Marcell

Ozuna

Ozuna was responsible for two of the Pirates’ three hits on the night, and drove in Nick Gonzalez in the third inning to give the Pirates an early 3-1. lead. Ozuna has hit safely in four-straight games but is still struggling to find his power and is slashing just .196/.317/.275 in his last 15 games. There’s not much to get excited about here.

O’Hearn has gone 3-for-8 with one homer in a pair of games since returning from the injured list earlier this week. The 32-year-old takes a seat despite the presence of righty Spencer Arrighetti on the hill for Houston in this one. It’ll be Marcell Ozuna at DH as he draws his first start since May 27.

There hasn’t been any reporting concerning a potential physical issue or illness that Ozuna is dealing with. He remains stapled to Pittsburgh’s bench with Konnor Griffin limited to DH exclusively due to a forearm issue. It’s probably for the best since the 35-year-old has been scuffling recently, hitting .219 (16-for-73) with three homers and 27 strikeouts in 20 games since the start of May. It would make sense for the Pirates to give top prospect Esmerlyn Valdez some extended runway in the near future, especially if Ozuna doesn’t turn things around.

Ozuna got off to a rough start today, losing a challenge in the second inning on a pitch that barely caught the upper-left corner, but he went on to single in runs in the fourth and sixth innings. Following a brutal first month, he’s hitting a respectable .232/.368/.427 with three homers and 10 RBI through 15 games in May.

Jake Mangum gets the start in center. Ozuna takes a seat even though he is off to a nice start in May, having gone 6-for-19 with a homer, five RBI and three walks in five games.

Ozuna broke through with his first multi-hit game since April 18, collecting three hits, scoring three times, and driving in three runs as the Pirates blew out the Reds. The 35-year-old slugger is hitting .185/.254/.306 with three homers and 13 RBI across 118 plate appearances.

Ozuna, 35, will get a breather with Ryan O’Hearn operating as the designated hitter and Jake Mangum in left. Ozuna has struggled considerably in his first season with the Pirates with an OPS of just .487. We’ve seen him get off to slow starts only to finish with strong campaigns in the past, however.

It was his first of the year and a towering blast that went deep into the left field stands off Foster Griffin. Ozuna started the year off ice cold, hitting .051 in his first 10 games of the season. But he’s now hit in four straight games and is trying to bash his way back into the deep league conversation.

Ozuna had started the last three games at designated hitter, but he is not a full-time player for the Pirates right now, while he’s off to a 3-for-43 start to the season. Bryan Reynolds will DH at bat third, while Jake Mangum will start in left field and bat eighth. Ozuna’s bat speed is up from last season, but he’s not hitting the ball hard or pulling the ball much right now. He doesn’t need to be rostered in most fantasy formats.

The veteran is struggling to start the season, with his hard contact rates among the lowest he’s posted in his career. Obviously, the Pirates are going to want his bat in the lineup, considering the contract they signed him to this off-season, so they’re likely treating this as a mini reset. Ryan O’Hearn is at DH, with Nick Yorke starting at third base.