Battlin Buccos: Late Offense Has Been a Blessing and a Curse
When talking about the Pittsburgh Pirates dynasty teams of the 1970s, the Pirates were often referred to as the Battling Buccos. They were known for their ability to be right in every single game they played and you could never count them out until the final out was recorded. This year's team has a similar knack for scoring runs late, and it has both helped them and hurt them throughout the season. The brief two-game series with the Chicago White Sox was just one example of how that can both help and hurt a team. On Tuesday night, the Pirates found themselves down 4-2 heading into the bottom of the eighth, and we're able to battle back with three runs in the final two innings to claim a 5-4 walk-off victory. Conversely, yesterday the Pirates offense couldn't get going until the eighth inning, but it was already too late as the team fell 8-1.
Resiliency is a nice thing to have and the Pirates have displayed that at times throughout the season. They continue to battle no matter what the score of the game is and try to give the fans the best show they can. It has been a frustrating year for many of Pittsburgh's big offensive weapons this year, so to see guys like Erik Gonzalez, Kevin Newman, and Cole Tucker orchestrating come from behind wins is nice to see. Today, we will look at the Pirate's late-game success and see how it has been both a blessing and a curse that has led them to their 14-27 record through the first 41 games of the 2020 season.
The Stats
It is no secret that so far in 2020 the Pittsburgh Pirates have been one of the worst offenses in Major League Baseball. As a team, the Pirates rank 28th out of 30 teams with 160 runs scored through their first 41 games for an average of 3.9 runs per game. However, when it comes to late-game offense, the stats look a little more in the Pirates favor. The Bucs have scored 38% of their runs (62) in the seventh inning of the game or later. That mark ranks them 12th in Major League Baseball ahead of the New York Mets (60), Detroit Tigers (59), and New York Yankees (58). They added another run to that total last night in their 8-1 loss to the White Sox when catchers interference brought in a run with the bases loaded and two out.
The guys who are leading the way in these late-inning comebacks might surprise you because of their struggles this season. Josh Bell (.286) has the highest batting average in the seventh inning or later while Colin Moran (4) leads in home runs and Adam Frazier (8) leads in RBI. Frazier has the most at-bats with runners in scoring position and has been taking advantage of his opportunities. As a group, the Pirates have scored four of their last six runs in the seventh inning or later, including a walk-off win on Tuesday night. Of the Pirates 14 wins this season, seven of them are come from behind victories, as the team has scored runs against the oppositions best relievers.
One of the best examples of this was against the Milwaukee Brewers in what turned out to be a 7-6 loss. The Pirates entered the ninth inning down by one and they had to face Brewers closer, Josh Hader. The Pirates showed a patient approach at the plate drawing five walks against Hader and two of those walks brought home the Pirates runs. Hader could only get one out in the inning before having to be removed. Unfortunately, the Pirates couldn't add on after that and ended up falling on an untimely two-run home run in the bottom of the inning. they could have folded against one of the best closers in the league, but they showed they will fight and work good at-bats until the game is over.
The Good and The Bad
Scoring so many runs late as both it's benefits and it's downfalls for the team in the long-run. On the good side of things, it makes for exciting games to watch throughout the season. No matter what the score of the game is, you want to be sure to watch to see if the Pirates are going to be able to come back. Guys like Bell, Moran, and Frazier become more exciting to watch because they have been coming up clutch, and you have that hope that they will do it again in another big situation. Walk-off wins become more relevant and the Pirates have already provided two of those in the last week against the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago White Sox.
However, the bad side is that if the Pirates get too far behind, their chances of a comeback victory start to diminish. With the struggles that both the starting rotation and the bullpen has had to go through this season, it has made some come back efforts by the offense futile. The Pirates bullpen has been better as of late, dropping their team ERA by almost one hundred points, and it has led to the Pirates having success. After a 4-17 starts, the Pirates are 9-11 in their last 20 games to get their record back to a respectable number. They are still eyeing that possible #1 spot in next year's MLB draft, but they have 19 games left to show what their talent has for next year.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (14-27) are off today, but return to action on Friday when they go on the road to face the Kansas City Royal (16-28). Steven Brault (0-2, 4.37) looks to end his season strong when he takes the mound for the Pirates against Kris Bubick (0-5, 4.89) for the Royals. You can watch the game live on AT&T Sportsnet or listen at 93.7 The Fan with first pitch scheduled for 8:05 pm.
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