It's getting difficult to find any glaring weaknesses on the 2023 Pirates right now.
No, they haven't slugged their way to victories on this homestand as they had in Denver earlier this week. But this 2-1 win over the Reds Saturday night at PNC Park showed yet another layer to this team's stunning surge.
A big reason it's now 15-7 and off to the franchise's best start since 1992 -- the last year for a division title -- is that close games are now going their way. With this one, the Pirates are now 7-2 in games decided by two runs or less, 4-1 in one-run games.
"I think it’s a considerable difference, the fact that we’re finding ways to win games," Derek Shelton said after the game. "We had talked about it over the last couple years, with young teams they have to find ways to win games like that."
Regardless of the veteran players that were added to the roster in the offseason, there are plenty of younger players that are contributing to the Pirates' early success. That was evident Saturday night when Rich Hill's night ended after five innings of work. Despite giving up only one run, Hill needed 96 pitches to get through those five innings, taking away any chance of extending the club's astounding streak of quality starts to 12 games.
Hill left the game with a 2-1 lead and the offense was struggling to come through with timely hitting (going 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position), meaning the pressure was on the bullpen to keep Cincinnati at bay. What's more, the Pirates' top three arms in the back end of the bullpen -- David Bednar, Colin Holderman and Robert Stephenson -- were all unavailable due to their workload in recent games.
Last year, that would have been a recipe for disaster. But, the Pirates have put a lot of time and effort into having a bullpen that can execute, regardless of who's available and who's not.
"That’s been our whole goal here trying to build a bullpen and having different looks," pitching coach Oscar Marin said during the team's last road trip. "I think we’re getting to a spot that we want. Doesn’t mean that we can’t get better, but that’s absolutely right. Different looks is always helpful."
The look the Pirates went with Saturday night was two innings of Yohan Ramirez and two innings of Duane Underwood Jr. Ramirez was tested a bit, giving up two hits and walking a batter in his two innings of work, but kept the Reds off the board with four punch outs, hurling some nasty sinkers in the process.
"At times, I don’t think he knows what it's going to do," Shelton said of Ramirez's sinker. "When he doesn’t know what it’s going to do, it gets really effective. You have to have a good catcher. You have to be able to execute. And he went right after guys."
Underwood came through with two perfect innings for a six-out save, and made it look rather easy (another great defensive play from Ke'Bryan Hayes helps, too). Underwood, who's been on the teams that have taken their lumps the past couple of seasons, has seen the tide turn in the clubhouse for this pitching staff, which makes executing on the mound far easier than it's been previously.
"It's tough to put into words man, but I can tell you just from my perspective that I'm excited to come to the field every day," Underwood said. "It's been fun so far, but we still got a lot of work to do and you can see that with every guy. Guys getting their early work in, guys getting their mound work, guys getting in their routines and coming to work every day and trying to get to a win."
Of course, there's no taking away from actual results. After Ramirez's and Underwood's dominant performance Saturday night, Pirates relievers now have a collective 3.45 ERA and 11 saves. Last season, the bullpen had a 4.72 ERA and 33 saves for the whole season.
"We got a great group of guys and everybody likes each other," Underwood said. "Even from years before, we've always kind of vibed well. We like to keep a good mesh down there, just because our model is next man up in any situation, in any role, be ready to pitch whenever skip calls your name, and that's what we've always gone with and I think it's coming out on the baseball field now."
Because the likes of Bednar, Holderman and Stephenson weren't available, Ramirez and Underwood had their names called, and they came through in a big way. Just as starting pitching can be the catalyst for long-term success, having a strong bullpen can tilt the odds in the Pirates' favor in more one-, two- or three-run games. Seeing some guys further down the pecking order combine for four shutout innings isn't anything to ignore.
"I think it was really important what we got from Yohan and Duane," Shelton said. "What they did was outstanding."
MORE FROM PNC PARK
• Hill's five innings could have been a lot shorter as it looked like the third inning was going to get really ugly on him really quickly. However, Austin Hedges made a timely mound visit to right the ship.
Despite earning the win and allowing only one run in five innings, Hill wasn't pleased with his overall performance.
"The ball didn't come out of my hand the way I wanted to all night," Hill said. "It's one of those games that you put in the bucket of, you know, find a way to get the team through five and keep the team in the game. That's really what that outing entailed. That's where I'm going to do a deep dive on this. Definitely, I have to get better. I know that."
• The offense had a hard time against Reds' right-hander Luis Cessa. The Pirates tallied eight hits, but weren't able to come stack too many of those hits close together. Even so, the Pirates were able to strike first yet again when Hayes led off the bottom of the first with a triple then Bryan Reynolds drove him in with a sacrifice fly.
The one time the Pirates were able to stack two good hits together was with one out in the fourth inning. Carlos Santana ripped a liner into the right field corner and hustled his way to second base for a double, then Jack Suwinski immediately followed by lining the very next pitch over Nick Senzel's head in right field, allowing Santana to score with ease.
But, in a game like this, two runs was all the Pirates needed.
• Reynolds had two of the Pirates' hits, both being doubles to right field. He entered Saturday night slashing .189/.224/.208 with no homers and 12 strikeouts since starting the season red hot with five home runs in his first seven games. So, seeing an RBI from a sac fly and two well-hit doubles could be a sign that things are about to turn around.
"He had the sacrifice fly in the first, which was a really good bat, then got the barrel of the bat out front for the next two," Shelton said of Reynolds. "He took really good swings. So I think his timing is better."
• Underwood earned the Pikachu doll from Mitch Keller for earning the six-out save. Just one of the fun things this team has going right now.
"It's a blessing man. I've been watching that Pikachu go around for the starters and stuff, so it was it was nice to get one for the bullpen today," Underwood said. "As a staff, we're really going out and competing and having fun out there. So. got to continue to do the job and get the job done and and do it at a very high level."
• In case you haven't heard by now, Shelton signed a contract extension that goes beyond the 2023 season. Alex Stumpf and I have more on that in a separate piece.
• In addition, Dejan Kovacevic has some exclusive reporting on the latest regarding Ji Man Choi's Achilles injury here.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• 10-day injured list: 1B Ji-Man Choi (Achilles)
• 15-day injured list: RHP Chase De Jong (lumbar spine), Rob Zastryzny (elbow)
• 60-day injured list: RHP JT Brubaker (elbow), SS Oneil Cruz (ankle), LHP Jarlin Garcia (elbow)
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
2. Bryan Reynolds, LF
3. Connor Joe, 1B
4. Carlos Santana, DH
5. Jack Suwinski, RF
6. Rodolfo Castro, SS
7. Ji Hwan Bae, CF
8. Tucupita Marcano, 2B
9. Austin Hedges, C
And for David Bell's Reds:
1. Jonathan India, 2B
2. Spencer Steer, 3B
3. Stuart Fairchild, LF
4. Tyler Stephenson, DH
5. Wil Myers, 1B
6. Kevin Newman, SS
7. Nick Senzel, RF
8. Jose Barrero, SS
9. Curt Casali, C
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates go for the four-game sweep tomorrow. Vince Velasquez (2-2, 5.12) takes on hard-throwing right-hander, Hunter Greene (0-0, 4.24). First pitch 1:35 p.m. DK and I will be here.
THE MULTIMEDIA
THE CONTENT
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