Key Piece to Pirates Success Finally Starting to Get Hot
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PITTSBURGH — It's been a tough start to the season for Pittsburgh Pirates designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, but he's showing that he's finally playing the way he needs to.
Ozuna had a great series vs. the Washington Nationals at PNC Park, April 13-16, with four hits in 12 at-bats, a double, his first home run, five RBI and just two strikeouts. This gave him a slash line of .333/.385/.667 for an OPS of 1.052 over three games.
He had hit terribly for the Pirates before this series, with just three hits in 43 at-bats for a .070 batting average, a difficult spot for a player who signed a one-year, $12 million deal with the team this offseason.
Ozuna credited the work he's been putting in recently, which included staying after games and doing anything he could to just get back on track.
"I feel good because I'm working for that," Ozuna said postgame. "Thanks to god I'm able to play this game, the confidence DK has given to me and that's amazing."
How Ozuna Hit vs. the Nationals
Pirates fans booed Ozuna during the first homestand against the Baltimore Orioles, April 3-5, and the San Diego Padres, April 6-8, where he had just one hit in 11 at-bats.
Those games forced him to work harder at his craft and he showed in the last series vs. the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, where he got better contact on the ball, driving it, but still only had one hit in 12 at-bats to show for it.
Ozuna had his first multi-hit game for the Pirates in the 5-4 loss to the Nationals on April 14. This included a single in the bottom of the second inning and then a double he laced 104.2 mph, scoring two runs.
He then hit a single to opposite field in the following game, scoring a run in the 2-0 victory over the Nationals on April 15.
Ozuna completed his series with a three-run home run on April 16, tying the game up at 4-4 in the bottom of the fifth inning, erasing a 4-0 deficit from the top half.
It wasn't any weakly hit home run either, as Ozuna sent it 109.6 mph off the bat and 423 feet off the left field rotunda.
"It feels good, big landing," Ozuna said. "Go out there and try to swing at the ball, try to put my team on top. Thanks to god I get the first one."
Why It's Important Ozuna Starts Hitting Better
The Pirates have hit well as a team so far in 2026, a much improved situation from having the worst lineup in baseball last season, according to many metrics.
Pittsburgh has the likes of second baseman Brandon Lowe, tied for third in MLB with seven home runs, center fielder Oneil Cruz, who is slashing .316/.381/.566 for an OPS of .947 with five home runs, plus Bryan Reynolds and Ryan O'Hearn, who have all produced so far.
All four of those batters are left-handed, with Reynolds a switch hitter, but the Pirates have little power production from their right-handed batters, with just two home runs total, including Ozuna's.
The Pirates signed Ozuna so that he could provide them the power he has shown in his career, coming in hitting at least 20 home runs each of the past four seasons and also 297 home runs total.
Pirates manager Don Kelly has been incredibly supportive of Ozuna throughout his struggles and loved seeing that power from him with the home run.
"That was great," Kelly said. "He swung the bat well today, even the ball to left field he lined out later was a good swing. He's been having much better at-bats, as we've seen. He's put in a lot of work to continue to get this point out."
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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.