CINCINNATI -- Tuesday, the Pirates were embarrassed by the Reds.
Wednesday, they did the embarrassing, winning Game 4, 7-2, and splitting the series at Great American Ball Park.
Steven Brault took center stage, and he put on a solid performance, pitching 5 1/3 innings and giving up four hits, two walks (one intentional) and no runs. He added five strikeouts and some nifty defense, too, none better than this little slide, spin and gun-down on a Nick Senzel bunt in the fifth with runners on second and third, and two outs:
It was not a smart play by Senzel — not situationally and not against an athletic pitcher like Brault. That fact wasn't lost on Brault. He was telling me after the game Senzel's decision surprised him — but it also gave him the opportunity to show off a little bit.
And Brault is always ready to show off a little bit:
Even with Brault's performance though, the game was locked at zero heading into the sixth. The Pirates got what they needed from their starting pitcher. Now, they needed to put some runs on the board.
Enter Colin Moran with this:
Check out the dads showing some love to Moran's father. Incredible, right?
That three-run shot for Moran ultimately won the game, and it put a bow on Brault's afternoon, securing him the win and bumping his record to 2-1 on the year. Moran, soft-spoken and low-key as ever, told me he was happy to do his part for his teammate:
Not to be outdone by Moran, Josh Bell got in on the action just an inning later with a three-run shot of his own on a ball he had no business taking opposite-field and out of the park:
And here's Bell's 12th HR of May: #dkps #pirates pic.twitter.com/WAYpfn2GMW
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPghSports) May 29, 2019
Moran admired it, too.
"I'm jealous how easy it is," Moran said with a chuckle. "It's just too easy. He's so talented. He can do it all. He can take you deep and then he can, you know, two strikes take through a ball and take a single. He's so talented that, in all seriousness, it's just fun to watch."
With a Bryan Reynolds RBI single sandwiched between those two dingers, the Pirates put up all seven runs over the sixth and seventh innings, and that was all they needed to get the job done and head back to Pittsburgh with some positive momentum.
"It was a good day," Clint Hurdle was telling us after the game. "The sun came out, the bats showed up. We know what it's like to win and we know what we need to do to win... We're going to stay together and we're going to keep playing."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THE GOOD
Yeah, Bell's home run was great, as was Moran's, but I want to hone in on something else for this section.
With a runner on first and two outs in the fourth inning, Yasiel Puig came to the plate, red-hot Derek Dietrich on deck. Brault... intentionally walked Puig?
It was a risky strategy to put another man on base for Dietrich, but it paid off, as Brault struck him out and ended the inning. Dietrich was just 2 for 10 against lefties on the year coming into that plate appearance, and his struggles continued today. He did end the day with an RBI single, but it came against righty Clay Holmes.
Hurdle told me there was no hesitation with the decision:
He's right, of course, and Brault echoed those sentiments nearly verbatim. It was the obvious matchup to target, but Dietrich has been on a special kind of streak. At that point, 12 of his previous 17 hits had ended in the stands, three of them coming on Tuesday alone.
Struggles against lefties or not, that was a bold call — and the right one.
THE BAD
Tuesday, I filled out this section by saying "everything." Today, I struggled to find anything worthy of being placed here. Brault pitched well. Richard Rodriguez and Francisco Liriano pitched well in relief. Holmes allowed a home run and two earned runs in 2.2 innings, but he did his job, too.
Eight Pirates notched hits, including the struggling Cole Tucker, who went 2 for 2 after substituting late. Starling Marte had two terrible at-bats early, showing zero discipline and chasing pitches well out of the strike zone, but then he rang up back-to-back singles late and was one of the three runs scored on Bell's home run.
This was a flat-out solid all-around game for the Pirates. But if we're really looking for a "bad," I guess we should head over to...
THE OTHER SIDE
Oh, this section is literally the other side today, and it is glorious. Buckle up, Lunatics.
Holmes hit Eugenio Suarez with a pitch in the seventh, and the Reds took exception. First, Suarez met Holmes at the mound and had words, then Reds manager David Bell took the field and laced the umpires up for a solid minute or two.
Both left the game, Suarez to be examined by the medical staff, and Bell ejected. After the game, Bell refused to back down.
"Well, we know they'll do it intentionally," he was telling reporters. "We're not going to get protected, so we gotta do whatever we can. We gotta take matters into our own hands. It's unfortunate. Our players aren't going to get protected. That's been made clear, and we know that team will intentionally throw at people, so what are you supposed to do?"
Hurdle disagrees. I would transcribe his quote, too, but I think you need to hear the fire in his delivery instead:
Holmes maintains he meant no malice, and Suarez himself said both Holmes and Elias Diaz told him there was no ill intent, so I suppose these two teams will have to agree to disagree. We’ll have to wait a while to see if there’s any carry-over; the two teams don’t meet again until July 29 in Cincinnati.
THE DATA
• Bell's home run in the seventh gave him 18 on the year and 12 in the month of May. His 12 in May tie him with Jason Bay (2006) for the most in Pirates history during the month. For even more Pirates history, Bell's 23 extra-base hits in May put him just one away from Paul Waner for the most by any Pirates player in any month. Waner did it in 1928. Willie Stargell was the last to get at least 22, which he did in 1971. Go ahead, call Bell's performance this month "historic." It is.
• Newman has hit safely in eight consecutive games and in 13 of his past 14.
• Reynolds extended his own hitting streak to eight as well.
• Bell's ejection was his fourth of the year.
• Time of game: 3 hours, nine minutes (plus a 2 hour, 13-minute delay)
• Today's attendance: 15,252
THE INJURIES
The Pirates' director of sports medicine, Todd Tomcyzk, provided his weekly update Wednesday before the game. You can read the full report with his comments here.
In addition to those:
• Chris Stratton, right-hander, is on the 10-day IL with a strained right side.
• Erik Gonzalez, shortstop, is on the 60-day IL with a fractured right clavicle. He’s still not doing baseball activities.
• Lonnie Chisenhall, outfielder, is on the 60-day IL with a broken right hand but now has recurring calf tightness and, additionally, is taking a break from the team on personal leave.
• Nick Burdi, relief pitcher, is on the 60-day IL with right elbow/biceps pain caused by a nerve problem.
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates return home to kick off a homestand against the Brewers tomorrow at 7:05 p.m. John Perrotto and Matt Sunday will have your full coverage there.
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.