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Pirates confident their cool bats will heat up
- Updated: August 23, 2016
PITTSBURGH — Monday night brought cooler evening air than PNC Park has felt most of the summer, but what played out on the field followed a more familiar script.
The Pirates got the pitching they needed in a series-opening 3-1 loss to the Astros, but their bats were too often silent. Pittsburgh lost its fourth straight game, and the offense has produced a total of nine runs in those four losses.
Credit Astros right-hander Doug Fister, whose fastball sank and ran, but rarely found the middle of the strike zone for seven scoreless innings. But this was not an isolated incident.
The Pirates have the second-lowest OPS (.688) in the Majors through 19 games this month, batting a collective .237/.327/.361 and averaging 4.16 runs per game. It hasn’t been enough to support an improved pitching staff that’s posted a 3.45 ERA in August, the fifth-lowest mark in the Majors and second only to the Cubs’ 2.60 ERA in the National League.
“It just seems like we’re on the field a lot longer than when we’re hitting. It’s not about our pitching. It’s about our offense,” third baseman …
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