Pittsburgh Pirates: Road Trip Report Card #1

Offense Grade: C

Against the Cubs, the offense did its job. Against the Cardinals, the offense was what was separating the Pirates from coming back home with a 9-6 record instead of a 6-9 record. The offense did not get the job done in St. Louis. Three runs in three games are never acceptable, and hopefully, the offense will bounce back without Starling Marte.

The Pirates so far have been a prototypical #cantpredictball type of team. They were expected to be solid offensively while not as sound pitching wise, and so far, that has been the opposite of what has transpired.

The Pittsburgh Pirates pitching has been consistently good, while the offense has been inconsistent at best. The loss of Marte, the struggles of Josh Bell and the injury problems of Gregory Polanco have all contributed to the Pirates lack of punch on offense.

Without Marte, who would arguably be the most consistent bat in that lineup, the Pirates are a lot worse off. It is possible that the offense can gain legs as the season unfolds, as there is still plenty of talent there that could provide that. However, the change of circumstances that the Pirates suffered over the past week is troubling, to say the least.