Focus on the Pirates pressing and failing to convert with runners in scoring position. Or making too many outs on the bases. Rich Hill’s fourth-inning error would’ve undoubtedly been his choice. The starting pitching, outside of Mitch Keller’s gem Monday, was bad this entire homestand.
Bottom line, there’s plenty to chew on throughout the off day following the Pirates’ 4-3 loss against the Rockies on Wednesday afternoon at PNC Park — and pretty much all of it tastes stale, like a 20-8 start that has unfortunately turned sour.
“It’s where we’re at right now,” Andrew McCutchen said. “Sometimes we might be pressing just a little too much and then it spirals out of control. We have to bounce back and be ready to go.”
For the first time this month — yes, seriously — the Pirates scored more than two runs in a game. However, they still lost when Colorado loaded the bases in the seventh against Robert Stephenson and left fielder Jurickson Profar punched a fastball through a hole.
It was far from the only frustrating thing that happened to the Pirates, who have now dropped nine of 10 to fall to 21-17 on the season.
Among the others:
• Pirates starting pitchers, a bedrock of the team’s hot start, had a 6.75 ERA in the five games other than Keller’s complete-game shutout.
• The bullpen, meanwhile, wasn’t much better, pitching to a 5.14 ERA on the homestand.
• Pirates pitchers started three innings Wednesday with a walk. Twice that runner scored.
• Pittsburgh made three outs on the bases Wednesday, bringing to nine their total for the homestand. Especially costly was Tucupita Marcano missing a hit-and-run sign Wednesday and Connor Joe getting thrown out. When Marcano homered, it became an important lost run.
• Tucked in there were six times caught stealing. The Pirates now lead MLB in that category with 15 on the season.
The outs on the bases have seemingly reached red-alarm territory.
“By us running so much in April, a lot of teams are looking for us to run,” Ke’Bryan Hayes said. “Pitch-calling could be different. More teams are paying attention. We have to figure out how to give up not as many outs on the bases.”
McCutchen agreed. In his mind, the Pirates basically established a precedent with how much they ran in April. They still lead the majors with 48 steals — nine more than anyone else. But the issue has been efficiency. The Pirates are too often trying to not-so-smartly force the issue.
“People know what to expect, so they make adjustments,” McCutchen said. “We have to be smarter and avoid trying to create something that may not be there and let the game play out.”
As a result, the Pirates are creating a margin for error that’s far too thin. After all, we’re talking about an offense that’s hitting .102 with runners in scoring position in May, with a whopping one extra-base hit and a 28.3% strikeout rate in that situation.
It’s great that the Pirates found success earlier this season running the bases aggressively. Lately, however, they’ve simply been running into outs. And it’s often scuttling the little traction they gain.
This past Friday, that included making a couple of unnecessary outs at third. In the series finale against the Rockies, Joe was thrown out twice and the Pirates failed to do anything with a bases-loaded, nobody-out situation when Bryan Reynolds was thrown out at home plate.
“We’re not scoring many runs, so when someone gets on, teams are paying attention,” McCutchen continued, talking about the baserunning woes writ large, not anything specific.
“When we were rolling in April, we were stealing bases. But we were also hitting very well. You had people on the basepaths to worry about. You also had the guy at the plate to worry about. Right now, it’s just there’s more focus and attention when someone gets on.”
The offensive frustration was apparent in several spots, but the biggest came in the sixth and ninth innings. The first situation started with bases loaded and nobody out. Joe struck out looking before the Reynolds play.
In the ninth, Ji Hwan Bae’s double gave the Pirates two runners in scoring position for pinch-hitter Josh Palacios, who struck out.
“When you scuffle a bit, you have guys who press,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of the offense, which has scored an MLB-low 13 runs in May. “I think that’s where we’re at right now.”
ON THE MOUND
The frustration was obvious on Hill’s face as Shelton emerged from the Pirates dugout to take him out of the game in the top of the fourth. It also looked like Hill had some words for Shelton when he came out, though neither one of them wanted to peel back that curtain.
Hill was more upset at the swinging bunt from Ryan McMahon that he failed to field, a mistake that opened the door to two more Colorado runs.
“I missed it,” Hill said. “I just missed it. That shouldn’t happen here. It cost us the game. Once again, it falls on me. Gonna sit on this one for the next five days and get ready for the next one. Frustration is definitely there with that. Very easy ground ball. I should have been able to execute it and didn’t.”
That should’ve been the third out of the inning. Instead, catcher Austin Wynns and second baseman Alan Trejo each delivered softly hit singles — Wynns taking a Hill sweeper into shallow left, Trejo lining a curveball into right.
Hill finished the day working 3⅔ innings, his shortest start of the season. He allowed three runs (one earned) with two walks and four strikeouts. On a positive note, Dauri Moreta relieved Hill and was solid, recording six outs and striking out three.
AT THE PLATE
The day after driving in the Pirates’ only run, McCutchen handed them a three-run lead with his two-run homer in the third. The circumstances surrounding this one were a little unique, too, as Rockies first baseman C.J. Cron dropped a pop fly in foul territory.
After working a full count, McCutchen got one of his favorites — a fastball up — and pummeled it to left for his seventh of the season.
Marcano made up for the missed sign by clobbering his first home run of the season and also his first at PNC Park, giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead in the second inning.
“It felt pretty good just to put our team ahead there,” Marcano said, with major league coach Stephen Morales translating. “Sticking to my routine has helped me from spring training on.”
Joe took off when Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela threw a 1-0 slider, looked back after a couple strides and Marcano took the pitch. After getting to 3-1, Marcano crushed a low-and-away fastball to the left of the bushes in center field.
QUOTABLE
“He didn’t have the execution today that he had had previously. We had gotten in a situation where the curveball was not landing and the fastball wasn’t in the spots he wanted. So, at that point, I wanted to keep the game right there.” — Shelton on why he pulled Hill when he did
UP NEXT
The Orioles had won 15 of 21 prior to their series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays. Johan Oviedo will start for Pittsburgh.
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: May 10, 2023, 7:51 p.m.