3 Takeaways From Pittsburgh Pirates First Home Series Of 2019

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PITTSBURGH, PA – APRIL 03: Adam Frazier #26 of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits an RBI single in the second inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park on April 3, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

Hitting with men on base is still a problem

After struggling with runners in scoring position against the Reds over the weekend, those woes continued against the Cardinals. In Monday’s extra inning loss the team left 18 runners on base. This is often times a death nail in a 1-run game.

Pirate batters finished Monday’s game just 1-for-10 with two walks and a hit by pitch with RISP. They also mustard just one run, on a solo home run by Colin Moran, over the course of the final five innings of the game despite getting at least one base runner in four of those five innings.

The RISP woes carried over into Wednesday night when the Bucs went 1-for-14 with four walks with men in scoring position. The Pirates also left another 18 men on base in Wednesday night’s loss.

Through the first two series of the season the Pirates are an atrocious 3-for-41 with RISP. Hitting with RISP was a major issue for the Pirates in 2018 as well. If this proves to be a trend for the 2019 season, then it will be a long year for the Pirate offense. This lineup does not have enough power to make up for not hitting with RISP.

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