Pirates Hoping Marcell Ozuna’s Latest Performance a Catalyst for Turnaround
Photo provided by Matt Lynch Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly has maintained all along that designated hitter Marcell Ozuna would start heating up soon. Maybe Tuesday’s game was the start of that. The 35-year-old went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI — his first extra-base hit and first run batted in on the season — in the Pirates’ 5-4 loss to the Washington Nationals at PNC Park.
“He’s been swinging the bat better,” Kelly said after the game. “He’s been working hard like we talked about. Hopefully it’s a catalyst for him.
” In his first at-bat, Ozuna went the other way for a single to right field to leadoff the second inning. In his next trip to the plate, Ozuna roped an RBI double to left field and plated Brandon Lowe from second base. Though he had nothing else to show for the rest of the game, Ozuna made hard contact in each of his next to at-bats.
He battled back from being down in the count 0-2 to work it full, hit a sharp grounder to third base and reached on a Jorbit Vivas throwing error. In the eighth, he lined out sharply to left-center filed on what looked like potential extra bases. “We just need to stick to that approach,” said Kelly.
“Continue to do what we’ve been doing and square the ball up like we did tonight. ” Entering play, Ozuna had only three hits in 44 at-bats to start the season after signing a one-year, $12 million free agent deal that also comes with a mutual option for 2027 in the offseason. Things got so bad that fans in attendance at PNC Park booed Ozuna when his named was announced over the speakers or after he failed to reach base.