As bad as Pirates are, another team is playing even worse; both could be losing for a long time
Jun. 18—Pirates fans should circle the dates of July 19-21. It's the second series coming out of the All-Star break.
That's when the Pirates (23-44) visit the Arizona Diamondbacks (20-50). So unless Major League Baseball implements ties between now and then, one of those teams is guaranteed to claim a victory.
Indeed, theoretically, someone absolutely cannot lose. Before then, however, I wouldn't rule out both teams losing every game they have.
I wouldn't necessarily bet money on it. It's unlikely. I mean, even the 1962 Mets won 40 times. But I wouldn't count out the possibility either.
After all, the two organizations have combined to lose 24 games in a row. Ten straight for the Pirates. Fourteen straight for Arizona, including a 10-3 defeat in San Francisco on Thursday. That was a Major League record-setting 23rd consecutive road loss, breaking a tie with the 1963 Mets and 1943 Philadelphia Athletics.
Note, I said that series between the clubs is in Arizona. So look out, Buccos! The D-Backs might have a chance.
Thursday's game was also Arizona's 28th loss in 30 tries. Yet, for a team that bad, Arizona's run differential is "only" minus-97. Somehow, the Pirates are even worse than them, at minus-100. That's the worst in Major League Baseball. The Baltimore Orioles (also losers of eight in a row) are the only other team within hailing distance at minus-82.
Of late, scoring runs has been a much bigger problem for the Pirates than preventing them. They've plated only 227 so far, the lowest total in baseball. By comparison, even the terrible Diamondbacks have scored 298, a decent 16th in the majors.
A lack of offense has been a particularly stark problem during the Pirates' recent slump. Throughout the 10-game funk, the Pirates have failed to score more than four runs in any game. That's a first in the last 53 years.
This is also the first losing streak of at least 10 games that we have seen in Pittsburgh since Clint Hurdle's first team in 2011.
Arizona's problem is that it has given up a ghastly 395 runs, 30 more than any other team. The Pirates have given up the ninth most at 327.
While I was admittedly exaggerating (kinda) by inferring that neither team would win before the All-Star break, there isn't a lot of light at the end of the tunnel for either club.
Derek Shelton's Pirates have nine straight games looming against the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals. All three teams are above .500. Cleveland and Chicago are the top two teams in the American League Central.
Then the Pirates might get a little bit of a break with a road trip to Denver so they can face the 29-41 Colorado Rockies.
That's nothing compared to Torey Lovullo's D-Backs. His players have 16 consecutive games coming up against teams with winning records — Los Angeles, Milwaukee, San Diego, St. Louis and San Francisco — before they get to host those same Rockies on July 6.
If you are wondering what the longest losing streak in MLB history is — and by now you should be — it was 26 games. That ignominious mark was set by the 1889 Louisville Colonels. In the modern era, the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies dropped 23 in a row.
Who knows? Those teams could be passed twice in the same season at this rate.
More embarrassing for those two franchises, though, is that they may have been trying to win. With the Diamondbacks and Pirates, I'm not so sure we can make the same claim.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
