"I know I'm going to hit."
That was Francisco Cervelli back in Bradenton. I'd asked about the Pirates' offense. Challenged him, actually, to lay out a scenario in which the bats wouldn't be the liability all summer long. And that was his response, no trace of regret.
So here we were now again, late Wednesday night, last ones in PNC Park's home clubhouse, well after a third straight loss to the Diamondbacks, 11-2, a fourth straight loss overall. And yeah, we were talking offense again. Or the lack thereof. Because the team's run total of 75 is stuck down at second-worst in all of Major League Baseball, and they've now been held to two or fewer runs a ridiculous eight times in somehow starting out 12-10.
As for Cervelli's contribution ...
"Well, I know I'm going to hit, so ..." he began here before bursting into a laugh, plainly aware of the previous reference. "And I tell you this because I haven't quit yet."
He'd better not have. He's not optional. And he's right that he will hit. Always has.
Look, don't dig too deep into the dumps over this little slump. As I see it, there's simple regression to the mean taking place. Jordan Lyles was no more the best fifth starter in baseball than the Pirates were the best team in the National League, so both being swatted back down to sensibility -- Lyles was pounded for five runs in as many innings on this night -- was painfully predictable.
But regression boomerangs both ways, right?
So what about the offense?
Let's start with Cervelli. In four plate appearances, he did this ...
... and yes, that was an honest-to-mamma-mia basehit at the end of that loop, a roller up the middle that might have felt like a moon shot.
"Yeah, how about that?" he'd say. "I'll take it."
Overall, he's slashing .167/.241/.236 with one home run and two doubles in 72 at-bats. Trending most recently, he's 5 for his past 44.
Trying anything new?
"Anything? I'm trying everything. I'm searching for something, the right rhythm, the right timing."
And what will it look like when starts crawling out?
"Gap to gap. That's me. You'll know it."
It'll come. A year ago, his .259/.378/.431 accounted for the team's second-best OPS of .809, trailing only Gregory Polanco's .839. Regression to the mean will soon be Cervelli's best bud.
But hey, that ought to apply to Polanco, too. He arrived earlier than expected this week from the shoulder rehab -- smiling like a school child, I might add -- and promptly dropped a 4-for-8. Starling Marte, it was learned on this day, will be back sooner than anticipated after that awful collision last week. Corey Dickerson might be another week.
Stop and think about that alone: The Pirates have been playing with none of their regular outfielders. Not one. And in their place Clint Hurdle's been forced to use nine different players -- no kidding -- including Colin Moran in left and poor Jason Martin in center, rambling all over creation in this game as four balls zipped over his head and still found the ground.
When JB Shuck is the mainstay, that's an outfield in distress.
Who's left?
Adam Frazier has been ... OK, I guess, at .263/.341/.368, but he's below his brief career's norms, too. Not an accident. He's been bugged by back spasms, and he's yet to cut loose with the pop he's got. Jung Ho Kang's been an all-or-nothing .169/.242/.417 with four home runs, but this game saw a double and two walks to accompany the requisite home run. Shortstop ... eh, I'm not ready to apply pressure to Cole Tucker so recently removed from Class AA Altoona. But there's more at catcher, not just from Cervelli but also a newly returned Elias Diaz, bearing in mind they were the most productive offensive tandem at their position in the majors.
Missing anyone?
Oh, right. This guy:
Josh Bell hits his fifth home run Wednesday night. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPSAll Josh Bell's done is exceed every expectation but his own. And I'll stand by my spring stance, now more than ever, that no one in the lineup matters more. It's just morphed into a circumstance where he's got to be surrounded by others performing at their own peaks.
I brought this up with Hurdle after the game, the notion that this offense has legitimate upside.
"I agree with that. I do," he replied. "We have some guys we're counting on to provide that offense. Maybe it's Frazier, who's kind of swimming right now, treading water. But you've also got Cervelli, who's shown his offensive capabilities ... Kang, who's shown his capabilities ... Bell's obviously in a good spot. But yeah, we could use some help from a couple other guys, for sure."
"It's been weird," Cervelli said of the line between waiting for the injured players and needing immediate results. "But we've got to stay positive, keep going. When everybody comes back, it's gonna be different."
For now, though ...
"We have to keep going. For a lot of people, they watch us now, maybe they think we don't try. We try every night. Sometimes we try too hard. We've got a lot of players here who just want to stay in the big leagues, and that's when you try too hard. We've just got to relax and do everything one at-bat at a time."
