Much of what lead to the Pittsburgh Pirates originally getting out to a division lead and twelve games above .500 involved a disciplined approach at the plate. Their hitters didn’t strike out a lot, while also walking a bunch.
In the month of May, it’s been quite the opposite. Detroit Tigers starter Michael Lorenzen came into the day with 19 K’s across 28 IP. He had a total of four strikeouts while throwing 14 IP in his last two starts combined. Against the Pirates on Tuesday night, Lorenzen threw six shutout innings, allowing five hits, two walks, and he struck out seven batters.
The Pirates starting rotation was handling opposing offenses for a while. Lately, anyone not named Mitch Keller has been struggling considerably, especially with striking out batters. Luis Ortiz left fans with big expectations after his abbreviated debut in 2022.
Since being called upon this season, he has struggled to mimic what initially grabbed fans attention. His slider and changeup have been missing bats, but he has leaned on a four-seam fastball that doesn’t.
After striking out only one batter in his 2023 season debut over five innings, he managed to strike out three Tigers’ hitters in three innings tonight. Unfortunately, that also came with seven hits, four walks, and four runs, with three of those being earned. His own error on a pick-off caused the unearned run.
One bright spot was the Pirates bullpen. Yohan Ramirez relieved Ortiz in the fourth inning after the first two batters reached. Ramirez ended up throwing 2.1 innings, allowing two hits, while striking out four batters. Duane Underwood Jr. covered the final 2.2 innings without allowing a run, giving up only a hit and one walk.
The offensive side of things included only five hits, including a double by Carlos Santana. They walked two times, versus 11 strikeouts.
The short two-game series concludes with the Pirates facing thriving lefty Eduardo Rodriguez. Maybe veteran Rich Hill can play stopper for a day in the Wednesday matinee. The Pirates then have off on Thursday.
