After a disastrous series against the Cardinals which saw the Bucs get swept in a four-game set, this weekend series against the division-leading Reds felt like an important moment for this Pirates team. They had fallen to .500, and if the rough slide continued, it could have been trouble for the Bucs. However, they rebounded in a big way.
Game one was a comfortable win. Mitch Keller toed the mound against Brady Singer, and Keller got some room to work with early. Donning their new city connect jerseys for the second time this year, the Bucs got out to an early lead with a Bryan Reynolds first inning moonshot that was recorded at 443 feet. Reynolds then tripled in the bottom of the third to give the Pirates a two-run cushion, and that was all Keller needed, as he allow surrendered one run to the Reds over 7 innings of work. The lineup didn’t stop, though, as Henry Davis pounded two homers, Marcell Ozuna hit one into the stands, and Nick Gonzales tallied three hits to bring his batting average to an absurd .333 clip. By the time it was 9-1, the Reds were sending position players to the mound in the form of backup catcher Jose Trevino, who was basically the only pitcher the Bucs couldn’t get to all night. Justin Lawrence and Evan Sisk both tallied perfect innings after Keller exited, and The Bucs moved onto game two with momentum.
Game two saw Carmen Mlodzinski matched up against young Rhett Lowder. Carmen had a rough first inning, allowing two runs, but the bats had his back. The bottom of the first featured a string of hits capped off by a Konnor Griffin double to make the score 5-2. Mlodzinski gave up another run in the second on a Will Benson home run, but got out of a bases loaded jam to end the inning without too much damage. The bottom of the second was maybe the most ridiculous string of plate appearances that any team could have all year – Rhett Lowder and Connor Phillips combined to walk seven straight Pirates, and the Pirates cruised to a 10-3 lead. The third inning was quiet, and then the Pirates exploded again in the fourth for five more runs to make it 15-3. To put in blunt, there was simply too much offensive production by everyone in the lineup to mention, so here were some highlights. Konnor Griffin reached base five times with four hits including a double and a triple. Brandon Lowe walked four times. Marcell Ozuna had three hits and a walk. All in all, the Bucs lineup put up 17 runs, got 19 hits, and walked 11 times. They did all this without leaving the yard once for a truly absurd box score. The final score was 17-7, as Mlodzinski got tagged for a few more runs, but still struck out 10 batters. Chris Devenski and Yohan Ramirez had so-so outings in relief, but it didn’t matter as the game was over by the fourth inning.
With all the offensive fireworks the first two games, it looked like game three had shootout potential. That statement could not have been more wrong. Chase Burns and Braxton Ashcraft were both utterly dominant, as neither surrendered a run and both pitched into the eighth inning. It was this eight inning where the Pirates finally broke through after a Konnor Griffin double that led to an Oneil Cruz go-ahead RBI single against Tony Santillan. Don Kelly chose to roll with Gregory Soto through the eighth into the ninth, and it proved to be the correct choice, as he locked down the Reds to complete an extremely important sweep.
The MVP of the series has to be Konnor Griffin. Since turning 20 a couple weeks ago, Griffin has been one of the best players in baseball, and he proved his mettle again this series with a four hit day and the biggest hit of the game on Sunday.
The Bucs get a day off tomorrow before traveling to Arizona to take on the Diamondbacks on Tuesday. Lets Go Bucs!
