Yes, it’s early, but there is much one can take away from the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 5-0 record to start 2024. The Pirates last started a season with a 5-0 record in 1983. That team stayed in the National League East Division race well into September, finishing second behind the eventual pennant-winning Philadelphia Phillies. This current 5-0 start is even more impressive because all the games have been played on the road. The national media has the Bucs pegged to win around 76 games. In Pittsburgh, those closer to the scene are predicting about 85 wins. To make that a reality, a few trends will have to continue.
Four Things to Know About the Pirates 5-0 Start
The Bullpen Has Been as Advertised
With Aroldis Chapman, Colin Holderman, Carmen Mlodzinski, and Ryan Borucki backing up All-Star closer David Bednar, it was thought that the Pirates had one of the top three bullpens in baseball. Arguably, they’ve been the best in baseball so far. With Holderman and Mlodzinksi on the injured list, Bednar’s availability and effectiveness are limited by lat tightness.
Over 23-1/3 innings, the bullpen is 4-0 with four saves, a 1.93 ERA, and a .772 WHIP. They’ve struck out 10.4 batters and walked 2.3 per nine innings. They’ve allowed just one of 11 inherited runners to score. One reason for adding Chapman as a free agent was so the Pirates could, as the saying goes, shorten the game. Manager Derek Shelton has been tasked with utilizing his deep bullpen in this fashion. He’s been on it like a cheap toupée. So far, only three of the five starters have gotten as far as the sixth inning. The Pirates’ starters have pitched just 24-2/3 innings thus far. More than the starters, the bullpen have been responsible for the Pirates’ 5-0 record.
Shelton is a Believer
Moreover, almost every move Shelton has made to the bullpen has turned gold. Note his bullpen usage in Miami against the Marlins. Jose Hernandez, on the roster only because Roansy Contreras was on the paternity list, earned the save on Opening Day. He has since been returned to the minors. On Friday, Ryder Ryan, making his second major league appearance, pitched out of a fifth inning, first-and-third jam with two strikeouts. Josh Fleming earned a three-inning save that same day. After Bednar blew the save on Sunday, Hunter Stratton earned the save at the bottom of the tenth. Fleming and Stratton were non-roster invitees to spring training. Hernandez was a Rule 5 selection in 2023.
On Monday against the Washington Nationals, the struggling Contreras entered the game in the sixth with no outs and stranded both inherited runners. He also gave up the tying home run in the next inning. Even so, the Pirates probably don’t win without Contreras performing some damage control in the sixth. Rightly or wrongly, regardless of pedigree or portfolio, Shelton believes in his guys. Expect him to go to the bullpen early and often in 2024.
Walk, Don’t Run
Wait, there’s more to the Pirates’ 5-0 record. This Pirates regime has preached, among other things, the importance of OBP. This year’s squad has taken it to heart. In 2023, the team’s OBP was .315, ranked 12th in the league. So far in 2024, the team’s OBP is .400. The reason, as one might imagine, is increased plate discipline and the willingness to take a base on balls. In five games, the Pirates have walked 32 times. Both the number of walks and the OBP lead all of MLB as of the close of Monday’s action.
What about those 32 walks? Six times, players who walked have scored. Another scored who had forced out a batter who walked. One walk occurred with the bases loaded, forcing in a run. Seven other walks advanced a runner who scored or extended an inning where runs were scored. All told walks directly or indirectly led to 15 of the 39 runs scored by the Pirates, or 38.46 percent. Unquantifiable is the effect these walks have had on running up pitch counts.
However, note that the Pirates’ 5-0 record was achieved while facing five left-handed starters. This has limited the playing time of Rowdy Tellez and Jack Suwinski, two left-handed batters with low career OBPs. It meant more playing time for Connor Joe, he of the career .345 OBP. Finally, on Wednesday evening, they’ll face a right-hander in Washington’s Trevor Williams, former Pirate and baseball’s biggest Code Orange fan. There’s an old baseball axiom to the effect that hitting is contagious. We’ll find out whether walking is infectious as well.
Put Me In, Coach
Pirates fans have criticized the much-maligned Shelton for changing the lineup so frequently. The daily lineups are informed by analytics. In the first five games, Shelton used five different starting lineups. Some of it was necessitated by Andrew McCutchen and Jared Triolo being rested after getting slightly banged up. However, most of it was because that’s what Shelton does. Facing a right-hander for the first time will surely mean a sixth different lineup. Don’t expect Shelton to change his ways any time soon.
Nor should he. In 1972, Pirates manager Bill Virdon used 117 different batting orders en route to a 96-win season in a strike-shortened year. In 1979, the Baltimore Orioles won 102 games as manager Earl Weaver used 140 batting orders. His most common batting order was used just three times. In the World Series alone, Weaver used six batting orders in the seven games. A set everyday lineup is vastly overrated and has little to do with winning. It didn’t impede the Pirates’ 5-0 record.
Meanwhile, all 13 Pirates’ position players have started games and contributed to wins. Sparky Anderson used to say that it was important to get the bench into some games during a winning streak. Thus, everybody on the team will feel he contributed something to the streak. This leads to players having confidence in themselves and one another, which isn’t bad. That’s always how Shelton has operated, scheduling days off in advance. Don’t bet on Cal Ripken Jr.’s record being challenged by anybody on a Shelton-led team.
The Last Word
None of this suggests that the Pirates will be a juggernaut in 2024. At the same time, the Pirates’ relief pitchers have a good track record. Furthermore, there’s no reason why their hitters can’t continue to practice plate discipline. The Pirates’ 5-0 record is a nice start, but there are 157 games left. It should be interesting with many top prospects expected in Pittsburgh by the summer. The rest of the season starts now.
Main Photo Credits: Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports
