Corey Dickerson slowed down when he knew it happened again. David Bote, the Cubs' third baseman, caught a one-hopper off the bat of David Freese, stepped on third base to force Dickerson and rifled a throw across the infield to get Freese at first to end the game.
It was the Pirates' seventh double play, tying a franchise record and a major-league record for the most in a nine-inning game, and clinched a second consecutive 1-0 loss to the Cubs late Friday night at PNC Park. An offense that was the toast of the National League a few weeks ago is again in a historic funk.
They have one extra-base hit during a 23 consecutive scoreless innings streak and haven't led since the second inning Tuesday in Minneapolis. It was the Pirates' fifth loss in a row, tying another season high, and their league-leading 13th shutout. It dropped them below .500, now 61-62, for the first time since July 15, and the elation from an 11-game winning streak has since been replaced by angst.
"It’s one of those days; it [stinks]," Dickerson lamented. "Try to put a good plan together. Rain delays are never fun, but then you go out there and try to execute your plan. They made some really good plays in the infield, and it’s hard to just place it where they’re not."
TAP ABOVE FOR BOXSCORETheir bats, the ones that produced the fourth-best batting average in the majors last month, made harder contact, compared to the six-hit performance one night earlier. This time, the Pirates hit five balls with an exit velocity over 98 mph, per Statcast, yet only two of those resulted in a hit. They had seven hits, all singles, off the Cubs' five pitchers, and were hitless in five tries with runners in scoring position. Six of the seven double plays ended an inning.
Again, it spoiled an spectacular pitching performance. Trevor Williams's lone blemish in seven innings was a solo home run by Kyle Schwarber in the second, and Williams has now allowed only three earned runs over his last 36 innings. The volatile pitching staff is now the team's lifeline.
"Unfortunately, sometimes the game gets you," Clint Hurdle said. "We had opportunities that we created again tonight. These guys are battling, throwing everything they can at their pitching. I think what you do is you honestly self-evaluate your at-bats, you look at your pitches, where the location was, what you did with them and then you move on. Try to make some adjustments and move forward."
The Pirates batted a league-best .318 with 73 runs, including 23 home runs, during an 11-game winning streak that put them back to four games over .500 and cut their deficit to six games in the Central Division. They've since batted .246, the 10th-worst mark in the majors, with only 82 runs in the past 21 games, 13 of which were losses.
That's dropped them to 11 games back in the division and 6 1/2 in the Wild Card with five teams to climb. Dickerson, Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco — the outfield that ignited the offense's tear in July and the top three hitters in the order — went a combined 4 for 10 with two walks against the Cubs (71-50), and the group is batting .194 with 45 strikeouts and 15 runs this month. Dickerson's scuffled since returning from a left hamstring strain, while Marte and Polanco are again chasing pitches outside the zone.
Hours before first pitch, Hurdle sat in his office and told reporters he had no plans to reshuffle his order, despite its ineffectiveness.
"I still believe at this point all three of them have shown signs of getting closer [to success],” Hurdle said. “For us to be the best team we want to be, now and in the future, it’s (necessary) for Dickerson, Marte and Polanco to be involved. You hang with them when it’s challenging. I’ve said it before, sometimes I need to be the last guy to get out and say, ‘OK, that’s enough.’ ”
Josh Bell and Josh Harrison went a combined 0 for 6, and the offense has seven hits in 41 at-bats with runners in scoring position over the past week. Still, the Pirates' matchups were favorable with men on base, including their final two double plays of the night:
Adam Frazier, pinch-hitting against lefty Jorge De La Rosa, owns the highest batting average among active players in the majors against left-handed pitchers the past three seasons, but he lined out to second and Kevin Newman, pinch-running for Colin Moran, was too slow to get back to first. Dickerson led off the ninth with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch, only for Marte to strike out on a slider a few feet off the plate. After Polanco walked, Freese, who was batting .353 since July 3, hit the one-hopper on Jesse Chavez's sinker for the game-ending double play.
Freese lined into a double play with two on in the first, Bell grounded into two, Dickerson's in the third came after Adeiny Hechavarria's leadoff single, and Polanco rolled over on a pitch from Cubs starter Cole Hamels to end the sixth:
"It tends to be that way whenever you’re in the position we are," Dickerson said when asked if it's difficult to feel pressure to produce. "We’re trying to stay in it, stay relevant. You want to be the guy and do as much as you can for the team. If you’re not contributing how you’d like, it’s deflating."
