Suwinski's walkoff, two-run home run more than mitigates Castro's errors

Saturday's game at PNC Park did a 180. Really fast. And it took just one swing of the bat. 

Jack Suwinski shot a jolt of energy into the 19,149 fans on the North Shore, giving the Pirates a 2-1 victory over the Diamondbacks with a two-run walk-off home run. Trailing, 1-0, into the bottom of the ninth inning, the 23-year-old rookie fought hard against Mark Melancon, working a long at-bat after Bryan Reynolds led off with a single. On the ninth pitch of the at-bat, Suwinski salvaged a potentially disappointing day and, instead, embodied the same type of fight his team has shown recently in late innings.

"They continue to battle," Derek Shelton said. "We put ourselves in a situation last night to tie the game. Last night, we made them bring Melancon in the game. I don’t know if that has any affect on anything, but it’s important when things like that happen because they domino throughout a series.”

This wasn't a meatball served up by Melancon, tired or not. I mean, look at location:

Here's another view, right from field level and right into the mob scene at the plate:

That knuckle curve has been part of Melancon's repertoire since he closed out games for the good guys at PNC Park. For Suwinski to go down and get the ball and hit it 406 feet, that's ... impressive. So is working the count full, forcing Reynolds to run back to first base after taking off on three 3-2 pitches.

That's a big-time homer in a big-time moment.

For Suwinski, it's not only about fighting for tallies in the win column. Suwinski wasn't brought up as a long-term solution for the outfield. Carrying a .652 OPS into Saturday's game, his fight to stay in the big leagues was also on the line. As the season rolls along, younger players will eventually get their shot. If a young player like Suwinski is showing any signs of being unable to stay afloat against big-league arms, the Pirates have the luxury of sending him back to the minor leagues.

Prior to his walkoff, Suwinski was 0 for 3 and had a tough time against Arizona starter Zach Davies. Coming through in a big spot against a seasoned closer may just be a blip on the radar in the grand scheme of a 162-game season. Even so, the little victories matter for players like Suwinski.

"I think those go a really long way because some of those bigger wins are … not hard to get, but I kind of want to take things one decision, one action at a time, even if it is a little win, because I could kind of like stack that chip," Suwinski said. "I call it stacking chips, even if it's a small win. If I stack a bunch of little chips, in two, three, four or five months, then I’ll have a big pile of those, you know what I mean? That's just kind of a way to get me not to take like the little things for granted. If I have a routine, stick to that routine. Don’t cheat myself, don’t cheat that routine because it's there for a reason. It motivates me to just be consistent, be disciplined and be obedient to myself, my routine, my plan my approach."

Without Suwinski saving the day, the focus would have fallen on Rodolfo Castro, challenging the faith of many who showed up to PNC Park to celebrate Faith Night after the game.

The most tangible blunder was a critical error in the sixth inning. Castro booted a ground ball from Christian Walker and had to rush the throw to first base, pulling Yu Chang off the bag. The error allowed Walker to reach base and moved Ketel Marte to third base with one out. Pirates starter Roansy Contreras struck out David Peralta to get the second out of the frame instead of the third, which paved the way for Jordan Luplow to battle Contreras for 10 long pitches. The final pitch of the at-bat was not only ball four, but it was a wild pitch that allowed Marte to break the scoreless tie.

As much as that one play set up the Pirates for another potentially painful loss, it wasn't as alarming as what happened during Castro's first at-bat of the game.

With Michael Chavis on first base and nobody out in the second inning, Castro popped up a pitch from Davies that was headed straight for Walker at first base. Castro decided not to run down the line, which prompted Walker to shrewdly allow the ball to hit the ground. Walker quickly stepped on first base to get Castro out, then the Diamondbacks picked off Chavis for a 3-4-6-4 double play.

Shelton was very clear of which play bothered him more.

"Errors are going to happen. That's a physical error," Shelton said of the throwing error in the sixth inning. "The running situation was a mental error. It's not the effort we're looking for. Rudy and I had a conversation about it. It's not acceptable. It's not how we play."

Fortunately for Castro within the game, Suwinski made sure it ended on a happy note. But when the manager pulls aside a player mid-game to tell him what he did on the field was unacceptable, it's a serious red flag. And sure enough, by evening's end, Castro would be optioned to Class AAA Indianapolis, with outfielder Travis Swaggerty getting the promotion in his place.

• Contreras, yet again, was very good. He didn't get into real trouble until the sixth inning, and likely would have escaped it with sufficient defense behind him. He allowed the one run (unearned) on four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

What's impressive about Saturday's outing was Contreras' ability to use all of his pitches in different counts. It wasn't just about attacking hitters with the fastball. Contreras mixed in plenty of sliders and curveballs, even early in counts. And that slider was a deadly out pitch.

Suwinski and Contreras were the two standout players from this game, and that is something fans are hoping to see more of as the season rolls along.

"We’re going to have a lot of things that happen with young players," Shelton said. "We’re going to continue to funnel young players through. Today we saw two rookies do something really special.”

• Yu Chang got the start at first base today and went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts, and he didn't look comfortable at all. Even without reading too much into it, it doesn't seem like the leash for Chang is very long. Shelton had Daniel Vogelbach pinch-hit for Chang in a critical spot in the eighth inning, and Vogelbach came through with a two-strike single hit against the shift. Even at less than 100 percent, there is little reason to have Vogelbach sit for Chang.

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard

THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE INJURIES

• 10-day injured list: OF Ben Gamel (hamstring), RHP Heath Hembree (calf), OF Jake Marisnick (thumb), 1B Yoshi Tsutsugo (lumbar muscle strain), Josh VanMeter (finger)

• 60-day injured list: OF Greg Allen (hamstring), RHP Blake Cederlind (UCL), RHP Nick Mears (elbow surgery), Kevin Newman (groin), Roberto Pérez (hamstring, out for season)

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
2. Bryan Reynolds, CF
3. Jack Suwinski, LF
4. Michael Chavis, DH
5. Rodolfo Castro, SS
6. Cal Mitchell, RF
7. Tucupita Marcano, 2B
8. Yu Chang, LF
9. Michael Perez, C

And for Torey Lovullo's Diamondbacks:

1. Josh Rojas, 3B
2. Pavin Smith, RF
3. Ketel Marte, 2B
4. Christian Walker, 1B
5. David Peralta, LF
6. Jordan Luplow, DH
7. Alek Thomas, CF
8. Geraldo Perdomo, SS
9. Jose Herrera, C

THE SCHEDULE

The rubber match is Saturday, 1:35 p.m. Zach Thompson will face Arizona righty, Zac Gallen. I'll have it covered from PNC Park. See you then.

THE CONTENT

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