Three Takeaways: Jared Jones is Pirates Best Pitcher Right Now
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have put together one of the best offenses in baseball, but their recent series vs. the Cubs threatened that title.
The Pirates scored just two runs in the first two games of the series, losing 3-2 in extra innings in the series opener on July 24 and then suffering their biggest loss of the season, 11-0 on July 25.
Pittsburgh bounced back at the plate for an 8-7 victory in the series finale on July 26, escaping a terrible sweep and showing they can still hit amongst the best.
The Pirates are still in the midst of a battle for the playoffs, but they have to fix a few things in the upcoming games.
Pirates Offense Still Awful vs. LHP
The Pirates struggled massively in those first two games, which came against left-handed starting pitchers in Matthew Boyd in the series opener and Shota Imanaga in the second game.
Boyd allowed seven hits, but held the Pirates to just one run over seven innings, while Imanaga continued his domination of his National League Central divisional foe, with six scoreless innings.
The Pirates could only muster 13 hits and three walks over those two losses, going 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position and leaving eight men on base in the first game and then only one player getting in scoring position in the second game.
Pittsburgh has struggled massively against southpaws all year, posting a 9-22 record, compared to 45-30 against righties.
The Pirates best hitters are left-handed in center fielder Oneil Cruz, first baseman Spencer Horwitz, right fielder/first baseman Ryan O'Hearn and second baseman Brandon Lowe, while both left fielder Bryan Reynolds and catcher Endy Rodríguez are switch hitters that hit better from the left side.
This leads to teams with left-handed pitching doing much better, even with some improvements from someone like Cruz against lefties, it's still generally a difficult time for the Pirates lineup.
Pittsburgh's right-handed hitters are shortstop Konnor Griffin, who's out injured until early-mid September, designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, who is slashing .200/.286/.325 for an OPS of .611, utility man Jared Triolo and outfielder Billy Cook.
Both third baseman Nick Gonzales and right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez have had excellent seasons, but the Pirates need other players to step up and produce against lefties.
Offense Shows Resiliency Once Again
The Pirates had no home runs through three games, after a 2-0 loss to the New York Yankees in the second game of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium on July 22 and weren't getting the production needed.
Pittsburgh rectified that in their series finale win, with three home runs and scoring seven of their eight runs by home runs as well.
Ryan O'Hearn celebrated his 32nd birthday with a grand slam, his second of the season and fourth of his career, putting the Pirates up 7-1 in the third inning.
He became the first Pirates player since Mike Easler to hit two home runs in the same month, doing so in his three-home run, 10-RBI game vs. the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park on June 7.
The Pirates rookies set the tone early, with Valdez hitting his 14th home run, a solo shot to tie the game up at 1-1, then catcher Shawn Ross crushing a two-run home run into the second deck of the left field bleachers, putting the home team up 3-1.
It was a statement from the Pirates offense that they aren't going anywhere and their refusal towards long losing streaks is a big reason why they can reasonably believe they have a shot at the postseason.
"Yeah, absolutely. We've been good at that all year," O'Hearn said postgame. "That's kind of been our thing, is being able to bounce back. Today was no different, being able to save a series. I think that's pretty consistent with good teams is when things go south, you find a way to get out of it, bounce back, and get that positive momentum swing. So today was good. The series is over, on to the next."
Jared Jones The Best Pirates Pitcher in July
The Pirates have a strong starting pitching rotation, but Jared Jones has been by far their best option in the month of July.
Jones has a 1.29 ERA over four starts and 21.0 innings pitched, 28 strikeouts to four walks, seven hits and three runs allowed, with a .100 BAA and a 0.52 WHIP.
He had great success in his start vs. the Cubs in the series opener, throwing 83 pitches over six innings and posting five strikeouts, with just two hits, a walk and a run allowed.
That run came on a solo home run to Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, but he was otherwise dominant against a strong lineup.
Jones has been fantastic for the Pirates this month, even with the innings limit (five innings) and pitch restrictions (80-85 pitches), after coming back from internal brace surgery.
He's throwing his fastball and slider with great efficiency and of his 83 pitches, 75 of those pitches were either one of those two options.
Jones will need to get his changeup and curveball going, but his success with his fastball and slider is incredibly encouraging as the Pirates head into the final two months of the season.
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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.