Even when the 2021 Pirates got off to a surprisingly decent start by going 12-12 in their first 24 games, there was a tangible sense in Pittsburgh of, “Is this as good as it is going to get?”
Well, the way things have gone lately, the answer appears to be a resounding, “Yes. Yes, indeed it was.”
The Pirates just wrapped up a four-game series in Atlanta that saw them lose the last three contests by a combined score of 33-3. Over the course of four games, the Braves smacked 15 home runs. That’s the most in a four-game series in Major League Baseball history.
It should be noted that the Braves have hit for power all year against the rest of baseball, too. They were atop the ranks of MLB when it came to team home run totals before the series.
That number now sits at 78 after feasting on Pirates pitchers for four games. That’s 10 better than the second-place club, the Oakland A’s.
“This lineup is really good,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said after a 7-1 defeat Sunday. “This lineup is really hot. And this ballpark is conducive to, if you hit the ball in the air, it’s gonna get out of here. They are taking full advantage of that. … It’s how their offense is built.”
That’s of little comfort to the second-year manager, though.
“The learning lesson is that, if you do not execute good pitches to a lineup that is good like this, then you are going to pay for it. And we paid for it this series,” Shelton said.
The Pirates have now lost six of their last seven games. Their record has sunk to 10 games below .500 (18-28). They are in last place of the National League Central, eight games out of first place. Only two teams, the Arizona Diamondbacks (30) and Colorado Rockies (29) have more losses in the National League than they do. The Pirates pitching staff has a 4.91 earned run average, 28th in baseball.
After the loss Sunday, I asked Shelton if it was best to just have a “control-alt-delete” sort of approach to the team’s trip to Truist Park. Then reboot after a day off Monday before welcoming the Chicago Cubs to PNC Park for a three-game series.
“I’m not very technically savvy,” Shelton laughed. “But control-alt-delete is probably a good one for this (series). Go home. Have the off day. And then get after the Cubs.”
What was the advice Clint Hurdle used to give his players when he was in Shelton’s position? “Shower well” after bad losses.
Maybe the folks at Pittsburgh International Airport can start the process by turning the water cannons on the team plane the minute it lands from Georgia. And then every one of the players can hose themselves off before they even walk into their respective homes.
“The group of guys that we’ve had for two years does a pretty good job of that,” Shelton said. “I think it is part of the culture we are creating in terms of moving onto the next day. If we see a lack of effort, then we have an issue. But these guys do a pretty good job of flushing.”
That’s good. Because I fear this is a “welcome to reality” stretch for Shelton’s team after they managed to keep such concerns at bay for the first month of the season.
Pitchers such as JT Brubaker, Trevor Cahill and Tyler Anderson have all started to crack after keeping things together their first few outings of the year. They all have ERAs between 4.20 and 6.81. Mitch Keller can’t seem to find a groove. He’s 2-6 with a 7.41 ERA.
And I can only imagine how things are going to look if — OK, when — some of the Pirates’ few decent players such as Adam Frazier, Richard Rodriguez and Jacob Stallings get traded over the next few months.
This slide was inevitable after Shelton and his players did a respectable job of pushing a boulder up a hill throughout April. Like most of the National League, gravity is too forceful for the Pirates to fight all year.
I know Shelton says he’s not technically savvy. Well, neither am I. So maybe the best analogy for me to use is that while most of baseball is working with the latest line of iPhones, Shelton has been given a Blackberry from roughly 2001.
And it looks like the keypad buttons just stopped working. I hope he’s not anticipating an upgrade.
