MIAMI -- In reality, it was a humble rally, but given the state of the offense, one that the Pirates needed to cash in on.
Henry Davis led off the inning with an infield single, Tucupita Marcano drew a walk and they both moved up a station because of a wild pitch. With the bottom of the order up, a ball in play could have given the Pirates an early edge, something that has seldom happened the past two weeks.
Instead, Rodolfo Castro struck out looking:
And Austin Hedges did the same one batter later:
That second inning was one of the few times the Pirates could muster anything against Eury Perez or the Marlins Sunday, as they were held to five hits and shutout to lose a third time in the four-game set at loanDepot Park, this time, 2-0.
Wasted in the loss was a seven-inning gem from Johan Oveido, who was dinged only for a solo shot on the afternoon. Not maximizing starting pitching was a theme the entire series, as the four starters (Mitch Keller, Luis Ortiz and Osvaldo Bido) combined to allow just five runs over 27 2/3 innings. Despite that, the Pirates could only win one game because of their offense. It was the type of group performance that could have given them a much-needed road series win.
"Definitely frustration that we could have won three of four," Derek Shelton said. "You saw four well-pitched games by our starters... Right now, it's not a situation where we're not getting good starting pitching, because we're getting elite starting pitching right now. We've just got to find out a way to score more runs."
"We'd love to come through for them for as well as they're doing and have their backs as much as they have ours," Jack Suwinski said.
Finding a way to jumpstart the offense has been a mystery. The Pirates are having the worst month against opposing starting pitchers of any National League team this season. They rank near the bottom of every offensive category since the start of May as they have dropped from 20-8 to now 35-42.
"I think if we knew the answer, right, we'd be doing something different," Connor Joe said. "It's a tough stretch and it happens in baseball and pitching staff's doing a great job. Unfortunately, we're not picking them up and providing them with runs at this time."
It's a group sport, but individual slumps are holding back the lineup. Castro, Hedges, Suwinski and Ji Hwan Bae were all in Sunday's lineup. Including that game, Suwinski is now hitless in his last 29 at-bats. Bae is on an 0-for-22 skid. Castro? 0-for-18, and 0-for-17 for Hedges.
Combine those four streaks and that's a collective 0-for-86. For half of the lineup.
"It's just one of those those stretches that things aren't going your way," Suwinski said about his stretch. "It'll come around."
The Pirates have tried to jump start the offense by promoting top 10 prospects Henry Davis and Nick Gonzales, but there is the other side of that coin. How long can you start, or roster, players who aren't hitting?
"The guys getting the opportunity have to produce," Shelton said when asked about those four players. "That's essentially what it comes down to. It's the big-leagues. You have to produce."
This is the second elongated stretch of losing that could have a great impact on how the Pirates approach the rest of the season. They dropped 11 of 12 in May. They are in a stretch of 12 losses in 13 games in June. This current stretch, paired with the rise of the Reds and divisional wins against the Pirates for the Cubs and Brewers, has dropped the Pirates from first in the National League Central to fourth, with their prospects of competing quickly dwindling. On June 12, FanGraphs projected the Pirates had a 25.1% chance of reaching the playoffs. Now it is just 2.7%.
"I think anytime you have stretches, it impacts everything," Derek Shelton said. "That's something we'll have to continue to look at."
And when you look at everything, you have to look at July and the trade deadline.
On his 93.7 The Fan radio show Sunday, Ben Cherington reiterated that the team has been in contact with every team about the trade deadline. He stated the team will look for ways to improve the roster, both via promotions and players who are available. There's a desire to add, if they feel they can be competitive, something that's been independently reported here as well. One or two streaks won't necessarily determine their season.
But also Cherington cited the Orioles last year as an example of a team that was competitive for a good portion of the year but chose to trade some major-league talent rather than just add.
"It's not quite as much a black-and-white, are you adding or selling way sometimes the public narrative is," Cherington said.
Perhaps that's what the Pirates will do at the deadline, since the most coveted player, Bryan Reynolds, is extended long-term and off the market and it doesn't seem likely at this time that the team will move controllable pitchers like David Bednar or Mitch Keller. But if the pirates don’t start getting offensive contributions to back up their starting pitching, they may not have the reason to add much outside of the organization
"You are the sum of your parts," Cherington said. "You're not the best part of your season, you're not the worst. You're a combination of all the parts of your season. But what's also just as true is we've got to keep the pedal down finding ways to get better, urgently, all the time."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• 10-day injured list: OF Bryan Reynolds (lower back)
• 15-day injured list: LHP Jose Hernandez (calf), RHP Colin Holderman (wrist), LHP Rob Zastryzny (forearm), RHP Vince Velasquez (elbow)
• 60-day injured list: SS Oneil Cruz (ankle), 1B Ji-Man Choi (Achilles), RHP Wil Crowe (shoulder), RHP JT Brubaker (elbow), LHP Jarlin Garcia (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow)
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Ji Hwan Bae, 2B
2. Andrew McCutchen, DH
3. Josh Palacios, LF
4. Carlos Santana, 1B
5. Henry Daivs, RF
6. Jack Suwinski, CF
7. Tucupita Marcano, SS
8. Rodolfo Castro, 3B
9. Austin Hedges, C
And for Skip Schumaker's Marlins:
1. Luis Arráez, 2B
2. Garrett Cooper, DH
3. Bryan De La Cruz, LF
4. Jesus Sanchez, RF
5. Yuli Gurriel, 1B
6. Jon Berti, 3B
7. Nick Fortes, C
8. Jacob Amaya, SS
9. Jonathan Davis, CF
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates are off on a travel day Monday. Rich Hill (6-7, 4.34) will welcome Yu Darvish (5-6) and the Padres to town Tuesday when they start their three-game set. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. DK will have you covered.
THE MULTIMEDIA
THE CONTENT