Diary of a long suffering Pirates fan: Games 23-26. How do we keep losing to these guys?

In the two losses to Milwaukee, Tellez did not record a hit.

Tellez’s misery at the plate was probably best personified in his last at-bat on Wednesday.  With the Pirates trailing 3 to 2 in the eighth, Tellez struck a low inside pitch solidly and golfed it high and deep to right center field.  On a warmer day, it may have been a home run.  But in the cold Pittsburgh April air, the ball just died and landed in the glove of right fielder, Sal Frelick for the third out of the inning.  The look of dejection and disbelief on Tellez’s face following the out was telling.  It was a look that asked the heavens, “How am I ever going to get a hit in this ballpark when my best-struck balls just die in the outfield?”

But there is the old saying that misery loves company.  And Tellez has plenty of company from his teammates.  For, unfortunately, Tellez is not the only Pirate slumping.  Let’s review:

Michael Taylor is batting .125 in his last 7 games and .186 in his last 15.

Jared Triolo is batting .136 in his last 7 games and .200 in his last 15.

Henry Davis is also batting .136 in his last 7 games and .156 in his last 15.

Edward Olivares is batting .087 in his last 7 games and .222 in his last 15.

That’s a lot of outs being recorded in the past two weeks by these five players.  And not surprisingly, the Pirates have had difficulty scoring runs in the past two weeks.

The shame of it is that the Pirates could easily have won all four games against Milwaukee.  Christian Yelich was out for the series and without his bat, the Milwaukee lineup was certainly less intimidating and easier to navigate through for Pirates pitchers.  Or at least that is what it appeared to look like in the first two games of the series won by the Pirates.