Pirates’ Infielder Looking For ‘Consistency’ Amid Hot Streak

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been an anomaly this season. They rank seventh in baseball in runs allowed per game, yet sit 20 games under .500. The only team above them in that category under .500 is the Kansas City Royals at 49-53.

Of course, the Pirates’ offense is last in baseball in runs scored per game. More often than not, they haven’t been able to put big numbers on the board. They were recently swept by the last-place Chicago White Sox, scoring seven runs in three games.

What makes Pittsburgh so frustrating is the flashes they’ve shown. They scored 30 runs over a three-game series with the New York Mets at the end of June. More recently, they swept the first-place Detroit Tigers in a three-game set, scoring 17 runs in the process.

First baseman Spencer Horwitz was the driving force of the offense against Detroit. Horwitz went 7-12 with seven RBIs in the series. On Wednesday, his second-inning grand slam was all the Pirates needed to beat the Tigers, 6-1.

Horwitz talked to the media about his hot streak after the game.

“I think, for me and the entire team, we gotta to continue to play better,” Horwitz said. “We’ve shown flashes of it. We’re sweeping teams that are in the playoffs right now, and last series, we got swept by a team that has a worse record than us, so we just need that consistency.”

Horwitz has only played in 51 games this season. He missed the beginning of the season due to a wrist injury. He’s still looking to find the offensive form he was in last season. He’s walking less and striking out more this season. His pitch recognition numbers are still solid, but the lefty is making less contact on swings. A delayed start to the season might have thrown his timing off, but the series against Detroit showed his offensive game still exists.

The first baseman is yet to hit arbitration, so while the trade deadline may see a roster shakeup, he’ll likely be involved in the next iteration of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

More MLB: Pirates Make MLB History With Shocking Sweep Of Tigers