CINCINNATI -- If a series can be a microcosm of the things we've needed to see from the 2022 Pirates, it might be the four games played this week at Great American Ball Park.
The Pirates finished off a four-game sweep of the Reds with Wednesday's 10-4 trouncing, and it may have been some of the best baseball this team has played all season.
"We played really good defense, and we pitched well," Derek Shelton said of his team. "We played a full 36 innings. When you do that, you give yourselves a chance to win games."
Yes, it was the Reds. They're a bad baseball team. So, when one bad team beats up on another bad team, does it make the winning team a good team?
In the short term, no. But, in all honesty, that's a question that still needs to be answered.
There are two takeaways from this series that show tangible signs of actual progress, which has been a word that's triggered fans since Ben Cherington made these remarks nearly a month ago.
First, the pitching in this series was outstanding, especially the starters. Bryse Wilson, Johan Oviedo, Luis Ortiz and Roansy Contreras combined for 20 1/3 innings, 12 hits, four earned runs, seven walks and 16 strikeouts. Oviedo and Ortiz turned in scoreless outings, and only gave up one hit each. Wilson and Ortiz had the longest outings at 5 2/3 innings. The only pitcher to not go at least five innings was Contreras, and that was due to monitoring his workload as the season nears its end.
Wilson has the most on his resume, but he needs to be more consistent before becoming a serious candidate for the rotation next season. That's because a trio like Oviedo, Ortiz and Contreras have all the potential to not only become serious candidates, but can be good major-league pitchers.
I even asked Contreras if he, Oviedo and Ortiz can be mainstays in the future rotation.
"At the end of the day, that’s a decision that the club has to make that we’ll respect," Contreras said. "All I know is Ortiz had a great outing. He did so good. His start was awesome. He was so poised, calm and collected. Oviedo’s also been able to demonstrate what he has. Hopefully they see the potential of that going into the future. But, I’m very confident in those two. It’s very exciting and fun to watch."
In addition to the pitching, the team came through in the clutch. The Pirates have been awful this season with runners in scoring position. They are dead last in baseball with a .219 batting average in those situations, and they're last in the National League with a .200 average with runners in scoring position and two outs.
However, 22 of the 23 runs scored by the Pirates this series were batted in (Michael Chavis scored on an error in the ninth inning of Wednesday's game). Of those 22 RBIs, 11 came with two outs.
What's more, look at the names that provided those two-out RBIs:
• Diego Castillo (2)
• Cal Mitchell (2)
• Ben Gamel (1)
• Bryan Reynolds (2)
• Kevin Newman (1)
• Oneil Cruz (2)
• Ke'Bryan Hayes (1)
Outside of Gamel, these are either young players trying to earn their spots or guys that are expected to be part of the next contending core. That is a sign of progress.
"For the young guys, just contributing, continuing to get better," Shelton said. "We’ve talked about them needing to play to get better. They’re playing and they’re taking advantage of the opportunities. I think that’s the most important thing."
Mitchell made some noise with his remarks about the front office in between games in Tuesday's doubleheader. But as I've had time to replay his comments over and over again, one part of that really stood out to me: "All anybody ever needs is time."
Maybe progress really has taken place. Maybe these guys have just been powering their way through a barrage of growing pains, hoping to come out of this strong enough to withstand the grind of being a productive major leaguer.
Or maybe it was just a well-played series against a bad baseball team, only to be course corrected when the club heads to New York for back-to-back series with the Mets and Yankees.
Only time will tell.
At the very least, a series like this sure was a nice break from what's been the norm.
"This has been a lot of fun," Castro said through interpreter Mike Gonzalez. "This is definitely what we’ve been working for. We’ve been working diligently. We’ve been supporting one another. To be able to see the results come in, that’s huge."
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Contreras was limited to only 55 pitches in four innings in Wednesday's game. He was very effective during that time, allowing only one run on three hits with no walks and three strikeouts. But, it was certainly a bit of a surprise since Contreras has logged pitch counts of 90, 89, 89, 92 and 96 in his previous five starts. Shelton confirmed after the game injury didn't play a factor in the decision.
"We went into the game knowing he was going to be four and 60 only. It’s just like we talked about earlier in the year with monitoring his volume," Shelton said. "We want him to finish the year in the rotation. We want him to finish the year starting games. Because of that, there are going to be some times that he gets shortened up. We talked to Ro about it yesterday. He understands that. He’s a really important part of what we’re doing. We went into it knowing that’s what the plan was going to be."
• The Pirates scored 10 runs in this game, and half of them came via the long ball. Just as it played out in Monday's 6-2 victory, the Pirates fell behind by a run early, but only for a short time until Castro launched a three-run homer into the seats. This time, it gave the Pirates a 3-1 lead:
Since he was recalled near the beginning of August, Castro has gone 31 for 118 (.263) with eight homers and 16 RBIs. That's a large enough sample size to believe the 23-year-old slugger is making some serious strides forward.
"I believe it’s just my routine and my work ethic, and maintaining my positive mindset," Castro said. "Trying to maintain the positiveness throughout the highs and the lows, just continue working and growing. So far, that’s what’s been giving me results."
• In relief of Contreras, the Pirates only needed Tyler Beede and Miguel Yajure to finish this one off. Beede covered the fifth and sixth innings, giving up one run on three hits with no walks and a strikeout. Yajure finished off the game, allowing two runs on two hits with one walk and two strikeouts over three innings.
Since he recorded the final nine outs of the game, Yajure earned his first career save.
• The Pirates' four-game sweep of the Reds is their first four-game sweep since Aug. 29-Sept. 1, 2019, when they did it to the Rockies. It's the first four-game sweep of the Reds since April 4-7, 2019, but that one took place at PNC Park.
This is actually the Pirates' first four-game sweep ever at Great American Ball Park. The last time the Pirates swept the Reds in four games in Cincinnati was July 11-14, 1991 at Riverfront Stadium.
• With the win, the Pirates improved to 55-88 on the season. They need to finish 8-11 over their final 19 games in order to avoid another 100-loss season.
• As expected, Luis Ortiz was returned to Class AAA Indianapolis after serving as the 29th man for Tuesday's doubleheader. He was in the Pirates clubhouse Wednesday prior to the game as a taxi squad member, but went back to Indianapolis later in the day.
THE ESSENTIALS
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• 15-day injured list: RHP David Bednar (back), LHP Dillon Peters (left elbow)
• 60-day injured list: RHP Yerry De Los Santos (lat), OF Canaan Njigba-Smith (wrist), RHP Colin Holderman (right shoulder), RHP Blake Cederlind (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow), C Roberto Pérez (hamstring)
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
2. Bryan Reynolds, CF
3. Rodolfo Castro, DH
4. Michael Chavis, 1B
5. Kevin Newman, 2B
6. Diego Castillo, RF
7. Oneil Cruz, SS
8. Greg Allen, LF
9. Tyler Heineman, C
And for David Bell's Reds:
1. TJ Friedl, LF
2. Jonathan India, 2B
3. Kyle Farmer, 3B
4. Donovan Solano, 1B
5. Aristides Aquino, RF
6. Nick Senzel, CF
7. Spencer Steer, DH
8. Jose Barrero, SS
9. Austin Romine, C
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates continue their road trip with a week-long stay in New York. First, a four-game series with the Mets beginning Thursday. JT Brubaker (3-11, 4.36) will take on lefty Carlos Carrasco (14-6, 3.80), with first pitch scheduled for 7:20 p.m. I'm heading back to Pittsburgh to begin my full-time coverage of the Steelers. Alex Stumpf will have you covered from the Big Apple.
THE CONTENT
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