero leads Indy with 21 RBIs while slashing .309/.346/.464 with eight doubles, two triples and a homer. But he’s also tied for the team lead with 23 strikeouts.
And don’t forget about Ji Hwan Bae, who slashed .391/.509/.565 with two doubles, two homers and three stolen bases in 12 games and can play second base and center field.
Christopher Horner | TribLive
Pirates right fielder Edward Olivares watches his solo home run during the sixth inning against the Tigers on Tuesday, Apr. 9, 2024, at PNC Park.
4. Making room: Here’s the problem with promoting players from the minors: Who will the Pirates demote?
Gonzales plays primarily second base and shortstop, positions occupied by Triolo, Cruz and Alika Williams, who is batting .297 with two triples and has excelled defensively.
After signing him to a $3.2 million contract this offseason, the Pirates aren’t going to give up on Rowdy Tellez so soon despite his .205 batting average and .552 OPS. Not when they gave Yoshi Tsutsugo 50 games in 2022 before cutting him loose. And Tellez went 4 for 12 with two doubles on the road trip, so he might be finding a groove.
The opening could come from the outfield, where the Pirates are carrying an extra player because Joe can also play first base. Suwinski is batting .168 but hit 45 homers in his first two seasons and can play all three spots. Edward Olivares might be a logical candidate. He batted .308 with three homers and seven RBIs through his first 11 games but has scuffled since, going 2 for 27 (.074) with one RBI in his past nine.
Christopher Horner | TribLive
Pirates manager Derek Shelton watches a bullpen session with pitchers Mitch Keller and Paul Skenes on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, at Pirate City.
5. Call Paul: The fastest way to generate excitement and rejuvenate the Pirates is to promote Paul Skenes, the 2023 No. 1 overall pick and top pitching prospect in baseball.
The 6-foot-6 ½ right-hander has an 0.39 ERA and 0.87 WHIP, allowing one earned run on 14 hits and six walks with 41 strikeouts in 23 innings over six starts.
The Pirates have been methodic in building Skenes’ pitch and innings counts but he threw 53 of his 75 pitches for strikes in six scoreless innings Tuesday, holding Buffalo to four hits and one walk with seven punchouts.
“What we’re seeing is a pure dominance – and a different kind of dominance that you normally see,” SportsNet Pittsburgh analyst Steven Brault said on Tuesday’s postgame show. “Usually when guys are dominating in the minor leagues it’s because they’re just so nasty and they’ve got guys swinging at balls outside the zone. That’s not what you’re seeing from Paul Skenes. You’re seeing a pitcher who is above the level he’s pitching at. It’s just as simple as that.
“I think he’s going to look above the level he’s pitching at when he comes up here, as well, because the way he’s able to be in the zone with all of his pitches consistently, he gets so much swing and miss, so many strikeouts and so many groundballs. It’s such a huge collection of great things to have for a starting pitcher – not to mention he’s incredibly efficient.”
Now that Skenes has had a month to adjust to pitching on four days of rest, it doesn’t make much sense for him to spend much more time overpowering minor league hitters.
The Pirates should want Skenes to make his major league debut at PNC Park, where he would line up against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday or the Chicago Cubs on May 10.
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at [email protected].
