Pirates' recent strikeout woes raise concern for team taking next step in 2025

When the Pittsburgh Pirates lost 1-0 to the Texas Rangers on a walk-off single, it was easy to pin the blame on David Bednar for blowing yet another save. When they followed the loss with a 7-0 rout of the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday, it was easy to call their offensive effort a successful one, based on the final score alone.

In both cases, these easy analyses are not incorrect; but they are incomplete, as they fail to take into account the troublesome trend that haunts the Pirates in wins and losses alike: their strikeout rate.

Make no mistake – this is not meant to be a vindication of Bednar or a slight to the pitching staff who held Cincinnati scoreless in Thursday's win. But the Pirates struck out 30 times over 54 outs in Wednesday's and Thursday's games combined. That's almost impressively bad.

Pittsburgh racked up 16 strikeouts in Wednesday's loss alone. That's 16 times in 27 outs that they failed to put the ball in play, 16 missed opportunities to induce a fielding or throwing error, advance a runner or – heaven forbid – score that runner.

The Pirates lead the league in games decided by one run, and they have a losing record in those games. It's not because they're not hitting in the clutch; it's because they're not hitting, period.

Coaching deserves lion's share of blame for Pirates' strikeout woes

To be clear, this week isn't a one-off example; in the Pirates' series against the San Diego Padres last week, they recorded 29 strikeouts over back-to-back games (15 and 14, respectively). The Pirates rank fourth in MLB in strikeouts and fourth from last in OPS; coincidence? We think not.

There's plenty of blame to go around for the abomination that is the Pirates' offense, but let's start with the fact that they have a hitting coach who doesn't coach hitting. Andy Haines preaches an inflexible plate strategy that prioritizes running up pitch counts over getting balls in play, regardless of the game situation. Whether there are two outs or runners in scoring position, Pittsburgh's offensive approach doesn't change: work the next ball, even if it comes at the expense of making contact.

When you take an all-or-nothing approach, you have a 50% chance of ending up with nothing. That's where the Pirates are now, and yet, they continue to double down on a strategy that clearly isn't working.

To be fair, the blame doesn't rest solely on Haines. Manager Derek Shelton could be at fault for his poor lineup management, as could general manager Ben Cherington for failing to provide the team with a legitimate upgrade on offense in his five years running the team. But the Pirates are refusing to budge from an organizational hitting philosophy that has proven to be ineffective, and at a certain point, inaction becomes an action in and of itself.

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