PHOENIX — Whether it has been avoiding consecutive losses for a long stretch or quickly eliminating the stench of last week’s St. Louis series, the Pirates have done an excellent job this season of staying even-keeled.
But with a six-game road trip to Arizona and San Francisco, there’s an opportunity for more, to truly send a message to rest of Major League Baseball.
Pittsburgh arrives at Chase Field with a record of 19-16 — 11-9 at home, 8-7 on the road. Meanwhile, the next three teams they play — the Diamondbacks, Giants and Rockies — all have losing records.
Not only that, they’ve fallen on some hard times. Arizona has lost four in a row and seven of 10. A Diamondbacks starting pitcher hasn’t gone at least six innings since Michael Soroka did it back on April 17. Manager Torey Lovullo’s club just completed a 2-6 road trip culminating with a sweep to the Cubs.
Arizona’s pitching staff has the second-worst ERA in MLB at 5.07.
Meanwhile, the Giants have a -33 run differential that ranks next-to-last in the National League. Their pitchers have been solid, but San Francisco has scored just 109 runs, last in MLB.
“With the group we have, the leadership in the clubhouse, the way they continue to fight for and with each other and go out there and compete, that’s really what it’s going to take as we go through the season,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “That Pittsburgh mentality of grit, fight, toughness and to continue to play like what was evident in this homestand.”
The Pirates have also seen some important trends recently.
Since Konnor Griffin turned 20, he’s hitting .405 with a 1.139 OPS over the past 10 games, while Nick Gonzales has hit .426 over his last 14 games (since April 19), ranking No. 1 in MLB during that time.
With a left-hander (Eduardo Rodriguez) on the mound Tuesday, it would make sense to hit Gonzales second, rest Brandon Lowe and maybe bump Griffin out of the No. 8 spot.
The concern for the Pirates on Tuesday should be Bubba Chandler, who’s 1-3 with a 4.97 ERA. It stands out on a starting staff that has the seventh-lowest ERA in MLB (3.69) and one that ranks sixth in WHIP (1.18) and batting average against (.221).
Pittsburgh needs Chandler to look like the dominant version of himself, the one with fastball command who attacks and throws strikes. A strong start would set the Pirates up well for Paul Skenes Wednesday and Mitch Keller in the series finale.
“Confidence is a big thing,” Chandler said after his last start. “It doesn’t matter if you have the worst stuff in the world. If you’re pitching with confidence, you’re gonna go out there and have fun, probably look up at the end of it, see a lot of zeroes and put your team in a good spot to win. I think it’s coming. May’s gonna be a good month.”
Look out for …
Former Pirate Ildemaro Vargas, now with the Diamondbacks, was named the National League Player of the Month for March/April on the strength of a 24-game hitting streak to start the season.
Among players with at least 50 plate appearances, he ranked second in batting average (.378), fourth in slugging (.689) and fifth in OPS (1.087).
Vargas’ hitting streak was snapped on Saturday but was still the longest to start a season since Detroit’s Ron LeFlore hit safely in 30 consecutive games to begin the 1976 campaign.
It’ll be weird …
Kelly won’t manage the Pirates on Tuesday, as he’ll serve a one-game suspension relative to Chris Devenski throwing inside on Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart Saturday.
Bench coach Kris Negron will run the team in Kelly’s absence.
Question mark
Oneil Cruz has cooled off some since he was red hot in mid-April, hitting .213 with a .670 over his past 10. But Cruz had a strong series against the Reds, going five for 15 in three games and driving in the Pirates’ only run on Sunday.
Cruz is a .304 lifetime hitter against Arizona, with a .998 OPS that includes four homers and eight extra-hits in 15 games when facing the Diamondbacks.
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH.