The Pirates' hitters have consistently contended that their weak team-wide statistics did not match the talent level in the lineup.
Slowly but surely, the offense has been coming to life in the past couple of weeks. Thursday, the batting order finally erupted.
Josh Bell and Colin Moran both had three hits and the team totaled four home runs in a 14-6 victory against the Rockies at PNC Park. The Pirates (25-22) scored a season high in runs as they avoided being swept in the three-game series and had their largest margin of victory this season.
It marked the second time in 47 games that the Pirates scored in double-digits and the first time they won a game by more than five runs.
Of course, no one expected the Pirates to be the Bashing Buccos in 2019. There were plenty of questions about the offense coming into the season and they entered Thursday ranked 28th among the 30 major-league teams in runs scored with an average of 3.74 a game.
And while the Pirates certainly aren’t going to score 14 runs very often – really, what team is? – Thursday’s effort showed there are some signs of life in the bats beyond Bell, who is batting .339 with 16 home runs and 47 RBIs, inspiring an “M-V-P” chant from the crowd when he stepped to the plate in the eighth inning.
The outburst came after the Pirates were drubbed 5-0 and 9-3 in the first two games of the series.
“I like the fact that they just came in today and said, ‘Hey, here’s what we get to do today, here’s who we’re facing,’ ” Clint Hurdle said of his hitters. “We got on some pitches early on when mistakes were made. Once you put some runs on the scoreboard, you realize you’re not stuck in a capsule where we’re only to get five runs in a game or average 3.4. They set that aside, had good at-bats and strung together good at-bats.”
The Pirates started hitting early against Antonio Senzatela (3-4) and never stopped.
They batted around in the first inning and scored four runs, two coming on a Gregory Polanco home run. The Pirates doubled the lead to 8-0 by scoring three runs in the third and another in fourth.
Polanco’s first-inning blast traveled 431 feet into the trees beyond the stands in right-center field:
After the Rockies (22-26) scored six runs off Jordan Lyles (5-1) in the sixth inning to suddenly make it a two-run game, the Pirates answered with a six-run seventh that pushed their lead to 14-6. The inning featured home runs by Bell, pinch-hitter Bryan Reynolds and Starling Marte.
"It was a good day to hit," Reynolds said. "Everybody up and down was crushing the ball. To bounce back and put some runs back on them and get a little cushion, it's big."
It was the first career pinch-hit homer for Reynolds, a rookie.
“I love the way they scored six and we came back and had our biggest inning of the season,” Hurdle said. “I loved it.”
All the Pirates enjoyed the big day by the hitters, including Kyle Crick, who got a pivotal double play ball in the seventh inning when the score was still 8-6. Crick smiled when I asked him about the 14-run output:
Bell has carried the offense this season. His 16 homers are 11 more than Polanco and Marte, who are tied for second on the team with five. The switch-hitting first baseman’s 46 RBIs are more than double the total of Marte, who is second with 22.
"I've seen some pretty special things," Hurdle said. "This would be right in that category. It's been fantastically fun to watch."
Nevertheless, while Bell is having a breakout season, he isn’t Superman. He can’t be expected to shoulder such a large portion of the run production over 162 games, which is why the Pirates’ performance Thursday was such a welcome sight.
“The weather is warming up, the bats are warming up,” Bell said. “We’re all rolling, for sure. We’re in a good place. We have a lot of banged-up guys in our lineup but we’re showing what we can do. If Marte gets going, Polanco continues this stretch, Melky (Cabrera) and Reynolds continue to do what they do, we’re going to be a force to be reckoned with in this division and I’m looking forward to us continuing to play this type of baseball.”
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THE GOOD
When the Pirates led 8-0, it certainly seemed like the bullpen would not be needed for any high-leverage situations.
That changed, though, after the Rockies drew within 8-6. Crick came on to start the seventh and gave up back-to-back singles to Trevor Story and David Dahl to start the inning, putting runners on first and second.
However, Crick extricated himself from the jam by getting the always-dangerous Nolan Arenado to hit into a 1-4-3 double play then struck out Raimel Tapia to preserve the two-run cushion.
"With a runner on first and less than two outs, my default mode is get the hitter to hit the ball on the ground and try to get a double play," Crick said. "Nolan is a great clutch hitter but he isn't particularly fast and I thought we'd have a chance for two if I got him to put the ball on the ground."
Crick continues to be one of the Pirates' most-reliable relievers with a 2.35 ERA, a .160 batting average against and a 0.98 WHIP.
THE BAD
Lyles got the win but his start ended on a bad note when he was hit around in the sixth inning. He had a two-hit shutout going through five innings and retired 14 batters in a row until Ian Desmond started the uprising with a one-out double.
Lyles was pulled with two outs, runners on first and second and the Pirates leading 8-4. Rookie Geoff Hartlieb allowed both inherited men to score before finally getting Desmond to hit an inning-ending ground out.
"When you get that eight (-run cushion), you can't let the other team back in the game," Lyles said. "They made me have a sour taste in the sixth inning to end my outing. Pretty free and easy going one through five, but I wasn't able to close the door. I wanted to save the guys down in the bullpen some innings and I didn't. Fortunately, the guys picked me up by scoring a lot of runs."
Lyles finished with seven strikeouts and one walk in 5 2/3 innings while allowing seven hits.
THE OTHER SIDE
The Pirates jumped on Senzatela early and the right-hander wound up being tagged for eight runs and nine hits in 3 1/3 innings. Though he pitched a 1-2-3 second after the four-run opening inning, Senzatela never recovered from the early outburst.
"He just couldn't seem to get any momentum going as far as stringing pitches together," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "It was a tough day."
THE DATA
• Bell's 16 home runs are tied for the second-most in Pirates' history through the first 47 games of the season. Willie Stargell also had 16 in 1973 and Dale Long hit 17 in 1956.
• Bell is hitting .378 (28 for 74) in day games this season with six home runs and 23 RBIs. At night, he has a .311 batting average (32 for 103) with 10 homers and 24 RBIs.
• The Pirates took a bite out of their run differential with the large margin of victory but have still been outscored by 42 runs this season despite being three games over .500.
• The Pirates are 8-1 in Lyles' starts this season.
• The Pirates have won 13 of their past 20 games against the Rockies at PNC Park.
THE INJURIES
• Francisco Cervelli, catcher, was held out of the starting lineup with an upper-chest bruise for a second consecutive game but Hurdle said he is not going to be placed on the injured list.
• Trevor Williams, right-hander, is on the 10-day IL with a right side strain.
• Jameson Taillon, right-hander, is on the 60-day IL with a strained right forearm flexor tendon.
• Keone Kela, right-hander, is on the 10-day IL with right shoulder inflammation.
• Corey Dickerson, outfielder, is on the 10-day IL with a strained right shoulder.
• Jung Ho Kang, third baseman, is on the 10-day IL with a strained left side.
• Lonnie Chisenhall, outfielder, is on the 10-day IL with a broken right hand but now has calf tightness and, additionally, is away from the team on a personal leave.
• Erik Gonzalez, shortstop, is on the 60-day IL with a fractured right clavicle. He's still not doing baseball activities.
• Nick Burdi, relief pitcher, is on the 60-day IL with right elbow/biceps pain caused by a nerve problem.
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates and National League West-leading Dodgers open a three-game series at 7:05 p.m. Friday at PNC Park. The Pirates are undecided on a starter. Left-hander Walker Buehler (4-1, 3.83) will go for the Dodgers. Matt Sunday and I will be on the coverage.
THE COVERAGE
All 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.