Pirates taking a swing at solving their strikeouts, other problems at the plate

After the Pittsburgh Pirates struck out 45 times while being swept in a four-game series by the Reds, Derek Shelton couldn’t wait to get out of Cincinnati.

The Pirates manager blames the whiffs partly on his insistence of an aggressive approach at the plate and partly on strong pitching performances by the likes of Brad Keller, Trevor Bauer and Luis Castillo.

“You’ve got to be aggressive,” Shelton said, “but it has to be aggressive with contact.”

Castillo became the eighth pitcher to record double-digit strikeouts against the Pirates this season, joining Brandon Woodruff of the Milwaukee Brewers (10) on July 29, Tyler Chatwood of the Chicago Cubs (11) on Aug. 1, Sonny Gray of the Reds (10) on Aug. 14, Shane Bieber of the Cleveland Indians (11) on Aug. 20, Lucas Giolito of the Chicago White Sox (13) in his no-hitter on Aug. 25, Corbin Burnes of the Brewers (10) on Aug. 28 and Trevor Bauer of the Reds (12) in Game 1 of the Sept. 14 doubleheader.

As alarming as the whiffs are, the Pirates rank near the middle (17th) of MLB this season. And baseball is becoming a game of strikeouts and home runs, where the Pirates also rank last (42). The Pirates have struck out 422 times through 48 games. Last year, they had 400 strikeouts through the first 48 games.

“I mean, I feel like strikeouts are a part of the game, especially our game now,” Pirates first baseman Josh Bell said. “I feel like strikeouts are going up every year. Pitchers have more and more spin. You try to do what you can. Some people bear down with two strikes and then try to put the ball in play, but for the most part if you’re not hitting the ball hard, you’re an out, and that’s the way I see it. If you’re hitting the ball hard and you swing and miss a couple of times here and there, it’s OK, but if you’re not hitting the ball hard and you’re putting the ball in play with two strikes, you’re still an out. So that’s the way I see it at least, and I feel like that’s the way the game is now.”

Bell is a perfect example: In 45 games as a rookie in 2016, he struck out 19 times. In 46 games this season, he has 47 strikeouts. But the swing-and-miss is far from the Pirates’ only problem at the plate. They rank last in the majors in on-base percentage (.281), slugging (.344) and OPS (.625), so it’s no wonder they also rank dead last in runs scored (173) through 48 games.

The Pirates have two everyday outfielders batting below .200, with contrasting results. Where right fielder Gregory Polanco is hitting .135 with a team-high 57 strikeouts and only nine walks, left fielder Bryan Reynolds is batting .174 with 43 strikeouts and a team-high 20 walks.

Whether it’s on the road or at PNC Park, there’s no escaping the Pirates’ horrendous plate performance. What they are hoping for is that their hitting can become contagious, with the way Bell going 8 for 64 (.328) in the past 20 games to boost his batting average from .193 on Aug. 27 to .255 as a prime example.

“I think all it takes is a big hit in a big situation to turn things around,” said Bell, who is batting .467 (14 for 30) with only three strikeouts over a 10-game hitting streak. “I think if we get on the board early, we can ride it out for the rest of the game, but I was there a couple weeks ago. It seems like every out feels like two or three, and you’re searching for hits instead of searching for quality at-bats, but all it takes is one to turn things around, and hopefully that starts (today).”