Hurdle planned on taking a second look at video to see what led to the 12 ground-ball outs, although he gave much of the credit to Hamels and the Cubs' infield defense. He also said some of those were bad luck. Now, all involved are waiting for somebody to light the fuse on the offense, much like the three outfielders did when the Pirates were at their best.
"It’s tough, but you know somebody on the team is going to get hot, not necessarily me," Dickerson said. "Marte, Polanco, anybody. It can be anybody at any time, which is what we need. It’s what we need, is to feed off somebody or somebody just pick each other up and let it get contagious."
1. Williams finds an answer.
Hitters' eyes get big when facing Williams. He doesn't possess premium velocity — his fastball averages 91 mph — and he isn't afraid to throw high in the zone. But the right-hander is also able to out-think the opposition. Like Ivan Nova did one night earlier, Williams took advantage of the Cubs' aggressiveness by throwing four-seam fastballs high in the zone early.
He showed that with a strikeout of Ian Happ to leadoff the game and Cubs hitters took notice. They began to hunt for those pitches high in the zone, only for Williams to pound the bottom of the zone. That four-seam fastball produced six swinging strikes and nine called strikes, while he mixed in his changeup, sinker and slider. Ben Zobrist, likely waiting for a fastball with two on and two out in the fifth, popped up this changeup that Williams threw high and out of the zone:
"Pitch execution," Williams said. "I think it’s key. Strike one definitely starts it. It’s moving the ball around the zone, to all four corners. When you’re doing that and you're executing well, you’re giving yourself a good chance to have success."
Williams allowed four hits, struck out four and walked two, one intentional. He has now pitched through the sixth inning in four of his last five starts. He held the Cubs' first three hitters in the lineup — Happ, Jason Heyward and Zobrist — to a combined 1 for 10 and now owns a 0.76 ERA since July 7, the lowest mark in the majors during that span.
The Pirates' pitching staff owns a 3.30 ERA since July 7 — the fourth-lowest in the majors during that span — and their starters have pitched through the sixth inning in eight of the last 11 games.
"Oh my god, he pitched fantastic," Hurdle said.
2. The lineup won't change.
What do you want Hurdle to do with the lineup? Start Moran over Freese? Elias Diaz over Cervelli? Newman over Hechavarria? Personnel aside, the order itself would be tricky, too. Who's a better fit to bat leadoff than Dickerson? Marte isn't getting on base enough. Harrison's struggled in that spot this season. Hechavarria isn't the answer, either.
It's also important to separate the left-handed hitters, so maybe Bell gets moved up to third with Polanco getting bumped down. It may only get worse since Hurdle could be handing out off-days soon. Dickerson, who suffered a left hamstring strain last month, looked slow running to second and had an awkward slide on the wild pitch in the ninth. Marte may need time to figure out all that's gone wrong. Polanco's struck out 20 times in 53 at-bats this month.
Still, the Pirates are batting just .225 with nine runs during the five-game losing streak, and this slump arrived when they were in desperate need of a push in the standings.
3. Hurdle plans to play Hechavarria.
Newman wasn't called up to start. Sure, the Pirates still think highly of the former first-round pick, but Hechavarria is a superb defender whose offense seems to be improving. Hechavarria has six hits in 16 at-bats since being acquired from the Rays, and this could very well be a tryout for next season.
Although Hechavarria is set to become a free agent, the Pirates would likely be able to bring him back at a cost cheaper than resigning Jordy Mercer. This club's defense needs to improve next season, and a shortstop with more range would help, especially with Moran returning as the starting third baseman.
Remember, Newman can also play second base, and there's no guarantee Harrison will be back next season. This callup served as a reward for Newman's consistency at Triple-A this season — .302 average with 35 RBIs in 109 games — and to get his introduction to the major leagues. He may start a few games with the Pirates facing so many lefty starters, but there's a reason why Hechavarria was signed, and Hurdle has every intention to let the veteran show what he can do.
"I don’t want us to lose sight of the fact why we brought in Hechavarria," Hurdle said. "We brought in Newman, but if Mercer’s not hurt, he’s not here. He’s earned this opportunity because of an injured player. He’s a good, young prospect. You don’t force playing time for him right now, in my mind. You wait for playing to be presented, to be opened up. I believe it will come his way because I don’t think we’re giving enough credit to the guy playing shortstop right now. There’s things to be learned, and I think we can give him some degree of comfort coming in. As this season goes, opportunities, I do believe, will come his way, and he’ll be ready for it."