Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Pirates seeking to find another flip side amid 7-game losing streak
Following a 10-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton attempted to explain how his team went from the hottest team in baseball to the coldest almost overnight.
On April 23, the Pirates had won seven consecutive games to improve to 16-7 and move into first place in the NL Central, a half-game ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers. Exactly two weeks later, the Pirates (20-15) had lost seven consecutive games. Somehow, they are still in first place in the NL Central, a half-game ahead of the Brewers.
“The biggest thing is, when it’s going really good you can’t get too high. You can’t ever believe that’s the way it’s going to be,” Shelton said. “When it’s too low, you can’t get there. The second part of it is, we’ve played two really good teams. We played the best team in baseball in Tampa, then Toronto came off a tough stretch and we caught them when everything they’re doing right now is right. We’re at the flip side.”
1. Trading places
The role reversal has been remarkable.
During their season-best win streak from April 17-23, the Pirates got six quality starts, had 30 extra-base hits and outscored opponents, 45-15.
During their season-worst losing streak from April 30-May 7, their opponents got six quality starts, had 31 extra-base hits and outscored the Pirates, 44-9.
That the Pirates lost six straight to the Rays and Blue Jays shows the strength of the AL East. That the Pirates didn’t lose any ground in the division standings shows that the NL Central remains wide open.
Shelton might be frustrated by the sudden turnabout of success but he isn’t panicking. After all, he’s endured losing streaks of nine games in 2020 and ’22 and 10 games in ’21. The Pirates had never won more than four in a row under Shelton in his first three seasons.
His advice?
“Continue to grind. It’s a long season,” Shelton said. “That’s why early on, when we were 20-8 and everybody was really excited, it was like, it’s a long season. We had a good month. We’ve had a tough start to this month. We just need to rebound and be resilient.”
2. Return to quality
At the forefront of the Pirates’ strong start to the season was their starting pitching. They recorded 18 quality starts in April — six innings, with three or fewer runs allowed — but no starter has pitched more than 5 1/3 over the past seven games.
There are concerns with Vince Velasquez’s right elbow discomfort, Roansy Contreras’ fastball velocity and Johan Oviedo’s slider command.
There’s also potential for good news.
Mitch Keller (3-1, 3.32 ERA) starts Monday against Colorado, a team the Pirates already swept this season. General manager Ben Cherington said Sunday on his weekly radio show on 93.7 The Fan that the Pirates are “pretty optimistic” that Velasquez’s injury can be a “short-term thing.”
Who will fill Velasquez’s turn in the rotation on Tuesday, however, remains a mystery. The Pirates could opt for a bullpen game, perhaps using Duane Underwood Jr. as an opener, or promote a pitcher from Triple-A Indianapolis for a spot start.
3. Taking a toll
The Pirates believe they improved their depth this offseason by adding veterans Andrew McCutchen, Carlos Santana, Ji-Man Choi and Connor Joe to their position player group and Velasquez, Rich Hill and Jarlin Garcia to their pitching staff.
But the Pirates’ depth is being tested with Choi and Garcia on the 60-day injured list, along with starting pitcher JT Brubaker, shortstop Oneil Cruz and reliever Wil Crowe.
Shelton believes the Pirates’ are better equipped to handle a losing skid because of the presence of veterans in their clubhouse.
“I think more so than years in the past we’re built for this,” Shelton said. “We have some veteran guys who know how to handle this, who have been through tough stretches. It’s one of those things where we’re a little exposed because of the fact that now we’re seeing Cruz being out and Choi being out, that does affect our lineup a little bit. We need to make sure we keep going.”
The Pirates’ depth has been tested.
With Choi out for two months with a strained Achilles, McCutchen has been used primarily as the designated hitter while Joe has started in the outfield and backed up Santana at first base.
With Cruz out for four months with a fractured left ankle, the Pirates have relied on 23-year-olds Ji Hwan Bae, Rodolfo Castro and Tucupita Marcano in the middle infield.
“It’s not an excuse in any stretch because every team goes through injuries and losing guys,” Shelton said, “but when you build a club and you have those guys that you think you’re going to pencil in, then it does nick your depth a little bit. We’re seeing a little bit of the inexperience of some of our guys.”
4. Coming up short
Cherington said the Pirates intended for Cruz to be an everyday player at shortstop, so his injury was a serious blow to their plans. Cherington indicated that there could be more of a committee approach with Ji Hwan Bae, Castro and Marcano.
“There’s not going to be a one-for-one, ready-made replacement,” Cherington said.
Castro filled in admirably by slashing .317/.417/.533 with four doubles, three home runs and 12 RBIs in 18 games from April 10-29 before regressing over the past six games, where he’s batted .125 (2 for 16) with seven strikeouts and one walk.
“(We) really believe in Castro’s defensive ability but he’s also a young player,” Cherington said. “Occasionally, you’re going to get a mistake.”
Castro has committed five errors in 22 games at shortstop this season, including two against the Blue Jays. That Castro has 11 errors in 41 career games at shortstop is becoming a concern.
“Sometimes he gets a little fast at times,” Shelton said. “That’s natural for a young player when things aren’t going well in the full totality of the game, that you start to rush and start to press a little bit. We’ve just got to get him to relax a little bit.”
pic.twitter.com/1n2jNJh5mC
Jack Suwinski hits a solo shot (7) to cut the Blue Jays lead down to 8-2.— MLB Updates (@MLBNews1234) May 7, 2023
5. Back in the swing
Jack Suwinski snapped out an 0-for-19 funk with his team-leading seventh home run in the seventh inning of Saturday’s 8-2 loss to the Blue Jays.
Suwinski credited his previous at-bat, when he drew a full-count walk in the fifth inning, for helping his cause.
“Just knowing that I’m seeing the ball well,” Suwinski said. “From there, it’s about making good decisions, then stringing some things along, not trying to do too much. Just staying within myself, seeing those pitches and knowing what I can handle and stuff like that.”
Suwinski, however, went down swinging with a chance to change the Pirates’ fortunes Sunday.
Suwinski came to bat with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth inning on Sunday after Santana’s RBI single had cut the Blue Jays’ lead to 5-1. It was a moment that provided flashbacks to Suwinski’s first career grand slam, which came in the sixth inning of a 16-1 win over the Washington Nationals that also served as the Pirates’ last win.
Instead, Toronto replaced reliever Yimi Garcia with Jordan Romano, who struck out Suwinski on four pitches.
“Obviously, you want to have a clutch at-bat there and help the team out,” Suwinski said. “It’s a really good pitcher. It’s a tough at-bat. I’d obviously love to do more and help our guys in that way.”
If anything, the strikeout in that situation motivated Suwinski.
“It’s just going to send me right back to the cage and see what I can do to get better and be better next time,” Suwinski said. “It’s still really early. I want to keep going, keep working hard. I want to get into a good spot. It’s a long year.”
And a long losing streak that has the Pirates seeking a flip side.
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
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