WEEKEND SPORTS
Pirates right fielder Gregory Polanco congratulates left fielder Bryan Reynolds after Reynolds hit a home run in the Pirates 7-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers Friday at PNC Park.
Bryan Reynolds isn’t exactly the type to let his emotions show. And even though his manager joked that the soft-spoken outfielder might not have a heartbeat, you know that Reynolds’ slow start to the season was eating him up inside.
After hitting .314 and finishing fourth in National League Rookie of the Year voting, Reynolds had to wait until the Pirates’ fifth game of the season for his first hit. His first home run didn’t come until last week. Entering Friday’s contest, Reynolds was hitting .174 and had just two hits in his previous 23 atbats (.087).
Perhaps what Reynolds and the Pirates did to the Brewers in a 7-2 victory at PNC Park will help the young outfielder get back to looking like the player he was last year, the one that Pittsburgh badly needs to be a building block for the future.
Reynolds had three hits against Milwaukee, including a home run and a triple, and drove in four runs, as the Pirates produced one of their most complete efforts of the season. He also made a terrific diving grab in left field.
“My timing felt right [Friday], but I’ve been getting outside of myself and maybe trying to do too much and make up too much ground,” Reynolds said. “That’s tough. I just need to stay inside myself, get a good pitch to hit and not chase.”
Rediscovering his timing hasn’t been easy for Reynolds. Pirates manager Derek Shelton thought he saw it coming on a foul ball last week in Cincinnati — then the Pirates had to halt their season because the Reds had a positive COVID-19 test.
That’s seemingly how it’s gone for Reynolds, until Friday.
“He broke out by taking really good swings at the right pitches,” Shelton said. “He had aggressive atbats.”
Reynolds wasn’t the only enjoyable story to come out of Friday’s victory. Chad Kuhl started for the Pirates, gave them five innings of one-run ball and earned his first win since June 15, 2018.
While Kuhl had struck out 13 over nine innings in his previous two starts, he was much more of a contact pitcher Friday, striking out just one. He did lower his ERA to 1.73 in eight career games (seven starts) against the Brewers.
“It’s really cool just to give my team a chance to win,” Kuhl said. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do: be out there and give our team a chance to win.”
What else to value from this one? Start with five consecutive singles to start the fourth, scoring three. Before that, the Pirates had gone 47 consecutive innings without accumulating more than two hits in a single frame.
Gregory Polanco had a run-scoring single, while Cole Tucker reached on an infield single, one of three hits for him.
Another key sequence came in the sixth inning. Sam Howard started the frame and got two outs before allowing a single and a walk. In came Geoff Hartlieb, who issued another walk to load the bases.
But Hartlieb got right fielder Brock Holt to ground out, then delivered a 1-2-3 seventh inning.
“I think we’re seeing a kid that’s starting to grow up on the mound,” Shelton said of Hartlieb.
While snapping a four-game losing streak and winning for just the second time in their past nine games, the Pirates were helped by some excellent defense, including a smooth backhand stop from Erik Gonzalez at third base and a diving grab from Reynolds to rob Christian Yelich in left.
But as special as that stuff might have been — Kuhl’s progress has been especially encouraging — Friday stood out because of Reynolds seemingly rediscovering his timing and hitting the ball more like he did in 2019.
Games rescheduled
Details were announced Friday for the Pirates’ two games in Cincinnati scheduled for Aug. 15 and 16 that were postponed after a Reds player tested positive for the coronavirus.
They will be made up as part of two doubleheaders in September.
The first will be played on Friday, Sept. 4 at PNC Park beginning at 4:05 p.m. The Pirates will be the home team for Game 1, which will be the originally scheduled game. The Reds will be the home team for Game 2, which will be a makeup of Saturday, Aug. 15.
The second doubleheader will be played on Monday, Sept. 14 at Great American Ball Park beginning at 4:10 p.m. The Reds will be the home team in both games, with the first being the originally scheduled game and the second serving as the makeup for Sunday, Aug. 16.