For young Pirates lineup, big swings, misses are symbolic in 4-game series sweeps

Derek Shelton was fresh from a sweep of a doubleheader at Cincinnati when the Pittsburgh Pirates manager took a look at the present and allowed himself to glimpse into the future.

Shelton scrolled down the lineup and saw four 23-year-olds in the starting lineup: shortstop Oneil Cruz, second baseman Rodolfo Castro, right fielder Cal Mitchell and right-handed pitcher Luis Ortiz.

“It makes you smile a little bit,” Shelton said, “that there’s a good group of young players here.”

The Pirates have had five or more rookies in the starting lineup 25 times this season, the highest total by a Pirates team since the 1954 club had 31 such games. That 1954 team finished 53-101, and these Pirates are careening toward their second consecutive 100-loss season.

The recall of Ortiz, who touched triple digits six times in his debut, comes in time for the two-game series at the New York Yankees. The Pirates could start Ortiz on Tuesday and 22-year-old right-hander Roansy Contreras the following night, providing another peek at the future.

Last week was representative of the peaks and valleys that come with playing a young lineup, which also includes 23-year-old outfielder Jack Suwinski and a starting rotation that includes 24-year-olds Johan Oviedo and Bryse Wilson: The Pirates swept a four-game series at the Reds, then were swept in four games at the New York Mets.

The Pirates had a 15-run differential in both series. Where the Pirates have baseball’s worst run differential (minus-214), the Yankees lead the American League at plus-209. The last time these teams met, July 5-6 at PNC Park, they split the two-game series. The Pirates won the first game 5-2; the Yankees won the next day, 16-0.

It wasn’t just that the Pirates lost to the Mets (93-54), who lead the NL East, but how they lost: They set a single-season strikeout record (now 1,382) on Saturday and a single-game strikeout record Sunday, tying a major-league mark by becoming the ninth team with 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game.

“It’s something we need to continue to work on. We know that with our young hitters, we have to continue to battle,” Shelton said, adding that Mets ace Jacob deGrom “was on and was really, really elite” in recording 13 strikeouts through five innings.

“Our younger players have to continue to grind through at-bats and put the ball in play. We saw a guy at the top of his game and was able to execute all four pitches. That can give you a challenge when you have a young club.”

Cruz is at the crux of that challenge. Where Cruz struck out in 10 of his 16 at-bats in the Mets series, he also had three extra-base hits and five RBIs. That includes a leadoff double and the tying three-run homer Sunday.

The Pirates are willing to live with his high whiff rate, given the power and that he’s hardly alone amongst the rookies in striking out often. Mitchell went 2 for 8 with a homer in the Reds series, then 1 for 14 against the Mets with five strikeouts. No one has struggled more than Suwinski, who ranks sixth among rookies with 16 homers but is hitless over the past eight games and has 13 strikeouts in his past 24 at-bats.

Since his recall from Triple-A Indianapolis on June 20, Cruz has 17 home runs and 51 RBIs in 75 games. He ranks fifth in homers and sixth in RBIs among rookies and second among the National League rookies in both categories. Cruz is on a pace to hit 37 homers and 110 RBIs over the course of a full season. Then again, he’s also on a pace for 255 strikeouts, which would shatter the major-league record (Arizona’s Mark Reynolds had 223 in 2009).

“It’s exciting to see guys play well and grow in their approach and who they are as a player,” Pirates center fielder Bryan Reynolds said of Cruz.

Cruz has homered off a pair of Cy Young winners in deGrom and Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes, as well as the favorite to win the award this year, Miami’s Sandy Alcantara.

“When you’re competing against the best pitchers in the game,” Shelton said, “the fact that as a young player to be able to continue to have at-bats like that, it’s extremely important.”