The Pirates are in first place, even after losing to the Giants in front of a happily surprised near-capacity crowd in PNC Park. The question is whether they’re just getting started, or repeating last season’s multi-month run of relevance before going into a 19-43 tailspin that sealed the franchise’s 19th consecutive losing season.
Perhaps the killer in this particular ballgame was seeing the Giants put an early five-spot on the board, because if there’s one thing that has been a reliable cause for concern for this season’s Pirates, it’s their offense. However, things have improved considerably since June 1, as they’ve ratcheted things up to score 5.5 runs per game in their last 33 contests. Some of the solution has come from finally seeing Neil Walker hit, and part of it has come from busting up their Garrett Jones-Casey McGehee first-base platoon and using them to try and cover for the team’s biggest offensive problem: their galling lack of production from the outfield corners.
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