Pirates Batters Whiffing at an Incredible Rate

I busted out a spreadsheet this morning in hopes of finding out the average number of times of the Pirates strike out per inning, and the average number of strikeouts per nine innings the Pirates opponent's starting pitchers have recorded this year. Here's what I found:

Opponent's Starter Average ERA: 3.57
Opponent's Starter Average K/9: 7.6
Total Innings Pirates Have Hit in: 367
Total Pirates Batters Strikeouts: 345
Pirates Average Strikeouts Per Inning: 0.94

The Pirates are averaging 2.9 runs per game. The second lowest total in the entire league belongs to the Padres at 3.2. The National League average is 4.08 - 1.2 runs higher than what the Pirates put up. If you take the Pirates pathetic number out of the equation that average goes up to 4.16.

Swings and misses are a common site. The Pirates are on track to strike out 1,371 times this year. The Major League record for team strikeouts in a season is 1,529 by the 2010 Arizona Diamondbacks. They aren't in jeopardy of breaking any record, but they'd be closer then you'd like them to be.