Pirates offense has a lefty problem the Phillies made even louder

Just over a month after the Philadelphia Phillies came into PNC Park and shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates on back-to-back nights behind Cristopher Sánchez and Zack Wheeler, Sánchez did it to them again. This time, the setting changed. The result did not.

Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park, Sánchez carved through the Pirates for seven scoreless innings, striking out nine while allowing just three hits and two walks. By the time the Phillies’ bullpen finished off an 8-0 win, Pittsburgh had absorbed its seventh shutout loss of the season.

More importantly, the Pirates had absorbed another reminder that their offense has a clear and growing issue against left-handed pitching.

Sánchez struck out five of the first six batters he faced and didn't allow a hit until Nick Gonzales singled through the right side in the fourth inning. Billy Cook’s fifth-inning double was the Pirates’ only extra-base hit. Jared Triolo and Esmerlyn Valdez reached with early walks, but Pittsburgh never found the swing, sequence or timely hit needed to put any real pressure on Sánchez.

The Pirates left eight runners on base and went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Konnor Griffin, Bryan Reynolds, Marcell Ozuna and Endy Rodríguez each struck out multiple times. Griffin, who finished 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, credited Sánchez’s command, changeup and heavy sinker. Don Kelly pointed to the Pirates getting away from their approach early and trying to do too much.

Both things can be true. Sánchez was excellent. The Pirates also made life easier on him. That has been the uncomfortable pattern against left-handers all season.

Pirates struggling to hit left-handed pitching from both sides of the plate has been a recurring theme this season

Pittsburgh has the third-most strikeouts in MLB against lefties, with 246, and owns the eighth-worst OPS at .677. Four of the Pirates’ seven shutout losses have come with a left-handed starter on the mound.

That is a problem for a lineup that has otherwise been one of baseball’s better offenses. The Pirates lead MLB in hits, rank third in runs scored and sit second in OPS. This is not a bad offense. But it is an offense with a very specific flaw, and good teams are going to keep attacking it until the Pirates prove they can adjust.

And before we start pointing fingers at management, Kelly did try something different Tuesday. After Sánchez dominated the Pirates in May with a complete-game shutout and 13 strikeouts — a game in which Oneil Cruz, Ryan O’Hearn and Brandon Lowe combined to go 0-for-8 with five strikeouts — Kelly leaned into a different look. It didn't work, but it is hard to blame him for trying to avoid a repeat.

The bigger issue is that the Pirates can't keep treating left-handed starters like a puzzle they're still trying to solve in July. Whether the answer is lineup consistency, better pitch selection, more patience or simply trusting their best hitters regardless of handedness, something has to change.

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