The Pittsburgh Pirates are raising flags.
Not enough of them are the Jolly Roger.
The Pirates (13-13) won nine of their first 11 games (including five consecutive), lost nine of their next 11 (including six consecutive) then split a four-game series with the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers.
That’s the very definition of a .500 club. And somewhat predictable, considering this reporter pegged the Pirates to win 82 games and finish one game over.
The surprising thing is that their play to this point has been anything but as projected.
There are plenty of red flags on these Pirates, who are five games behind their 2023 pace after 26 games entering a six-game road trip at the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s.
Their best starting pitchers have been rookie right-hander Jared Jones and lefty Bailey Falter, the only two who weren’t assured spots in the rotation. The back end of the bullpen was supposed to be a strength, but David Bednar and Aroldis Chapman have been wildly inconsistent.
Their power-hitting catcher has been Joey Bart, not Henry Davis. Their 37-year-old DH, Andrew McCutchen, has hit .176 with one homer in the middle of the order but .417 with two homers in the leadoff spot.
Given the early-season errors by Ke’Bryan Hayes (three), Oneil Cruz (five) and Rowdy Tellez (one), you can make an argument that their best third baseman has been second baseman Jared Triolo, their best shortstop has been utility player Alika Williams and their best first baseman has been outfielder Connor Joe. The Pirates should be thankful that their best outfielder isn’t an infielder.
That helps explain how the Pirates have lost as many games as they’ve won. It’s can also be spun as a positive sign: Their key players haven’t fared as well as expected, yet the Pirates have won as many games as they’ve lost. If they can all click, the outcomes could change.
That might raise some hopes. Just not the Jolly Roger.
Christopher Horner | TribLive
Pirates catcher Joey Bart watches his 3-run home run during the first inning against the Brewers on Thursday, Apr. 25, 2024, at PNC Park.
1. Bart’s back: Bart returns to San Francisco for the first time since being designated for assignment and traded by the Giants, who drafted him No. 2 overall in 2018.
If you expect Bart to revel in his hot start with the Pirates — he’s batting .304 with a 1.168 OPS, three homers and eight RBIs in seven games — you’d be disappointed.
“Honestly, I haven’t even thought about it,” Bart said. “I try not to think about results. I couldn’t tell you any stats or anything I have. I could literally care less. I think it’s just a mentality of really enjoying what I do, really enjoying competing with guys and challenging myself to find a way to get better.”
Bart shared a sheepish smile, explaining that his process is to keep everything under control and find a way to have an edge. He’s not into the revenge fantasy against his old team.
“It’s obviously the cliche thing to say and the things that the reporters in San Francisco have heard me say for years,” Bart said, “but it’s the way I operate.”
Bart was most excited to see his old friends, from teammates to trainers to clubhouse attendants, that he built reltationships with over 162 games across four seasons in San Francisco.
“It’s going to be another series that I’m going to attack, just like the rest of them,” Bart said. “I grew up in that clubhouse, so it’ll be different, not feeling comfortable to just walk in over there. It’s definitely something I probably won’t do. Obviously, there’s some people I want to see so we’ll figure out a way to make that happen.”
Christopher Horner | TribLive
Pirates reliever Aroldis Chapman pitches during the eighth inning against the Red Sox on Saturday, Apr. 20, 2024, at PNC Park.
2. Chapped: Chapman stayed composed when asked by SportsNet Pittsburgh sideline reporter Hannah Mears about his command — or lack thereof — on Thursday after his latest blown save.
But the seven-time All-Star entered the eighth inning against the Brewers having recorded more walks (nine) than outs (eight) in his previous five appearances for the Pirates.
This time, Chapman’s command wasn’t the issue. He gave up a leadoff single to Blake Perkins, who hit a 2-2 slider below the strike zone. With two outs, pinch hitter Gary Sanchez hit an 0-2 sinker outside the zone but at the letters for a two-run homer.
Where Chapman agreed with Pirates manager Derek Shelton that he threw too many fastballs to his old battery mate, Chapman also admitted that his performance isn’t meeting his standard.
“There’s going to be a moment where I feel like I need to feel and it will be good,” Chapman said. “But we’ll continue to work hard every day just to get where we want to be.”
Christopher Horner | TribLive
Pirates pitcher Mitch Keller delivers during the first inning against the Brewers on Thursday, Apr. 25, 2024, at PNC Park.
3. Struggling stars: One of the biggest surprises is that All-Stars Mitch Keller (5.14) and Bednar (9.00) have the highest ERAs of the starters and relievers, respectively, this season.
Where Bednar returned to form with saves in his past two appearances, Keller hasn’t looked like himself in his most recent starts. He hasn’t been terrible, but Keller was the first to say he was “not very good” against the Brewers.
Shelton said Keller “really struggled with his delivery” and “couldn’t get in sync” against the Brewers, especially in a 31-pitch third inning where he walked the first two batters and gave up back-to-back RBI singles to Jake Bauers and Rhys Hoskins.
“I don’t know if I’ve seen him miss on both sides of the plate as much as he did,” Shelton said. “The third is where it was really inconsistent.”
Shelton didn’t know whether to blame the cold weather (the game-time temperature was 40 degrees), but believed Keller was rushing his delivery. He couldn’t land his sweeper, sinker or cutter against Sal Frelick and William Contreras but recovered from their walks to strike out Willy Adames on four consecutive four-seamers.
“It was a combination,” Shelton said, “that just didn’t lead to the typical Mitch Keller that we’re accustomed to seeing.”
Christopher Horner | TribLive
Pirates first baseman Rowdy Tellez tags the bag for the final out in the top of the fifth inning against the Tigers on Tuesday, Apr. 9, 2024, at PNC Park.
4. Not too Rowdy: The Pirates signed Tellez to be a middle-of-the-order bat but he hasn’t provided much in the way of power. He’s batting .183 (13 for 71) with one homer and six RBIs after drawing a walk and striking out twice Thursday against his old team.
Even worse, Tellez is 4 for 38 (.105) with no extra-base hits or RBIs since chiding fans for booing Bednar after a blown save in a 5-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers on April 9.
A disturbing recent trend is that Tellez, who entered the game with three defensive runs saved at first base, followed a throwing error in Wednesday’s game with another gaffe.
Tellez was straddling the bag instead of touching it with his foot on a throw from Triolo at third base that allowed Perkins to reach base safely for the leadoff single in the eighth.
Shelton, however, defended by saying that Tellez couldn’t risk stretching out for a ball that could have taken a short hop and kicked past the bag.
“He’s gotta keep that ball in front of him, however it is,” Shelton said. “If we lose a run because of an in-between hop, or a stretch we don’t get, or even it kicks off and they score, then we’re not giving ourselves a chance there.”
Then again, if Perkins was out, Chapman wouldn’t have had to face Sanchez with a runner on base.
Christopher Horner | TribLive
Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz looks to the dugout after driving in two runs with a single during the sixth inning against the Brewers on Monday, Apr. 22, 2024, at PNC Park.
5. Cruz control: Perhaps the most positive sign for the Pirates is that Cruz finally found his groove against the Brewers and could be ready to move up higher in the batting order.
After batting .091 (4 for 44) and striking out 22 times against four walks in 12 games from April 8-21, Cruz went 6 for 13 (.462) with a double, two RBIs and two walks with one strikeout in the series.
“I think he’s swinging at the right pitches. That’s the biggest thing,” Shelton said. “When he went through the stretch where he wasn’t being as consistent, we really saw him start to expand the zone. He’s done a nice job of narrowing it back up.”
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].
