NEW YORK -- Behind a pair of home runs from Rodolfo Castro and some clutch hitting in the ninth, the Pirates overcame an early 5-0 deficit to beat the Mets, 6-5, Sunday afternoon at Citi Field, earning a series split.
"We talked a lot about effort, getting after it, and these guys did," Pirates' manager Derek Shelton said after the game. "We got down 5-0 and they battled their butts off the rest of the game. It was really cool to see."
With that, the Pirates will go into the All-Star break with a 34-56 record.
• The focus is on the future Sunday night with the first round of the MLB Draft, but it was Castro, a potential piece of the Pirates' present and future, that stole the show Sunday afternoon.
"The kid came up from AA, he's playing in New York, and the crowd's into it and he's having fun," Shelton said. "That's really what we want him to do. We want him to have fun. The moment didn't get too big for him, and a really cool day for him."
Castro continued proving he belongs in the Majors as he catapulted the Pirates over the Mets Sunday afternoon with a two home-run day to help claw the Buccos back into the game after falling behind 5-0 following the home half of the first inning.
The 22-year-old sent a 3-2 four-seam fastball into right-center field for a home run in the fifth inning before connecting once again in the sixth inning, this time an opposite field two-run homer to put the Pirates within a run of the Mets.
"Two really good at-bats and he ends them with homers," Shelton said. "The one off (Edwin) Diaz, I mean he's one of the premier closers in baseball, and he walks off him, takes a really aggressive hack 3-1 ... I think the excitement that this kid brings is important, because this is something we want throughout our organization, and he's doing that in Altoona right now."
• Since being signed off waivers from St. Louis, John Nagowski has done nothing but produce hits and contribute in all areas for the Pirates. Nogowski has 14 hits in 28 at bats since being activated July 5.
Sunday was no different as he singled in Kevin Newman to tie the game at 5 in the top of the ninth inning before scoring on Wilmer Difo's go-ahead single later in the inning.
"I’ve gotten some hits before, so it’s cool, man," Nogowski said. "You’ve been on some good runs coming up. I’m pleased with the at-bats, the quality of at-bats. The results are great, but this game is so hard that you’ve got to chase the quality at-bats over the results."
For as good as his offense has been, the defense has been as good — if not better — something his manager has taken note of.
"We talked about the play Castro made on that double play," Shelton said. "Johnny made a heck of a play on that pick at the back end of the double play."
· The unofficial midway point of the season deserves a "state of the union" of not only what has happened, but what is to come. On the day of the draft, there will be plenty of eyes towards the club’s long-term future. Before then, let’s take a look at the more immediate:
THE ROTATION
Notable performers:
Mitch Keller -- 3-7, 7.04 ERA, -0.7 WAR
JT Brubaker -- 4-9, 4.47 ERA, 0.8 WAR
Chad Kuhl -- 2-5, 4.73 ERA, -0.2 WAR
Tyler Anderson -- 5-8, 4.35 ERA, 1.1 WAR
Keller went into spring training saying he wanted to be more of a leader. Many expected him to be leading this rotation at this stage of the season. Instead, he’s in Class AAA Indianapolis. While there were good starts mixed in there, his season was defined by inconsistency, both in results and stuff.
Brubaker started strong, but has had to wear a couple bad outings and has been prone to the long ball of late, with most of those homers coming on the pitch that had been really working for him, the slider. He’s evolved into more of a five-pitch pitcher rather than just relying on the sinker and slider.
Kuhl, the opening day starter, got off on the wrong foot and then missed a good chunk of the season, but has done much better since coming off the injured list, relying heavily on a slider/four-seam fastball approach. He has thrown a quality start in four of his last six outings.
Anderson is here to eat innings, and has done just that, lasting at least five frames in all 17 of his starts. He is probably the de facto No. 1 of this rotation.
Wil Crowe has gotten his first extended look in the majors. There have been some good innings mixed in there, but the growing pains are real, and it’s not certain if he’ll stick in the rotation long term. Chase De Jong hasn’t done much, but as a depth starter who came to the organization on a minor-league deal, that’s not too surprising. To his credit, he did battle Sunday to keep the Pirates in a game they wound up winning.