The next at-bat will come against Zack Greinke, by the way. That''ll be in the series finale Thursday, 12:35 p.m.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THE GOOD
Um ... it was the second game in a row less than three hours?
Clocked in at a cool 2:49. Which anymore is like an American Legion game.
Wait, I know: Nick Burdi felt good enough to speak for the first time since his ugly-looking biceps injury Monday night. He did so after this game, and he seemed in fine, if guarded, spirits:
Burdi will accompany the team on its Western swing, flying out to L.A. and then seeking his second opinion from the Rangers' team doctor, Keith Meister, while the Pirates are in Arlington next week. There remains no indication of a tear or break, nor any indication that surgery will be needed.
THE BAD
Lyles' line wasn't nearly as bad as the reality, which is that half of his eight hits were two home runs and two doubles. And a couple of the singles were stung, too. He was up in the zone, missing Cervelli's mitt regularly, and he had no bite to the breaking stuff.
For full context, he'd conceded a single earned run over 17 innings through his first three starts, so this was the exception. But still ...
Nick Kingham and Steven Brault were no better, if it's any consolation, getting clobbered for three runs each over two innings each.
THE OTHER SIDE
In his previous start, last Friday at Wrigley Field, Merrill Kelly, Arizona's 30-year-old rookie righty, ran up an insane pitch count of 109 through 3 2/3 innings, and he walked seven.
This time, ably assisted by the Pirates' anemic offense, he needed 106 pitches to cruise through seven innings, and he walked only two. And of those 106 pitches, 64 were strikes.
“After the Chicago game, I made that a priority, to throw as many strikes as I could,” Kelly said. “I still think I could have done a better job of it, especially early in the count and getting strike one, but overall, I’m happy with it.”
The Diamondbacks have won eight of 10.
THE DATA
• That also was the Diamondbacks' ninth consecutive win at PNC Park.
• Through the first three games of this series, Arizona's amassed 25 runs and 38 hits. The Pirates gave up 23 runs over their previous 10 games.
• In his past 16 games, Bell's 19 for 56 -- .339 -- with five doubles, two triples, five home runs and 14 RBIs.
• Martin was off to a fun start as a rookie, but he's in a 1-for-14 rut.
• The announced attendance -- and bear in mind, that's paid tickets in circulation, per the industry norm -- was 9,450. By my own survey, there weren't any more than 3,000 actual humans in the place at any point. By the ninth inning, it was the North Hills High School junior varsity band out in left field and a couple hundred others, at best.
THE INJURIES
• Starling Marte, center fielder, is on the 10-day IL with an abdominal wall contusion/bruised right quad. "He has resumed light baseball activities," head athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday. "He is progressing well. We are still optimistic that it could be the minimal time down with Starling. Very encouraging news at this time."
• Erik Gonzalez, shortstop, is on the 60-day IL with a fractured right clavicle and is scheduled to have it repaired surgically Thursday morning.
• Corey Dickerson, outfielder, is on the 10-day IL with a strained right shoulder. He's throwing and hitting but isn't expected back until late April or early May.
• Lonnie Chisenhall, outfielder, is on the 10-day IL with a broken right hand. He's on a rehab assignment with Class AAA Indianapolis, having gone 1 for 11 through three games.
• Kevin Newman, infielder, is on the 10-day IL with a lacerated right ring finger and began a rehab assignment Wednesday with Indianapolis.
• Jacob Stallings, catcher, is on the 10-day IL with a cervical neck strain and has resumed light baseball activity.
• Jose Osuna, infielder/outfielder, is on the 10-day IL with neck discomfort. He began a rehab assignment Thursday with Class A Bradenton.
• Bryan Reynolds, outfielder, has left quadriceps muscle discomfort and was considered iffy going into the game.
THE SCHEDULE
The finale of the four-game series is a Thursday matinee, 12:35 p.m. Hunter Homistek and Matt Sunday will have that. Afterward, we're inviting all of you to come out to our NFL Draft party on McKnight Road!
THE COVERAGE
All of our expanded baseball coverage, including Indy Watch by Matt Welch, Altoona Watch by Jarrod Prugar, and Mound Visit by Jason Rollison, can be found on our team page.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Pirates vs. Diamondbacks, PNC Park, April 24, 2019 - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS