The Pittsburgh Pirates arrive at their series against the San Francisco Giants with a different look and a better start than most expected after seven straight losing seasons. Pittsburgh is 10-8 on the road and brings a lineup that was reworked over the offseason after a 434-598 run that left the club with the second-worst record in baseball behind Colorado.
That overhaul has shown up in the box score. Ryan O’Hearn, signed to a two-year, $29 million deal after the Pirates’ reported four-year, $125 million offer to Kyle Schwarber was turned down, has given Pittsburgh an.824 OPS. Brandon Lowe, acquired for right-hander Mike Burrows in a three-team deal with the Rays and Astros, leads the Pirates with 10 home runs and a.941 OPS. Bryan Reynolds has stayed in the lineup every day and is hitting.254/.399/.410, while Oneil Cruz’s move from shortstop to center field has come with a.773 OPS. Even in the lower half of the order, the numbers have been uneven: Marcell Ozuna is hitting.186/.256/.288 in 129 plate appearances, and Joey Bart has a.619 OPS with 19 strikeouts and two walks in 54 plate appearances.
The Pirates needed that kind of production because last season’s problems ran deep. Pittsburgh finished with a 4.58 team ERA, 26th in the majors, and ranked 29th in runs scored, a combination that made almost every game feel like a stretch. This year, the pitching has been the stronger side, with the staff ranked third at 5.3 fWAR and the club carrying a -23.8 mark in Defensive Runs Above Average that still leaves room for pressure on the fielding behind it.
The Giants, meanwhile, come in on the opposite track. San Francisco was 1-5 in May and had lost eight of nine games entering the series, with its pitching ranked 24th at 2.0 fWAR. The club has largely stood pat on the lineup while leaning on high-upside arms, but the results have not followed. That leaves a contest between a Pittsburgh team that has at least found some early-life answers and a San Francisco club still waiting for its offense to catch up.
There is one more name worth watching. Konnor Griffin, 20, has hit.257/.320/.389 with two homers, nine walks and 36 strikeouts in his first 125 major league plate appearances. Pittsburgh does not need him to solve everything now, but he fits the broader picture: a team trying to build something new after years of the same results. For a series that opens with two clubs moving in different directions, that may be the clearest storyline of all.
