Strikeouts have stunted the progress of Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez during his brief major-league career and they continue to be a problem this season. Alvarez, who finished second in the National League with 180 strikeouts last year, has been punched out at least once in every game (12 total).
He is in the midst of an 0-for-17 slump and has struck out in eight of his past 10 at-bats and is hitting .080.