The Pirates have hit a rough patch recently, losing 4 in a row and 8 of their last 11, and the offense has been taking all the blame. While you can't argue that the offensive production has been the Pirates biggest problem this year, the starting pitching hasn't exactly been great recently either. The staff was excellent the entire first half, but now we are seeing signs of regression. Let's take a close look (BAA = batting average against, SLGA = slugging percentage against, ZiPS = statistical predictor):

Kevin Correia:
Last Start (7/28): 6.1 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K Last 3 Starts: 17.0 IP, 22 H, 5.82 ERA, .324 BAA, .516 SLGA, 3 HR, 5 BB, 9 K Last 5 Starts: 26.2 IP, 37 H, 6.08 ERA, .339 BAA, .514 SLGA, 4 HR, 7 BB, 17 K Rest of Season ZiPS: 4.74 ERA, .282 BAA

Paul Maholm:
Last Start (8/1): 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K Last 3 Starts: 19.0 IP, 25 H, 4.74 ERA, .342 BAA, .562 SLGA, 2 HR, 5 BB, 13 K Last 5 Starts: 31.2 IP, 38 H, 3.98 ERA, .319 BAA, .513 SLGA, 3 HR, 6 BB, 24 K Rest of Season ZiPS: 4.43 ERA, .279 BAA

James McDonald:
Last Start (7/30): 5.0 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K Last 3 Starts: 16.2 IP, 22 H, 2.70 ERA, .310 BAA, .423 SLGA, 2 HR, 5 BB, 21 K Last 5 Starts: 28.2 IP, 34 H, 3.14 ERA, .293 BAA, .422 SLGA, 4 HR, 10 BB, 32 K Rest of Season ZiPS: 4.13 ERA, .254 BAA

Jeff Karstens:
Last Start (7/31): 7.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K Last 3 Starts: 19.0 IP, 20 H, 3.32 ERA, .286 BAA, .357 SLGA, 1 HR, 6 BB, 9 K Last 5 Starts: 35.0 IP, 32 H, 2.06 ERA, .252 BAA, .323 SLGA, 2 HR, 6 BB, 14 K Rest of Season ZiPS: 5.14 ERA, .288 BAA

Charlie Morton:
Last Start (7/29): 4.0 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 4 K Last 3 Starts: 14.1 IP, 18 H, 5.65 ERA, .316 BAA, .509 SLGA, 2 HR, 11 BB, 10 K Last 5 Starts: 25.1 IP, 29 H, 4.97 ERA, .290 BAA, .470 SLGA, 3 HR, 14 BB, 17 K Rest of Season ZiPS: 4.83 ERA, .279 BAA

The staff as a whole has a 4.40 ERA in its last 15 starts, and a 3.90 ERA in its last 25 starts. Their recent struggles have been slightly overshadowed by the extreme lack of offense, but it should be noted that the are regressing back to where we expected them to be.

Even with the 4.40 ERA they've posted in the last 15 games, they are still out performing their expectations. Nobody expected this staff to be anything more than awful, and they've been really good all season long. Let's hope they can turn this bad stretch around and help this new offense start winning ballgames again.