{"id":669074,"date":"2026-04-07T20:59:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T20:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/669074\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T20:59:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T20:59:20","slug":"pirates-make-dh-change-after-struggles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/669074\/","title":{"rendered":"Pirates Make DH Change After Struggles"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6d\">PITTSBURGH \u2014 The Pittsburgh Pirates made a big change at designated hitter ahead of their upcoming contest.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6g\">The Pirates will have Brandon Lowe serve as their designated hitter vs. the San Diego Padres at PNC Park on April 7, with Marcell Ozuna coming off the bench. Lowe stays in his second spot in the batting order, but this marks his first game starting somewhere else than his normal second base role.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6j\">Ozuna has hit poorly in 2026, with just two hits in 31 at-bats for a .065 batting average, after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/pirates\/onsi\/news\/pittsburgh-pirates-get-durability-consistency-new-marcell-ozuna\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">signing<\/a> a one-year, $12 million deal this offseason, which also includes a $16 million mutual option in 2027.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6m\">He went 0-for-4 in the 5-0 shutout loss to the Padres in the series opener on April 6, which came after  Bryan Reynolds was designated hitter in the 8-2 win in the series finale vs. the Baltimore <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/pirates\/onsi\/news\/ryan-ohearn-career-day-earns-pittsburgh-pirates-sweep-orioles\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Orioles<\/a> on April 5, making this two of three games he hasn&#8217;t started.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6p\">Lowe, who the Pirates added in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/pirates\/onsi\/news\/pittsburgh-pirates-blockbuster-trade-rays-astros\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">trade<\/a> with the Tampa Bay Rays this winter, has hit well so far. He has slashed .273\/.400\/.606 for an OPS of 1.006\tin nine games, with nine hits in 33 at-bats, two doubles, three home run, four RBI and seven walks to six strikeouts.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6s\">He hit two home runs on Opening Day in the 11-7 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/pirates\/onsi\/news\/pittsburgh-pirates-embarrassed-paul-skenes-opening-day-start\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">loss<\/a> to the New York Mets at Citi Field on March 26 and then hit his third in the serise finale on March 28. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6v\">Lowe provides a contrast to Ozuna, living up to the expectations the team placed on him, and also making <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/pirates\/onsi\/news\/brandon-lowe-pittsburgh-pirates-history-first-game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">history<\/a> in numerous ways for his home run production the first series of 2026. <\/p>\n<p>A Look at the Rest of the Pirates Lineup vs. the Padres<\/p>\n<p>Player<\/p>\n<p>Position<\/p>\n<p>Batting Side<\/p>\n<p>Oneil Cruz<\/p>\n<p>Center Fielder<\/p>\n<p>Left<\/p>\n<p>Brandon Lowe<\/p>\n<p>Designated Hitter<\/p>\n<p>Left<\/p>\n<p>Bryan Reynolds<\/p>\n<p>Left Fielder<\/p>\n<p>Switch<\/p>\n<p>Ryan O&#8217;Hearn <\/p>\n<p>Right Fielder<\/p>\n<p>Left<\/p>\n<p>Nick Yorke<\/p>\n<p>Third Base<\/p>\n<p>Right<\/p>\n<p>Nick Gonzales<\/p>\n<p>Second Base<\/p>\n<p>Right<\/p>\n<p>Spencer Horwitz<\/p>\n<p>First Base<\/p>\n<p>Left<\/p>\n<p>Konnor Griffin<\/p>\n<p>Shortstop<\/p>\n<p>Right<\/p>\n<p>Henry Davis<\/p>\n<p>Catcher<\/p>\n<p>Right<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"73\">Nick Gonzales takes over from Lowe at second base and Nick Yorke comes in at third base in place of Gonzales. Yorke hits fifth and Gonzales stays at sixth in the batting order.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"76\">Both first baseman Spencer Horwitz and shortstop <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/pirates\/onsi\/news\/pittsburgh-pirates-finally-get-right-konnor-griffin-decision\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Konnor Griffin<\/a> remain in the lineup, hitting seventh  and eighth in the batting order, respectively.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01knmthta11wnyv8h2jj.jpg\" alt=\"Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin\" title=\"Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin\" width=\"7177\" height=\"4037\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"7g\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Apr 3, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA;  Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin (6) hits an RBI double in his first major league at bat against the Baltimore Orioles during the second inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7k\">The outfield remains the same for the Pirates, as center fielder Oneil Cruz leads off, left fielder Bryan Reynolds hits third and right fielder Ryan O&#8217;Hearn hits fourth.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7n\">Catcher Henry Davis rounds out the lineup, hitting ninth, and will work with right-handed starting pitcher Paul Skenes.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7q\">Skenes makes his 2026 PNC Park debut and is coming off of a solid showing vs. the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on April 1, where he gave up just one run over five innings, while posting five strikeouts in the 8-3 victory.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7t\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/pirates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PITTSBURGH \u2014 The Pittsburgh Pirates made a big change at designated hitter ahead of their upcoming contest. 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