Pirates Manager Searching For Offensive Consistency
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates had anothter terrible performance from the plate in their latest defeat.
The Pirates went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, as they suffered a 4-0 shutout to the San Diego Padres at PNC Park on May 4, ensuring a sweep.
Pittsburgh has lost an MLB-leading six games by shutout, with two coming during this homestand, as they lost 9-0 to the Chicago Cubs on April 29.
The Pirates rank amongst the bottom teams in many hitting categories, including second worst slugging percentage of .335, fourth worst batting average of .223, eighth worst on-base percentage of .306 and the third worst OPS at .641.
They have scored 114 runs, third least in the MLB, seventh least hits at 259, tied for the second least home runs at 25, the third least RBIs at 112 and rank tied for the seventh most strikeouts at 298.
Pittsburgh, with their poor hitting, finds itself 12-23 overall, the third worst record in the MLB, just ahead of the Chicago White Sox at 10-24 and the Colorado Rockies at 6-28.
This is the worst record for the Pirates through 35 games in an 162-game season since 2006. They've lost four straight, five of their six games in the latest homestand and eight games of the past 10.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton hasn't gotten much production from his offense during this recent run of losses and needs more from them going forward if they're going to turn things around.
“Yeah it’s frustrating," Shelton said. "Offensively, we need to be better. We haven’t been consistent, we haven’t been as good as we can be. There’s more in this offense. We gotta get to it.”
Shelton has changed the Pirates lineup consistently throughout the season, with changes almost every single game, which hasn't seen much success.
“We’re mixing things up, trying different things," Shelton said. "Right now we don’t have a formula and we got to figure it out.”
Derek Shelton: “Offensively, we need to be better. We haven’t been consistent. We haven’t been as good as we can to be… Right now, we don’t have a formula and we’ve got to figure it out.” https://t.co/oGwo5t4OoZ pic.twitter.com/WJTM0QANnx
— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) May 4, 2025
The Pirates have had four consistent starters hitting over .250, with third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes hitting .254, designated hitter Andrew McCutchen hitting .263, shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa hiting .280 and catcher Joey Bart hitting .282.
Center fielder Oneil Cruz has improved since taking over as a leadoff hitter, with four leadoff home runs in that spot, leading the MLB, and is still the MLB leader with 14 stolen bases. He is currently slashing .243/.377/505 for an OPS of 882.
The Pirates travel to face National League Central Division foe St. Louis for a three-game series, as they look to get back to winning ways.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.