Ben Cherington Explains Pirates' Stunning Transformation Into Contenders originally appeared on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Add SportsNet Pittsburgh as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
After seven straight losing seasons and a decade without a playoff berth, the Pittsburgh Pirates are back.
After taking two of three from the Colorado Rockies this week, the Pirates enter play on Friday with a 24-20 record and a plus-32 run differential. They rank sixth in runs per game, eighth in ERA and have a 58.9 percent chance of reaching the postseason, according to FanGraphs.
Led by reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh's pitching has remained elite. The offense has taken a massive step forward, however, improving from 30th in scoring last year to sixth this year.
After averaging 3.6 runs per game last year, the Pirates are averaging 5.0 runs per game this year — a whopping 38.9 percent increase. If they keep it up, they'll become the first Pittsburgh team to average five runs per game since 1940.
Pirates GM Ben Cherington credits this year's deeper lineup, which he bolstered by adding Brandon Lowe, Ryan O'Hearn and Marcell Ozuna over the offseason.
“The simplest thing is we’re deeper, and we have fewer guys that are struggling as big-league hitters,” Cherington told Tyler Kepner of The Athletic (subscription required). “I think it’s sustainable, because I actually don’t believe we’ve gotten to our best offense yet. We’re not quite clicking against left-handed starters.”
To Cherington's point, Pittsburgh has struggled against southpaw starters, slashing just .219/.296/.372 against them. Most of the club's top bats are left-handed, so if that doesn't improve, he may need to pursue a right-handed bat at the trade deadline.
Cherington also credited several holdovers for taking a step forward this year, including Skenes and Oneil Cruz, the latter of whom finally seems to be realizing his awesome potential.
“He just seems more mature, physically and mentally,” Cherington said. “I think it started at the end of last year, just with his clarity that, ‘OK, this is not what I want to be, I want to be more than this,’ and he put in some really good work this offseason."
So did Cherington, and it's already paying off.
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