PITTSBURGH _ It's actually one of the areas where the Pirates thought they would be OK _ offense.
Sure, the pitching lacked in 2019, especially the bullpen. But even though the Pirates' lineup did not feature the thump of, say, the Minnesota Twins, it figured to be functional.
Six games into the 2020 season, and Pittsburgh's offense has fallen below expectations, the latest example coming Wednesday in the series finale against the Brewers, a 3-0 loss at PNC Park as Brandon Woodruff tossed 6 1/3 innings of one-hit ball.
The Pirates' lone hit was a dribbler by Phillip Evans. They struck out 14 times. And, for the fourth time in six games thus far, they did not have more than one extra-base hit. Against the Brewers, they had none.
The trouble spots have come from the players on which the Pirates (2-4) thought they could count, too:
_ Josh Bell, an All-Star a year ago, is off to a .174 (4 for 23) start with seven strikeouts.
_ Bryan Reynolds, their Rookie of the Year candidate, is hitting just .100 (2 for 20) with seven strikeouts.
_ Though he did not play Wednesday, shortstop Kevin Newman has started the season in a 1-for-16 funk.
_ And Adam Frazier, the hero Tuesday with a two-run homer in the eighth, is hitting .125 (3 for 24) with four strikeouts.
While the Pirates have definitely scored less than last season _ they're averaging 3.8 runs per game, down from 4.7 _ it's actually not terrible. Before Wednesday, nine teams had totaled more runs, while the White Sox were tied.
The bigger problem is with sustainable performances coming from guys who are counted upon to do that sort of stuff. If the Pirates are going to compete, they're clearly going to need more out of the aforementioned group.
Pitching-wise, the Pirates actually got another decent start, this time from Joe Musgrove. It just mattered little because of the lack of offense.
On one hand, Musgrove's slider was terrific, the right-hander controlling it well the entire night. Musgrove stuck out eight Brewers, and six of those came via the slider. Musgrove went with a sinker and a curveball for the other two.
In 91 pitches (59 strikes), Musgrove threw 26 four-seam fastballs, 21 curveballs, 17 sliders, 12 changeups, 11 sinkers and four cutters, according to BaseballSavant.com. Of the 14 swinging strikes Musgrove recorded, half came on his slider.
At the same time, Musgrove once again struggled with the home run, coughing up another two.
Center fielder Ben Gamel gave the Brewers a 2-0 lead with his two-run shot in the third inning. Musgrove missed with a 1-0 change-up, and Gamel got pretty much all of it, the 408-foot shot clearing the right-field stands.
In the sixth, Pirates nemesis Keston Hiura led off with a home run to center, giving the Brewers a 3-0 lead, Milwaukee's second baseman has recorded 52 at-bats at PNC Park in his short career, and seven of them have ended with a home run trot.
Still, by allowing three earned runs over 5 2/3 innings, Musgrove gave his team a chance to win. But the Pirates, who began the day hitting a National League-worst .194, endured another sleepy night at the plate.
After rallying for six runs in the final two innings Tuesday, the Pirates were not to maintain that offensive momentum. Instead, they made Woodruff look like a Cy Young candidate.
While Woodruff did go 11-3 with a 3.62 ERA in 2019, he is human, though you wouldn't have known it by how the Pirates fared.
It took until Gregory Polanco's flyout to left field in the fifth inning for the ball to leave the infield. Woodruff retired 17 in a row until he walked Evans to lead off the seventh inning.
Not that it mattered. He recovered by striking out Bell, and David Phelps came into the game to whiff Colin Moran and Reynolds.
In all, Woodruff worked 6 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out 10, his pitch mix consisting largely of sinkers, four-seam fastballs and change-ups. The Pirates fouled off 18 pitches and simply weren't able to get the barrel on a solitary thing.
