3 Takeaways: Pirates Drop Opener in Oakland, Team Still not Hitting

The Pittsburgh Pirates scored one run in their 5-1 loss Monday, and that came on a wild pitch in the first inning.

After the first, the team managed just one hit, which didn’t take place until the ninth inning when game was all but sealed.

Here are three takeaways from a third loss in four games during what’s in danger of becoming an ugly West Coast swing for the Bucs.

WHEN WILL IT GET BETTER FOR PIRATES?

In a season that’s featured plenty of underwhelming offensive performances, this one was abnormally dreadful.

Oakland’s starter, Joe Boyle, came into the evening with a 7.06 ERA and 1.8 WHIP.

Nobody would have guessed that by watching him against the Pirates.

The only time Boyle struggled was in the first inning, when he walked two and threw three wild pitches. But through all of that, the Pirates only scored once. Boyle pitched four more innings and didn’t allow another hit.

“I think the starter, he didn’t really pitch to where he should have went that long in the game,” Ke’Bryan Hayes, who had one of two Pirate hits all night, told reporters afterward. “He was behind a lot. Walked quite a few. So with a guy like that, you got to figure out either how to get him out of the game quicker or be able to capitalize on his mistakes.”

The Pirates got Boyle out of the game fairly early but it didn’t matter.

So when does the offense finally break out of this funk?

“We’ve gotta figure out a way to get out of it,” manager Derek Shelton said. “We have to have more consistent at-bats. We put ourselves in position early in the game to score, to break the game open, and we did not. We have to keep working. We have to figure out how we need to get going.”

BAILEY FALTERS

Bailey Falter has been one of the Pirates’ biggest surprises this season.

After giving up five runs in the first inning to the Marlins Easter Sunday, Falter’s been superb, and through the first three innings Monday, he looked pretty solid, allowing just one run on two hits, striking out four and not walking anybody.

In the fourth and fifth innings, Falter gave up two runs each.

Shelton pointed out a contributing factor to this change, saying Falter cracked a nail in the fourth inning.

“He was having trouble gripping anything but the fastball,” Shelton said.

LET IT STING

Shelton didn’t want the team to be in a positive move after this one.

“No, we shouldn’t be in better spirits afterwards,” he said. “We’ve got to get better. This is a situation where we need to focus and we need to get better.”

We’ll see how of better the Pirates’ offense can get. Right now, it’s hard to imagine it being much worse.