Pirates offense continues to put up big numbers

DENVER — With Saturday night’s 11-4 rout of the Colorado Rockies, the Pittsburgh Pirates took the third straight game of the four-game series at Coors Field. The Pirates amassed 17 hits in the win.

Every position player collected a hit. With 16 hits Friday and 15 in the series opener Thursday, the Pirates have collected 15-plus hits in three consecutive games for the first time since May 27-29 of 1936.

After Saturday night, the Pirates are sixth in the majors with a .267 team batting average.

Pirates pitchers no doubt have enjoyed the big cushions they’ve gotten. All three starters — Trevor Williams, Dario Agrazal and Joe Musgrove — have picked up the wins in Colorado.

“I can’t say enough about this offense,” Musgrove said. “Even last series in Philly, when they go out and give us a lead as starting pitchers … allows me to go out and work and … execute some pitches.”

Kevin Newman has led the charge, going 9 for 14 with three homers and six RBIs. He leads the NL with a .361 average on the road and is on an eight-game hitting streak.

Bryan Reynolds has stayed hot, too, going 6 of 16 in Denver with four RBIs and three doubles. His 32 doubles are three short of tying the Pirates’ franchise record by a rookie, set by Hall-of-Famer Paul Waner in 1926.

The accolades and impressive offensive play are not limited to Newman and Reynolds. Jose Osuna has homered in back-to-back games and has hit .308 (24 of 78) in his last 25 games.

“It’s not (the players) take hitting pills and show up,” manager Clint Hurdle said. They’ve been working to be better. It’s a combination of getting pitches to hit and not missing them. Our guys aren’t giving an inch. They’re going up there every time to have the best at-bat they can.”

There’s also Colin Moran, who has established a career-high slugging mark of .455. He also has hit six more doubles and knocked in 18 more runs in 2019 than in last season, despite playing in 14 fewer games. His 13 home runs are also a career-best. Over his last 21 games, he owns a .361 batting average (26 of 72) and is on an 11-game hitting streak.

It’s hard also not to notice the continuous hot streak of Starling Marte. Notoriously good at Coors Field — he owns a career .435 batting average in Denver — he extended his hit streak to 10 games with a ninth-inning RBI single Saturday.

“We’ve had these conversations for years, but everything’s contagious in this game to some degree,” Hurdle said. “The hitting can be contagious. We’re just playing good, solid baseball.”