What’s to come: Anderson is probably going to get flipped at the deadline, unless Ben Cherington doesn’t get a potential return worth the loss of the innings Anderson would throw. Kuhl should also draw a bit of buzz, especially if he continues this hot streak.
Steven Brault, who has been sidelined with a lat injury since spring training, threw his first rehab game for the Bradenton Marauders Sunday. There is no official timetable for his return, but late-July/early-August seems the most likely. The Pirates will need to be careful with his workload and innings, but he should be available to shore up the rotation post-trade deadline.
In addition to Keller, who will almost surely get another look at some point, expect more from Max Kranick and Miguel Yajure before the season comes to a close. Yajure has been rehabbing an elbow injury, but is throwing off a mound again. Kranick was perfect in his debut in June, but roughed up a bit in his second start. The Pirates have been scattering in spot starts for their Indianapolis starters throughout the year. That should continue.
THE BULLPEN
Notable performers:
Richard Rodríguez: 2.29 ERA over 35 ⅓ innings, 12 saves, 1.4 WAR
David Bednar: 3.09 ERA over 35 IP, 0.6 WAR
Kyle Crick: 4.63 ERA over 23 ⅓ IP, -0.1 WAR
Sam Howard: 5.76 ERA over 29 ⅔ IP, -0.4 WAR
Rodríguez has established himself as a legitimate late-inning arm, and probably the most-coveted reliever on the market. He only has 12 saves, but that can mostly be attributed to the team as a whole rather than him.
David Bednar has been one of the best stories for the Pirates this year. The Mars, Pa. native earned a job out of spring training and has just continued to pitch in higher leverage situations as the year has progressed. He looks like a future closer.
Howard and Crick both started the season strong with slider-heavy approaches, but both have struggled of late and worn some ugly outings, skyrocketing their ERAs. That might be the best way to describe the bullpen thus far. Duane Underwood Jr., Clay Holmes, Chasen Shreve, Crick and Howard, have mostly been good. But when they are off, it goes off the rails.
It isn’t quite the unit we expected out of spring training -- Michael Feliz and Geoff Hartlieb have been let go and Blake Cederlind has been out with Tommy John surgery -- but for the most part, this has been probably the Pirates’ greatest strength.
What’s to come: While Rodríguez is likely going to be dealt this month, he might not be the only Pirate reliever heading out of town. Every contending team needs extra bullpen help, and Chris Stratton, Shreve or Crick could help greatly as middle relief. The deadline focus will be on Rodríguez, Frazier and Anderson, but a smaller trade or two could also be on the table. If that happens, some AAA prospects like Nick Mears and Shea Spitzbarth could get a look, but more likely it will be minor-league free agents (Shelby Miller, Steven Wright) and waiver claims to cobble together the rest of the ‘pen.
Look for Bednar to get more late-inning looks in the second half, too. We’ve started to see the change recently, to the point that perhaps he will inherit the closer job over Crick.
THE INFIELD
Notable performers:
Adam Frazier: .330/.397/.463, four home runs, 29 RBIs, 2.5 WAR
Ke’Bryan Hayes: .262/.349/.438, four home runs, 18 RBIs, 1.4 WAR
Kevin Newman: .210/.252/.273, three homes runs, 13 RBIs, -0.2 WAR
Frazier had been the subject of trade talks the last two offseasons, but Cherington didn’t like the potential return and ended up hanging on to him. That turned out to be a terrific call. Frazier is having a career year and will be starting at second base in the All-Star Game.
Hayes injured his wrist in the second game of the season and needed a stint on the 60-day injured list to get better. He’s had some ups and downs at the plate, but has made his own adjustments as he and the league begin their cat-and-mouse game. He hasn’t matched those dizzying highs from last September, but he’s confirmed he’s a legitimate major-leaguer.
Besides those two and the reliable Jacob Stallings and the (uncharacteristically) often-injured Colin Moran, the Pirates have had plenty of holes in the infield. Newman improved his first step defensively and has yet to commit an error in the field, but he's last among qualified hitters in OPS (.525). Phillip Evans was the Pirates’ hottest hitter over the first two weeks, but has dropped off significantly since then. Erik González has been a semi-starter for the second year in a row, and once again hasn’t hit enough to warrant that amount of playing time, though this time it was partially due to injury.
