Pirates making worst kind of franchise history should sound Ben Cherington alarm

Emma Lingan

Atlanta Braves v Pittsburgh Pirates / Justin Berl/GettyImages

The Pittsburgh Pirates' offensive struggles are nothing new. On Tuesday against the New York Mets, however, they reached a franchise-worst level. What does that tell us? Derek Shelton wasn't the problem. That would be Ben Cherington, who should be on notice next.

The Pirates managed just one run – on a bases-loaded walk, no less – in another loss. It was the 18th consecutive game in which they scored four or fewer runs, the longest such streak in franchise history. During that 18-game span, the Pirates have a 5-13 record and a team batting average of .207.

It's not like this is an isolated slump, either. Pittsburgh's offensive numbers for the entire season are even more concerning. The Pirates currently sit in dead last in the league in total runs scored with 130. That's right, even the Colorado Rockies, who have won a whopping seven games in 2025, have scored more runs than the Pirates have this season. It doesn't get much bleaker than that.

Pirates make worst kind of franchise history in yet another loss to Mets

Including Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Mets, the Pirates have managed just 28 runs over the last 15 days. That's the lowest total in all of Major League Baseball. To drive the point home further, the Detroit Tigers – who have the league's highest run total in that same span – have racked up 94 runs during that stretch. Both teams have played 13 games in the same 15-day span.

It doesn't help that Pittsburgh's top offensive weapons, Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds, have both been mired in hitting slumps. Cruz has cooled off in a big way, hitting .189 and striking out 17 times over his last 37 at-bats, while Reynolds has been wildly inconsistent and is hitting .102 in May.

Still, even with Cruz and Reynolds at their best, this Pirates' lineup isn't scaring anybody. Firing the manager isn't going to change that. As the Pirates continue to finish near the bottom of the league in nearly every offensive category each year, the front office remains maddeningly committed to "waiting for internal improvements" as their only strategy. And that is precisely how the Pirates ended up with the worst offense in baseball.

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Emma Lingan

Emma Lingan is an MLB Staff Writer for FanSided primarily covering the Pittsburgh Pirates. She has been covering baseball for more than a decade dating back to her time as a student at Wake Forest University, and she has won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. National Team delegation (2016 Pan-American Championships & 2017 World Baseball Classic). She is also a credentialed NHL reporter and a member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. You can follow her @Emma Lingan on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.