ARLINGTON, Texas – Clint Hurdle often talks about players with slow heartbeats.
Fewer rookies in the Pirates' recent history have had slower heartbeats than Bryan Reynolds. The 24-year-old Tennessean with the deep Southern drawl is the type of guy who seemingly doesn’t get rattled by anything. It’s easy to visualize someone setting a firecracker, and him just standing there like nothing happened.
“I don’t think my heartbeat is slower than anyone else’s,” Reynolds insisted when I asked him about it. “I just try to relax myself, not try to blow things out of proportion, don’t try to make a big deal out of anything. I just slow it down and try to play baseball. But I get nervous and excited. I guess I don’t show it as much as other people.”
Reynolds had to fight himself to keep from smiling Tuesday night after his leadoff home run in the 11th inning snapped a tie and propelled the Pirates to a 6-4 victory over the Rangers in the opener of a two-game series at Globe Life Park.
The Pirates ended their eight-game losing streak in dramatic fashion. They rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the ninth inning against closer Jose Leclerc to force extra innings and scored three more times in the 11th to go in front and improve their record to 13-14.
Reynolds led off the ninth with a double then scored on Adam Frazier’s single before Josh Bell capped the inning with a two-run double:
Reynolds hit his first big-league home run two innings later off veteran Jesse Chavez ...
... and Starling Marte added a two-run blast later in the inning after being activated from the injured list before the game.
While Reynolds admitted that he kind of “blacked out” for a moment while rounding the bases and that he felt “awesome,” he otherwise described the homer in typically understated terms.
“I was just trying to get on base for us, trying to start to something and I got lucky enough to get a good pitch to hit,” he said.
Reynolds and shortstop Cole Tucker were called up from Triple-A Indianapolis on April 20 to make their major-league debuts a day after Marte and Erik Gonzalez were injured when they collided while chasing a fly ball. The vivacious Tucker got all the media attention that day because of his ability to deliver one great line after another. The reserved Reynolds, meanwhile, is certainly cooperative with the media but not the type to seek the spotlight.
At the time, it seems Reynolds’ stay would be shorter as he figured to get sent back to Indy once Marte came off the injured list. Yet when Marte was activated Tuesday, Reynolds stayed with the big-league club and rookie outfielder Jason Martin was farmed out.
Of course, it is difficult to demote a player who has a hit in each of his first eight major-league games. Reynolds is just the second Pirates player to do that since 1900. The other was Gregory Polanco in 2014.
Reynolds is hitting .423/.423/.731 with five doubles and the homer. Following a fast start that included a home run in his debut, Tucker is down to .250/.289/.417 in 10 games.
Tucker is more than happy to let Reynolds take his share of the spotlight.
“Bryan Reynolds is the (freaking) man,” Tucker said with a smile while reporters talked with Reynolds.
Bell has been impressed by Reynolds, especially since he had played just 13 games at the Triple-A level before getting the call to Pittsburgh.
“It seems like three out of four at-bats he’s hitting the ball at 100 mph,” Bell said. “That plays at this level. He’s lights out and fun to watch.”
Reynolds was acquired along with Kyle Crick from the Giants in the Andrew McCutchen trade in January 2017. At the time, it appeared the Pirates had been fleeced. However, the trade is starting to look much better all the time.
Crick pitched a 1-2-3 10th for the win. Though he has a 5.14 ERA after allowing four runs in seven innings in eight games, all the runs scoring during a very unlucky 1/3-inning stint against the Diamondbacks on April 22 at PNC Park.
While Crick (1-1) got the win not far from his hometown of Sherman, Texas, it was Reynolds who had the most memorable night.
“Now he’s played eight games. We’ll see where he goes,” Clint Hurdle said. “He answered tonight, and he’s kept things in a pretty good place. What a charge. His first RBI, his first home run. Off a veteran pitcher, a good pitcher. A pretty swing. Good stuff.”
Cole Tucker tags out the Rangers' Rougned Odor on a steal attempt. - APTHE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THE GOOD
Steven Brault has been the forgotten man on the pitching staff this season, making just four relief appearances despite spending all but one day with the Pirates.
The left-hander went 15 days between appearances from April 9-23 as the Pirates didn’t need a long reliever in a stretch of low-scoring games.
Pitching on Tuesday night after having the previous five day off, Brault was sharp as he came on to relieve Jordan Lyles to start the fifth inning with the Pirates trailing 2-0. Brault worked two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out three.
