Pittsburgh Gets Shut Out in Series Finale, Extends Losing Streak to Eight Games
The Pirates fell to 5-11 after getting swept in three games by the division rival Cincinnati Reds. The series continues to expose Pittsburgh’s lacking offense. Pittsburgh managed to score just five total runs throughout the series, with a 4-0 shutout this afternoon. Their situational hitting was also poor, managing to go one-for-13 with runners in scoring position for the series and leaving 13 men on base. For a team that started the year at 5-3, this eight-game losing streak better be a wake-up call.
Fewer than five bats are providing an acceptable bat average, as Bryan Reynolds, .206 batting average, .640 OPS, and Ke'Bryan Hayes, .212 batting average, .632 OPS, have not been providing the punch required in the middle of the order. Oneil Cruz's usual on-base threat absence has left a vacuum and is hitting under the Mendoza line. Recent call-up Henry Davis, utility player Endy Rodríguez, and Enmanuel Valdez, all of whom were expected to get better in 2025, are injured or struggling. Just in this series alone, nearly all Pirates starters had batting averages under .200, with several regulars looking overmatched as hitters. The team's season batting average of .207 and first 16 games' .286 OBP put them near the bottom of the league in offensive production for the third consecutive season.
On the mound, there was little to be hopeful about. Andrew Heaney and Bailey Falter struggled with the bullpen having holes to fill as well. In Cincinnati, the pen was, to most Pirates fans’ surprise, the most effective unit. Starter Carmen Mlodzinski did not do the Pirates any favors, allowing four runs in four-and-a-third innings today and increasing his ERA to 6.23. The Pirates' staff ERA is 4.40 as a unit, putting a supposed “pre-season top 10 rotation” into the bottom 10.
With the Pirates back in town against the Nationals, short-term offense stabilization and lineup stability will be priority number one. It is early in the season, but compared to each of the previous two seasons, Pittsburgh is off to a more than slow start. Offensive shortcomings, defensive blunders, and bullpen volatility all played their parts in the sweep at Cincinnati, but it is below-average-hitting bats that have cast a spell over the 412 for nearly half a decade. The Pirates have the young talent, but until they start to mesh and get better, especially against divisional opponents, this season can become another year of rebuilding in the blink of an eye. The next few weeks will establish the tone for this season, slowly turn the tide back in the right direction, or shut out another lost summer at PNC Park.
