Pittsburgh Pirates must improve play on road to win division
By Matt Shetler
Good teams have one thing in common: they win on the road.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have done that for most of the season, but have come on hard times as of late away from PNC Park.
Aug 8, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle (13) looks over the dugout railing against the Miami Marlins during the sixth inning at PNC Park. The Pittsburgh Pirates won 5-4 in ten innings. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Like any other good team, the Bucs have a winning record (30-28 entering Thursday) away from home, but things haven’t been so rosy as of late. That’s something that must change if the Bucs are to hang on and win the National League Central.
After a very good start on the road this season, the Pirates have gone only 6-9 on the road since the All-Star break, which includes a string of dropping five in a row and eight of their last 10 on the road.
What’s been the biggest problem?
It’s not one thing really except the Bucs have had their issues doing the little things that win ball games: the same little things that they have done for most of the season.
However if they want to stay atop the decision, the quickest way to ensure that happens is by starting to win again on the road.
The Bucs still have a game in St. Louis before heading home for a three-game set against the Arizona Diamondbacks After that though they head to the west coast for a seven-game trip in San Diego and San Francisco, two places the Pirates have never fared well. After a six-game homestand, they then hit the road again with stops in Milwaukee, St. Louis and Texas, which won’t be easy.
The Pirates will then come home for an 11-game homestand before hitting the road once again with six games against the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati, with the division likely on the line.
A lot of the recent struggles seem to have come from the offense.
The Bucs hit .250 as a team with a .697 OPS at home, but there’s not too much difference to their performance on the road. They are hitting only .240 as a team away from PNC park, but have an OPS of .706. The biggest difference comes in the pitching staff which has only a 2.70 ERA at home, but an ERA of almost a run more per game on the road at 3.62.
None of those numbers are particularly horrible as the Pirates haven’t been a bad team away from home. It’s just a matter of getting the little things done to win games.
If the Pirates are to win the division or even make the playoffs, which given their 96.4 percent playoff probability looks like a pretty sure thing, they have to start winning again away from home.
That’s what good teams do this time of year. We will soon find out how good this Pirates team really is.