Until the Pirates sat him for a few games during their recent West Coast road trip, Starling Marte had been struggling — especially against left-handed pitching. When asked on that trip what changed against lefties, Marte seemed exasperated.
“I don’t know!” Marte said at the time. “I don’t know. I’m trying to figure out what happened. I don’t know. I have no idea.”
In the Pirates’ 2-0 shutout of the Washington Nationals at PNC Park, Marte gave yet another sign that he seems to have addressed whatever caused his downward spell. Marte was hitting .211 with three homers and a .