Do the Pirates have a "left on base" problem?

One thing that gets overlooked about this year's Pirates team is their ability to capitalize on opportunities when presented. Even when they're not hitting terribly well, they're not leaving ducks on the pond, so to speak. On the season the Pirates rank first in the majors in both left on base (totaling each individual player's LOB per game) and team left on base (totaling the number of players left on base at the end of each inning per game). Pirates batters are leaving a total of 12.49 runners on base per game. They're the only team that's under 13. As a team, they leave only 6.11 runners on per game. Cincinnati, by comparison, ranks 16th, leaving 6.82 runners per game. St. Louis ranks last in the majors with 7.45.

Lately, though, the Pirates have been noticeably worse in these categories. They are squandering far too many run-scoring opportunities. Over the last three games, for instance, the Pirates as a team have left an average of nine runners on base per game. That's good for 27th in the majors. Over that same span, Pirates players are leaving 16.33 runners on base per game. That's over four runners worse than their season average. It has to be a concern.

It's also correlating to a similar discrepancy in runners left in scoring position. Over the last three games, the Pirates are leaving four runners in scoring position a game. That puts them in the bottom half of the league, whereas on the season they rank a healthy fifth. Part of what has contributed to the problem is an increase in hitting into double plays. There have been plenty of the rally-killing variety of late, at least a couple of times with the bases loaded and one out.

The Pirates have been remarkably good in this area on the season, but it's really hurt them since the All-Star break and has prevented them from building big leads or mounting late-game comebacks. If the Pirates are going to hold off the Cardinals and make the playoffs, they'll need to maximize their opportunities because they're simply not built to out-slug their division opponents.