Pittsburgh Pirates: Is it time to be concerned about the Bucs offense?
By Matt Shetler
One of the main reasons that the Pittsburgh Pirates reached a season-high 14 games over .500 early in the week has been because the Bucs offense has been just as good as their dominant pitching over the course of the first third of the season.
But something has happened to that Pirates offense as of late and it hasn’t been pretty.
Apr 26, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez (24) hits a sacrifice fly against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports
Statistically the Bucs are still in the bottom third of every major offensive category, but one thing the Pirates have been able to do pretty much all season is get the big hit when they have needed it.
That really hasn’t been the case the past five games.
After getting blanked for the second consecutive day by the Cincinnati Reds Saturday night, the Pirates have managed to score only one run in their past 30 innings of play.
Actually the struggles with the bats go a bit deeper than that.
If you take away the four-run seventh inning the Bucs had Wednesday night against Detroit, the Pirates have scored three runs in their past 50 innings.
During that span, the Bucs have hit only .204 as a team (34-for-166).
Then there’s the matter of the big hit.
Before the past five games the Pirates had an extra-base hit in 48 consecutive games. During the past five contests, the Pirates have had a grand total of only four and haven’t gotten one in their past three games.
Add all of that up and I have to ask if we should be concerned about the Pirates offense. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle thinks it’s a little too early to push the panic button.
“We have had opportunities,” Hurdle said following the Pirates’ loss Saturday night to the Reds. “Early in games, late in games, the opportunities have been there. It’s just a matter of getting a big hit when we need one and we haven’t been doing that lately.
“We just have to keep plugging at it. They are coming. The longer we go without one should mean we are going to get a bunch real soon. It’s all a matter of getting hits at the right time and that’s what we have to start doing.”
You have to agree with the Bucs’ skipper here. While it has been a bit frustrating the past five games to watch the Pirates offense, it’s way too early to panic. The hits will start coming again.
Also keep in mind that despite not hitting, the Bucs did win two of the five games.
While all that is nice, one thing is clear and that’s the Pirates need to start getting big hits and they need to start doing so preferably soon. They can start Sunday afternoon against Reds starter Mat Latos, which won’t be an easy chore.
They have to salvage a game in this series somehow and the one way they can do that is by heating up with the bats.