'We're right there': Derek Shelton takes pulse of his club as Pirates' crippling losing streak continues

The Pittsburgh Pirates became well-acquainted with San Diego rookie sensation Jackson Merrill last week, as the Padres outfielder went 6 for 12 at the plate from Aug. 6-8, helping the Padres to a sweep at PNC Park.

Merrill’s series highlights included a four-hit, two-homer night Aug. 7 in a 9-8, 10-inning Padres win.

The Pirates traveled to San Diego on Monday for a three-game series and, once again, Merrill made his presence known, this time defensively.

With two outs in the top of the ninth and the tying run on first base, Merrill made a game-ending diving grab in center field to rob Bryan Reynolds of a likely RBI, with the speedy Ji Hwan Bae pinch-running and moving on contact.

Jackson Merrill are you serious?!

Ballgame over in San Diego! pic.twitter.com/Yft9v7GBgc

— MLB (@MLB) August 13, 2024

Merrill’s outstanding play condemned the Pirates (56-62) to their eighth straight defeat, a season-worst skid, encapsulating a rough stretch dating back to the end of July that’s seen the club fall rapidly out of the National League wild-card race.

“I think if you were painting it up for how the last 10 days have gone, that kind of sums it up right there,” manager Derek Shelton said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show following the 2-1 defeat.

“We’ve got the game-winning run at the plate in Bryan Reynolds and Jackson Merrill, who’s just killed us over the past week, makes a heck of a play on a ball. It’s a gutsy move, because he dives for it and we’re looking at a triple, the game’s tied, (but) he catches it.”

Since July 31, the Pirates are 1-10 with eight one-run losses.

It’s been a dealer’s choice of misfortune for the Pirates over that span, but primarily, a shaky bullpen and substandard starting pitching have been recurring themes.

Now might not seem like the time that anyone inside the Pirates clubhouse is searching for silver linings or tallying moral victories.

Yet Shelton does find encouragement in some of the team’s recent narrow losses, as frustrating as they have been.

“We’re right there. We continue to battle,” Shelton said. “We need a ball to fall. We need a break and we’re not getting them right now. We’ve just got to keep going and getting through it. It’d be different if our effort wasn’t good, if we weren’t continuing to play. We’re continuing to play (but) we just need a ball to fall for us.”

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Since the end of July, the Pirates have been swimming in treacherous waters, with little reprieve on the schedule from series to series.

The Pirates closed out July with a series win on the road vs. the Houston Astros, who currently lead the AL West, but from there, stumbled at home vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks and Padres, dropping five of six games between Aug. 2-8.

Then came three games on the road against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who sit atop the NL West, with the Pirates getting swept.

“Showing up every day, I think we’re more than doing that,” Shelton said. “We’re playing the hottest team in baseball right now. We’re catching a stretch where we’re playing the two hottest teams in baseball in Arizona and San Diego.”

The Pirates’ challenging stretch continues with two more games in San Diego followed by a brief three-game homestand from Aug. 16-18 against the Seattle Mariners (63-56).

Heading into their second of three games against the Padres, an argument could be made for the Pirates having already imploded sufficiently to have put the club out of reach of an NL wild-card spot.

After all, Tuesday morning finds the Pirates six games back and in last place in the NL Central.

Regardless of results, Shelton insists that the Pirates still have a strong pulse.

“We’ve got to find a ball to fall or a play to make,” Shelton said. “Something’s going to happen. If the effort wasn’t there, it would be a different conversation but, as I think everyone can see, the effort is there every night.”