With 'no magic elixir' for 10-game losing streak, Pirates are hoping a day off does the trick

If there was a simple solution to snapping a 10-game losing streak, Derek Shelton swears he would have done it by now. The Pittsburgh Pirates are down to hoping a day off does the trick.

“There’s no magic elixir,” Shelton said. “If there was, I’d be using it already. Just got to keep going.”

The Pirates appear to be as exasperated as they are exhausted while enduring their longest losing streak in a decade, since dropping 10 consecutive in Clint Hurdle’s first season as manager in 2011. So they welcomed Thursday as an off day on their schedule before hosting Cleveland for a weekend series at PNC Park.

“We’ve dropped the last 10. Obviously, not ideal by any means,” Pirates pitcher Chase De Jong said after Wednesday’s 3-1 loss at Washington. “To have the off day and reset, we’re going home. We’re going to get prepared. This is a game where it’s a grind. To have that 24 hours where we can go home, be with our families a little bit, get away from the game a little bit, be refreshed and come into it ready to hit the ground running, I think it will be good for us.”

The Pirates can take some solace in knowing it could be worse. The 2010 club lost 12 in a row on its way to a 57-105 record.

To say the Pirates are on the brink of matching that skid is an understatement. The 2010 losing streak started June 6 and lasted until June 18, dropping their record to 23-44. This one started June 6, will last until at least June 18 and has dropped their record to … 23-44.

The 2010 Pirates were outscored 58-31 in those 12 games. These Pirates have been outscored 49-22 in the last 10. They have lost two games by one run, three by two runs and four by three runs.

“We’ve had some not-great luck over these last few, but … we’re playing in close ballgames,” De Jong said. “That’s what this team needs to try to do, is keep the score close. We’re going to end up winning some of these 4-2, 3-2 games.”

It hasn’t helped that Shelton is keeping a short hook with his starting pitchers, who have thrown a combined 47 ²⁄₃ innings with only three starts of six innings. That has taxed the bullpen, which has been the backbone of the pitching staff until recently.

Pirates pitchers also have allowed 10 homers to account for 16 of the runs scored by their opponents, including leadoff shots by Mookie Betts and Julio Urias, a grand slam to Yan Gomes and late-inning game-winners by Avisail Garcia, Kyle Schwarber and Josh Bell.

“The big factor is we have given up some home runs,” Shelton said. “I think we’ve just (seen) the pitches that we have not executed have been hit out of the ballpark.”

Shelton is seeking a more consistent approach at the plate, noting the Pirates are “vacillating between being over-aggressive and passive.” During the 10-game stretch, the top three in their order are being productive, as Adam Frazier is batting .270 (10 for 37), Ke’Bryan Hayes .281 (9 for 32) and Bryan Reynolds .303 (10 for 33).

But Shelton has shuffled the lineup to find the right mix in the middle and bottom of the order. Where Erik Gonzalez (.350) and Ben Gamel (.363) have been hot, Gregory Polanco (.161), Kevin Newman (.148), Phillip Evans (.193) and Ka’ai Tom (.050) are ice cold.

“It’s a tough time,” Reynolds said. “When things start going south, you might tend to mess with your approach a little bit. I think the off day will be good for us to reset, clear our minds and formulate a good plan for the upcoming series.”

Shelton continues to make the point that the Pirates are playing hard until the final out. Against the Nationals on Wednesday, they had runners on first and second base when Frazier came to bat with two outs in the ninth while trailing 3-1. If there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, it’s that the Pirates are showing no signs of quit.

“It would bother me if we didn’t continue to grind,” Shelton said. “We come up there with the winning run at the plate in the ninth inning. There was a situation where we saw guys were playing hard. Losing 10 in a row is frustrating, but if these guys weren’t getting after it, then we would have an issue. We don’t have that.”

Nor does Shelton have a wand to wave to end the Pirates’ losing streak, so they’ll have to look for something else up their sleeves to find a way to win.