Pirates Continue To Slug With Best In Baseball
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By: Josh Taylor, KDKA-TV Sports
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Pittsburgh Pirates collected only four hits in their 6-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies Monday night, but two of those hits were triples, tying them with the Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks for the most in Major League Baseball with six.
Francisco Cervelli hit his second triple of the season with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning, and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Colin Moran for the Pirates' first run of the game. Starling Marte drove in the other run with a two-out triple to left in the bottom of the sixth (one of his career high five hits) to score Gregory Polanco. It was Marte's third of the season, which also leads the majors.
Marte's .581 slugging percentage is currently tenth in the National League, and his .975 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) is 11th. Corey Dickerson is 15th with a .938 OPS, and Cervelli is 16th (.930).
The Pirates raised their total of extra base hits to 54, tied with Arizona for third in the National League and sixth in all of baseball. They also lead the National League in slugging percentage (.443), and are second in the league in OPS (.778), just behind the Atlanta Braves (.780).
The offense will have to find new ways to score runs without second baseman Josh Harrison, who started in 12 games this season at the leadoff spot. Harrison is on the 10-day disabled list with a broken hand and is expected to miss six weeks. Adam Frazier started at second and batted leadoff Monday against the Rockies, hitting 0-for-4 with a strikeout. The Pirates expect Frazier and Sean Rodriguez to split time at the position and recalled infielder Max Moroff from Triple-A Indianapolis to take Harrison's spot on the 25-man roster.
The Pirates hope to even the three-game series with the Rockies Tuesday night with Trevor Williams (3-0, 1.56 ERA) on the mound against Chad Bettis. The Pirates' starting lineup will be:
1. Sean Rodriguez, 2nd Base
2. Gregory Polanco, Right Field
3. Starling Marte, Center Field
4. Josh Bell, 1st Base
5. Corey Dickerson, Left Field
6. Francisco Cervelli, Catcher
7. Colin Moran, 3rd Base
8. Jordy Mercer, Shortstop
9. Trevor Williams, Pitcher