It was an encouraging performed for a pitcher with an ERA of 8.31 despite the strong outing.
“I wanted to get him in the game,” Hurdle said. “Two runs down, a left-handed top-heavy lineup, he came right after them. It’s the best fastball we’ve seen from him in in a while and his changeup played well.”
THE BAD
Lyles was fortunate to allow just two runs in four innings as he issued four walks and threw just 52 of 96 pitches for strikes.
On the plus side, Lyles did strike out five and allow three hits. However, even though Lyles is just the fifth starter, the Pirates need better than that.
“He was off with his command,” Hurdle said. “When you average 24 pitches an inning, it makes you work a lot harder than he wanted to.”
Lyles allowed only one run in 17 innings while going 2-0 in his first three starts. In his last two outings, he has surrendered seven runs (six earned) in just nine innings.
THE OTHER SIDE
It was a difficult loss for the Rangers, who shut the Pirates out through eight innings. Starter Adrian Sampson, the Pirates’ fifth-round draft pick in 2012, allowed five hits in 5 2/3 innings with five strikeouts and no walks.
However, Leclerc (0-1) blew his second save in seven chances and his ERA rose to 8.44 through 13 games. Rookie manager Chris Woodward said he is considering making a change at closer to take some pressure off the 25-year-old.
“Obviously with a young guy, you don't want to kill the kid's confidence,” Woodward said. “I would love to just keep giving him the ball, but I do have to be mindful where his mental state. He wants the ball, but he also doesn't want to feel like he's letting his teammates down. It's a tough situation for him.”
THE DATA
• A native of nearby Irving, Texas, Bell, has 17 RBIs in his last 21 games. Dallas Jesuit Prep, Bell’s alma mater, bought a block of 150 tickets for the game.
• Melky Cabrera extended his hitting streak to seven games with an eighth-inning single.
• Lyles has a 7.80 career ERA against the Rangers in 10 games, including eight starts.
• The Pirates are 5-2 in extra-inning games.
• The Pirates are 3-0 in interleague play this year and 18-5 over the past two.
THE INJURIES
• Francisco Cervelli, catcher, left in the second inning with left wrist discomfort after being hit by a pitch from Sampson. He was examined by Rangers team orthopedist Keith Meister and Hurdle said the Pirates will know about Cervelli's condition tomorrow.
• Chris Archer, right-hander, was placed on the 10-day IL today with right thumb inflammation. He is expected to resume throwing in a few days and likely to be activated when eligible May 7.
• Corey Dickerson, outfielder, is on the 10-day IL with a strained right shoulder. He joined Triple-A Indianapolis Friday but did not begin a rehab assignment as expected because of tightness in his shoulder.
• Nick Burdi, relief pitcher, is on the 10-day IL with right elbow/biceps pain. He got a second opinion today from Meister and underwent more tests but the results aren't likely to be available until tomorrow.
• Lonnie Chisenhall, outfielder, is on the 10-day IL with a broken right hand. His rehab assignment at Indianapolis was stopped today because of left calf tightness. He had gone 3-for-17 with four strikeouts in five games.
• Kevin Newman, infielder, is on the 10-day IL with a lacerated right ring finger. He is on a rehab assignment with Indianapolis and is 7-for-24 with two doubles, three walks and seven strikeouts in six games.
• Jacob Stallings, catcher, is on the 10-day IL with a cervical neck strain. He is on a rehab assignment at Indianapolis and is 2-for-6 with two home runs, a walk and two strikeouts in two games.
• Jose Osuna, infielder/outfielder, is on the 10-day IL with neck discomfort. He had his rehab assignment transferred to Indianapolis from high-Class A Bradenton and went 1-for-5 with a strikeout. At Bradenton, he was 4-for-20 with two walks and three strikeouts in five games.
• Erik Gonzalez, shortstop, is on the 60-day IL with a fractured right clavicle and had it repaired surgically Thursday. He will not return until at least mid-July.
THE SCHEDULE
The two-game series wraps up at 2:05 p.m. ET tomorrow with Jameson Taillon (1-3, 4.06) pitching against Shelby Miller (1-1, 7.52). I will be here for the coverage.
THE COVERAGE
All of our expanded baseball coverage, including Indy Watch by Matt Welch, Altoona Watch by Jarrod Prugar, and Mound Visit by Jason Rollison, can be found on our team page.
