The date was July 25th. The Pirates just defeated the Braves 3-1, and were six games above .500. They were in a tie for first place in the NL Central with the Cardinals. Since then, it’s been a disaster for the Pirates. The next night was the infamous Jerry Meals game that the Pirates lost in 19 innings. They lost again the next night. Pittsburgh picked up a 5-2 win over Atlanta on the 28th. They haven’t won a game since, getting swept in Philadelphia and losing four straight to the Cubs at home. Saturday was quite possibly the low point of the streak, as the offensively inept San Diego Padres pounded the Pirates for 15 runs, as former NL ERA leader Jeff Karstens allowed nine earned while getting ten outs.
What has the issue been with the Pirates, aside from the fact that they’re just not a very good team? The offense has been…well, offensive. All-Star center fielder Andrew McCutchen is six for his last 30. Before exploding for a four hit night on Friday, new acquisition Ryan Ludwick hadn’t provided the offensive spark the team was looking for, going one for 11. Ace second baseman Neil Walker is 11 for his last 34, but has just one extra base hit and one walk over the eight game skid. Pittsburgh’s key offensive contributors have struggled, and it’s outweighed the resurgences of Derrek Lee (two homers in three games) and Brandon Wood (five for 15 in limited duty).
The Pirates’ pitching has also struggled a lot too. The lowest ERA for a starting pitcher over the losing streak is Charlie Morton’s 4.91. All-Star Kevin Correia has made only one start of the losing streak, and allowed eight runs and four homers while getting only six outs. James McDonald has allowed five homers in his last 12 innings. Six of Pittsburgh’s seven relievers have allowed at least two runs over the losing streak, with the lone outlier being closer Joel Hanrahan, who has only gotten two scoreless innings of work. Jason Grilli, who threw three scoreless innings in the marathon loss to Atlanta, has allowed eight runs in his last eight innings pitched. Daniel McCutchen, who threw five scoreless innings in the Atlanta game before the 19th inning rolled around, has allowed five runs in just four innings since that game.
Some would say that the Pirates collapse is bad for baseball, and that they’re disappointed that the underdog is struggling. Personally, I didn’t think the Pirates were a great team. I think it’s a good thing that it’s looking like that the Pirates won’t sneak into the playoffs in lieu of a superior team, like Milwaukee or St Louis. Today, the Pirates are eight out in the Central, and it’s down to a two horse race between the Brewers and Cardinals. Pittsburgh had a cute couple of weeks. But they’re not a contender. Not this year, at least.
