PIRATES

Marcell Ozuna, who signed a one-year, $12 million deal to replace Andrew McCutchen this winter, isn't doing much hitting to begin the season. And he's certainly hearing about it. 

Boos have followed most of Ozuna's at-bats so far during this homestand, as he's 2 for 27 to begin the season. He went 1 for 4 with a soft dribbler for a single in the eighth inning and two strikeouts in the Pirates' 3-2 win over the Orioles today at PNC Park. 

“It’s not my first time being in that moment," Ozuna said. "I deserve to be booed. I don’t mind. I’m going to keep grinding and do my best. As soon as I get the knocks, everything is going well now. I have the confidence, my teammates trust me and most of the fans trust me. They booed me because they need to see my show. So I have to give my show. This is the time, right now.”

Ozuna's struggles don't reflect career norms. He's a .254 hitter in the months of March and April. Over the previous two seasons, he's hit .327 and .283, respectively, in those months. 

"You look back at his career and he's obviously a dawg," Nick Yorke said. "There's definitely no panic in the clubhouse about what he's going to do. I feel like, if anything, I'm on the top step going, 'Oh, here it is, it's coming.' Even though he is in his little lull, or whatever you want to call it, just how he goes about talking about the game ... he's in there on the iPad talking to guys on the bench about things like, 'Hey, you probably don't want to swing at this 1-1 because he's probably going to go to the slider low and away,' whatever it is. That just shows his character. He's probably not pleased with how he's been right now, but he's being a great teammate." 

Bryan Reynolds was more direct. 

"Just pull up his Baseball Reference page," he said of Ozuna, "and take a look at that."