Oneil Cruz reacts after striking out to end the fifth inning Thursday night in Chicago.
The Pirates struck out 10 times tonight in their 3-2 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field, but at this point, it's nothing new.
They have the fifth-most strikeouts (613) in Major League Baseball, trailing the Tigers (622), Rockies (648), Angels (649) and Red Sox (650). Their 23.6% strikeout rate is among the worst in the major leagues and they've struck out 10 or more times in 27 games. They are 7-20 when that happens.
Jameson Taillon and the Cubs' bullpen exposed the offense's faults by working ahead. Taillon struck out seven and scattered four hits over 6 1/3 innings. He set down 17 of the first 20 batters he faced, giving up two walks and a single to Andrew McCutchen.
The former Pirate earned an 0-2 or 1-2 count in five of his seven strikeouts and did so with 11 of the 24 batters he faced. However, 11 of those at-bats lasted three pitches or less.
"He did a good job of keeping us off balance and I think the biggest thing was if you took two strikes, or two pitches, you were 0-2," Isiah Kiner-Falefa said. "He’s one of the best pitchers in the league, of recent, to get ahead. It’s just not something you expect from him all the time. More of like an edge-type pitcher. But, he had the edges tonight."
He used his first at-bat as an example:
"I was looking for a four-seam out over and I got slider, slider, backdoor sinker," Kiner-Falefa said of his first at-bat. "Three pitches and I didn’t even take the bat off my shoulder and that’s not really how you want to go about your first at-bat."
The Pirates became more aggressive in the seventh and tagged Taillon for two earned runs when the four batters he faced put the ball in the play on the first or second pitch.
Brad Keller then entered and struck out Tommy Pham, after getting ahead 0-2. He loaded the bases when he hit Brett Sullivan and then walked home a run -- the second attributed to Taillon. He ended the Pirates' only threat by striking out Cruz with this 3-2 slider:
Cruz has the second-most strikeouts (88) in the major-leagues, trailing Detroit's Riley Greene (89). He's also failed to come up in these situations this year. He leads the Pirates with 31 strikeouts in the seventh inning or later and is hitting .159 with four home runs and 11 RBIs in 69 at-bats.
This can't be placed on Cruz. This type of team performance has happened too often. It starts with a passive approach. When the Pirates have hit, they are often aggressive in the zone and attacking early. When they aren't, they have nights like tonight.
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THE ASYLUM
Greg Macafee
6:01 am - 06.13.2025 CHICAGOGoing Deep: Pirates' strikeout problems continue
GETTY
Oneil Cruz reacts after striking out to end the fifth inning Thursday night in Chicago.
The Pirates struck out 10 times tonight in their 3-2 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field, but at this point, it's nothing new.
They have the fifth-most strikeouts (613) in Major League Baseball, trailing the Tigers (622), Rockies (648), Angels (649) and Red Sox (650). Their 23.6% strikeout rate is among the worst in the major leagues and they've struck out 10 or more times in 27 games. They are 7-20 when that happens.
Jameson Taillon and the Cubs' bullpen exposed the offense's faults by working ahead. Taillon struck out seven and scattered four hits over 6 1/3 innings. He set down 17 of the first 20 batters he faced, giving up two walks and a single to Andrew McCutchen.
The former Pirate earned an 0-2 or 1-2 count in five of his seven strikeouts and did so with 11 of the 24 batters he faced. However, 11 of those at-bats lasted three pitches or less.
"He did a good job of keeping us off balance and I think the biggest thing was if you took two strikes, or two pitches, you were 0-2," Isiah Kiner-Falefa said. "He’s one of the best pitchers in the league, of recent, to get ahead. It’s just not something you expect from him all the time. More of like an edge-type pitcher. But, he had the edges tonight."
He used his first at-bat as an example:
"I was looking for a four-seam out over and I got slider, slider, backdoor sinker," Kiner-Falefa said of his first at-bat. "Three pitches and I didn’t even take the bat off my shoulder and that’s not really how you want to go about your first at-bat."
The Pirates became more aggressive in the seventh and tagged Taillon for two earned runs when the four batters he faced put the ball in the play on the first or second pitch.
Brad Keller then entered and struck out Tommy Pham, after getting ahead 0-2. He loaded the bases when he hit Brett Sullivan and then walked home a run -- the second attributed to Taillon. He ended the Pirates' only threat by striking out Cruz with this 3-2 slider:
Cruz has the second-most strikeouts (88) in the major-leagues, trailing Detroit's Riley Greene (89). He's also failed to come up in these situations this year. He leads the Pirates with 31 strikeouts in the seventh inning or later and is hitting .159 with four home runs and 11 RBIs in 69 at-bats.
This can't be placed on Cruz. This type of team performance has happened too often. It starts with a passive approach. When the Pirates have hit, they are often aggressive in the zone and attacking early. When they aren't, they have nights like tonight.
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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