CINCINNATI — Even the most optimistic crowd expected the Pirates to experience their fair share of problems in 2021.
But this? Likely not. Not this much, anyway. Not this soon.
Five games into the regular season, and things just keep getting worse for the Pirates, a steep slide since their opening day win against the Cubs. Tuesday in Cincinnati was easily the ugliest yet, a 14-1 laugher at Great American Ball Park in which the Pirates were thoroughly outclassed.
The Reds had a 17-5 edge in hits. Meanwhile, Cincinnati left fielder Tyler Naquin hit two balls that traveled a combined 867 feet. Trevor Cahill struggled mightily in his first Pirates start. Clay Holmes looked like the former version of himself. The defense was charged with yet another error.
Over the course of 2 hours, 35 minutes, the Pirates’ many flaws were exposed, the gap between them and the rest of the NL Central appearing wider than the Ohio River that runs behind the outfield boundary here.
Where to start with this one? How about the beginning, where Cahill made an absolutely horrible pitch to Naquin, who annihilated the 2-1 change-up. He pulled it to right field, driving the ball 454 feet with an exit velocity of 113.5 mph.
Naquin’s second homer came on another ugly pitch from Cahill, this one an elevated cutter that Naquin drove out to center for a three-run shot.
Second baseman Jonathan Indian dinged Cahill for a single between the Naquin homers, smacking a single to left past a diving Erik Gonzalez.
The Pirates (1-4) trailed, 5-0, after two and were seemingly out of the game shortly after it started.
If that wasn’t ugly enough, fast-forward to the fourth inning, when the wheels really came off. Cahill allowed a single to Reds center fielder Nick Senzel, then threw wildly to first on a pickoff attempt. That put Senzel on third, and he scored on a sacrifice fly.
The error is worth noting because they keep happening. General manager Ben Cherington and manager Derek Shelton insisted they were happy with the defensive progress they felt like the Pirates made during spring training. They seemed to really believe their club would fare better than their tied-for-the-MLB-worst error total in 2021.
If said progress was made, it has not yet transferred to the regular season. Through five games, the Pirates are again tied for the MLB lead in errors with seven.
If that wasn’t ugly enough, a Cahill wild pitch allowed Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart to advance to second — and eventually score on Naquin’s force out. It was their seventh wild pitch of the season, which is also tied for the MLB lead.
So, in addition to a lack of offense and starting pitching that had a wretched first time through the starting rotation, the Pirates are still struggling with fundamental plays.
Great. Just what they need.
As for the offense, there are just far too many guys scuffling at this point. Adam Frazier and Kevin Newman began the game hitting .214. Frazier went 0 for 4 and is now at .167. Anthony Alford doesn’t have a hit. Jacob Stallings made the final out and is hitting .154. Erik Gonzalez is at .083.
None of that mentions the player struggling the most: Gregory Polanco.
Against Cincinnati’s Wade Miley — who pitched in Houston but was likely never mistaken for Gerrit Cole — the Pirates mustered just two hits: doubles from Reynolds in the fourth and Newman in the sixth. Neither moved from second base.
Meanwhile, the Pirates began the game with a 29.1% strikeout rate that was ninth in MLB, according to FanGraphs. They struck out six times Tuesday — and it was one of their better games with whiffs. But there's no way they're making enough consistent contact at the plate.
Their only offense was a seventh-inning homer from Phillip Evans, who’s actually off to a strong start to the season. Evans, however, does not have much company.
After pitching hardly at all during spring training, Cahill insisted he was ready for the season. A career journeyman, Cahill believed he knew his body well enough that he didn’t need the spring innings.
Shelton, meanwhile, cited the work that Cahill did on the back fields, pitching in bullpens and live batting practice.
From the looks of things, Cahill might want to prioritize game work next spring.
He allowed seven earned runs on nine hits in four innings. Cahill did not walk anyone, which is rare for a Pirates starter, and struck out four. But he was nowhere near effective.
If this is what they’re going to get out of Cahill, they’d be better served plugging in Wil Crowe, Miguel Yajure or any other young arm they can find.
Once through the rotation, Pirates starters have a collective ERA of 7.11 (15 earned runs in 19 innings) to go along with 14 walks. That simply can’t happen. Pirates starters need to do a better job commanding the strike zone, and they know it.
Until Tuesday, the bullpen was actually one of the few bright spots of the team, although Clay Holmes struggled during an ugly fifth. Holmes gave up five runs and recorded just one out.