What’s to come: Frazier’s time with the Pirates will almost surely come to a close by the end of the month, as he’s one of the top hitters available on the trade market. That will create a hole at second base. Cole Tucker could potentially slide in there, if the Pirates want to go with someone who was recently one of their better prospects. They recently signed veteran Dee Strange-Gordon to a minor-league deal, and he could fill that niche of a second baseman who could bounce out to the outfield like Frazier.
And perhaps it’s recency bias, but Castro has burst onto the scene over the past year, starting at the alternate site and continuing in Altoona. He has shown that he can keep up with major-league pitching, going deep three times in this series against the Mets, including twice Sunday. He was brought up for depth, but this simply cannot be the end of his major-league season.
The only other potential change could be a promotion for shortstop Oneil Cruz, though a forearm injury will keep him from throwing for 2-3 weeks so that seems unlikely. But if the Pirates were willing to bring Castro up for a look, a September call-up is in the realm of possibility for him too.
THE OUTFIELD
Bryan Reynolds: .302/.387/.519, 16 home runs, 51 RBIs, 3.4 WAR
Anthony Alford: .083/.241/.083, -0.4 WAR
Dustin Fowler: .171/.239/.195, two RBIs, -0.5 WAR
Gregory Polanco: .199/.278/.362, nine home runs, 23 RBIs, -0.5 WAR
Going into the year, the hope was that Reynolds would rebound after his disastrous 2020 season and that someone else would emerge to shore up the unit.
The good news is Reynolds has been everything the Pirates could have hoped. He’s lined the ball all over the field and developed more of a power stroke, already matching his rookie total of 16 home runs. As a bonus to boot, he’s made the most of his opportunity in center field and has done an above average job at a premium defensive position.
The bad news is he hasn’t had any support. Polanco is doing a little better after his rock-bottom season in 2020, but is still below the Mendoza line. Alford and Fowler were brought in to compete for the center field job. Both were designated for assignment in April. Evans, Ka’ai Tom, Wilmer Difo — nothing has stuck.
The one player who has come on big of late is Ben Gamel, who will seemingly be used exclusively in the outfield with the emergence of Nogowski. Gamel is hitting .333 in the month of July and has strung together 12 hits in 11 games leading up to the All-Star break.
The Pirates have an All-Star outfielder in center who has consistently been flanked by sub-replacement level players.
What’s to come: The short answer is probably more of the same, unless Cherington brings in a major-league outfielder in one of his deadline deals.
Travis Swaggerty, the Pirates’ top prospect in Class AAA, is out for the year after dislocating his right, non-throwing shoulder. Jared Oliva, their next best major-league ready prospect, should get more looks as the year progresses.
So that leaves Polanco, Tom, Evans, someone off the waiver wire and maybe a very slight possibility of a Bligh Madris-type player getting a look.
There are no easy solutions in the outfield, at least in the short term. At least a potential Reynolds trade is non-existent.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card for Sunday:
1. Adam Frazier, 2B
2. Kevin Newman, SS
3. Bryan Reynolds, CF
4. John Nogowski, 1B
5. Ben Gamel, LF
6. Wilmer Difo, RF
7. Rodolfo Castro, 3B
8. Michael Perez, C
9. Chase De Jong, RHP
And for Luis Rojas's Mets:
1. Brandon Nimmo, CF
2. Francisco Lindor, SS
3. Dominic Smith, LF
4. Pete Alonso, 1B
5. Jeff McNeil, 2B
6. Michael Conforto, RF
7. Jonathan Villar, 3B
8. James McCann, C
9. Aaron Loup, RHP
THE SCHEDULE
The first half of the Pirates' season came to a close with the victory and both Bryan Reynolds and Adam Frazier will head to Colorado for the All-Star Game on Tuesday. Following the break, the Pirates will host the Mets beginning Friday.
Sunday is also Day 1 of the amateur draft. We will have coverage throughout the day. The draft will get started at 7 p.m.
IN THE SYSTEM
• Indianapolis
• Altoona
• Greensboro
• Bradenton
THE CONTENT
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