Pirates fans can't even celebrate win over Reds as historic offensive woes drag on

The Pirates defeated the Reds 1-0 on Tuesday, marking a historic record-tying season for the Bucs; but not the kind fans are going to like. Even with a win, this team can't get good news.

Pittsburgh is 17 games under .500 as we enter late-May, and just racked up their 25th straight game scoring four runs or less. This record has stood for over 100 years, and the Bucs stand one game away from breaking it.

It has been no secret that the Pirates' offense has been horrible to start the season, but even Pirates fans don't fully comprehend how historically bad this team has been offensively. To make matters worse, there have been some bright spots on the mound, but the bats refuse to help.

Pirates' historically bad offense rears its ugly head in win vs Reds

The Pirates have lost 17 of their last 22 games because of their hitting; there's just no way around that. Despite not having the worst record in baseball, although they are close, their hitting stats resemble the worst team in baseball.

The Pirates are dead last in runs scored this season, with 16 fewer runs than the 8-40 Colorado Rockies. They are last in doubles and second-to-last in home runs, leading to a league-worst .318 slugging percentage.

The only thing keeping the Pirates from being at the bottom of nearly all hitting statistics is their 169 walks, ranking them in the top 10 in MLB.

Pittsburgh's only bright spot at the plate, Oneil Cruz, was off to a fantastic start after becoming the Bucs' leadoff hitter, but has entered a horrible slump. Cruz hit his eighth home run on April 26 and has fallen off a cliff since that day.

Ever since, Cruz is hitting an abysmal .137 with 28 strikeouts in 51 plate appearances — a 55% rate. Cruz was looking at a potential All-Star bid this season, but this 16-game stretch since his last long ball is significantly hurting his chances.

Even Bryan Reynolds, the Pirates' highest-paid hitter, has been horrible this season. Reynolds is nearing the Mendoza line with his batting average and has a -1.0 WAR.

To make matters worse, the Pirates' starting pitching has been very good in this stretch, but there's nothing they can do with the lack of run support given to them.

Paul Skenes has been great for the Pirates, logging a 2.44 ERA, but the Pirates have won just three of his 10 starts this season, including a complete game 1-0 loss on Sunday. Mitch Keller has been great in his last eight starts, posting a 3.16 ERA, but the Pirates lost seven of those, with five losses to Keller's name.

At this point, there is no saving this Pirates team. Their hitting prospect development, coupled with a lack of free agency spending, have left them with nowhere to turn. As trade rumors of Mitch Keller, Paul Skenes, and Andrew Heaney continue to heat up, things could get a lot more ugly for Pittsburgh.