Kovacevic: How the Pirates play in -- and react to -- Ls will count, too

The clubhouse music was still audible. Barely, but it was there.

Oh, yeah, it's different, all right.

In fact, all about the room a few minutes after the Pirates' 8-7 blown-five-run-lead of a loss to the billion-dollar Dodgers on this Tuesday night at PNC Park, several players were still seated at their stalls. Maybe stewing over what'd just ended their seven-game winning streak. Maybe soaking up the specifics for the purpose of future progress. Maybe ... oh, man, whatever, because they were still in there.

Hear me on that?

If not, take this from a veteran with tenure who shared the following with me: "A year ago, this place would've been cleared out. Showered. Dressed. Gone." And I'll bear that out. They'd be whizzing by on their electric scooters across the lower concourse toward the stadium's internal parking garage, and poof.

Not this team. Certainly not this time. 

Lots of positives transpired, from Johan Oviedo pushing through some lousy luck to Ji Hwan Bae firing up some old-school small ball to Andrew McCutchen ramming a three-run home run to ring up a 7-2 lead to Jack Suwinski with ... 

... wow, one of the more compelling outfield robberies in this ballpark's history, right?

But that'd be followed by, among other misfires, Colin Holderman serving up a massive mistake for Chris Taylor's decisive three-run blast in the Los Angeles eighth ...

... then Cutch popping up with bases loaded in the bottom half, that on a 3-1 pitch that might've been ball four to tie the score:

"I'll wear it on the chin," Holderman would tell me afterward of Taylor's shot that turned a 7-5 lead into an 8-7 deficit. "I left that one right where I shouldn't have, right in his bat path, and he crushed it. Like he should've. I just didn't do my job."

Terrific as he'd been through 11 appearances -- 1.64 ERA, 11 strikeouts, two walks -- this 2-1 fastball location most definitely didn't do the job:

MLB.com

"But you know what?" he'd add. "I'll be ready to do my job tomorrow."

Good for him. Good for all of them. I liked this general reaction. I didn't necessarily recognize it in this environment, but I liked it.

And my goodness, unless I've lost all perspective on the man, even Derek Shelton seemed at least a little peeved over all that unraveling. When I asked, for instance, about Oviedo lasting 5 1/3 innings despite five super-soft hits among the six conceded and five runs, four earned, he hardly let Oviedo off the hook:

"Yeah, I mean, you know, I didn't think the command of his slider was where we’ve seen it," he replied. "I didn't think the command of his fastball was where we’ve seen it and he still went, what, 5 1/3? And still gave us a chance to win the game. So that’s a really positive sign."

Sure, but only after the gentle critique. That's not Shelton circa 2020-22.

This is how it'll have to be, my friends. Meaning this whole scene. Meaning building off the highs, burying the lows, and putting forth more plus-level baseball than not over the course of the full 162. There've never been any parades for April achievements, just as there've never been any shortcuts across the diamond.

So, does it matter after this deflating outcome that Cutch cleared the Clemente Wall in the clutch? That Suwinski made that catch? That enough excitement had mounted that the crowd of 10,560 stood throughout the bulk of the final two innings?

Absolutely. That's the build. Inside and out.

As is the response.

In addition to the clubhouse music continuing to pipe, albeit at a more reasonable volume than the victory-fueled 11, it didn't take long for Carlos Santana, Holderman, Cutch and others to pop up from their seats and proceed with business per usual. Chins up. No consolations. No regrets. And soon, I'll bet, no rewinding.

As Suwinski observed, "It’s pretty good baseball out there, I'd say. We had opportunities and chances. So did they. They capitalized on a couple. We just came up one short."

Or as Rodolfo Castro would tell me, "We did some good things. It wasn't enough. We have another game tomorrow."

And a few more after that, I'm told. With Bryan Reynolds back. And someday, Oneil Cruz.

Be like Cutch ...

... and keep the keel even.

JUSTIN K. ALLER / GETTY

Ji Hwan Bae slides past the Dodgers' Austin Barnes to score on an Austin Hedges single in the fourth inning.

• I might have less to say about Reynolds' extension than anyone in town. Not because it isn't a big deal but, rather, because it couldn't have been more obvious for months now that it'd get done.

I shared with our readers way back in mid-February from Bradenton, Fla., after speaking one-on-one with both Reynolds and Bob Nutting, the strongest possible conviction that both these men wanted it to happen. 

I then shared with our readers in late March from Cincinnati, when the sides reached a rough agreement on money but the annoying opt-out clause arose, that I'd never once covered a negotiation that didn't reach settlement if money was squared away.

And most important, I'd repeatedly shared, for more than a year now, that Reynolds wanted to stay. For real. And I kept sharing that even his agents at CAA continued to seemingly concoct ways to crush the process.

So, here it is. Awesome.

• Here's my next prediction: The number of people in Pittsburgh who'll have anything remotely positive to offer about Nutting won't fill a single hand. Even though his role in this also aligns with everything I'd been reporting for quite some time, which, I'll add, brought me a ton of heat, much of it personal.

He's not the best owner in professional sports. There are times I've been convinced the franchise would be better off it he'd sell. But the notion that he's not invested, whether by being present or by caring, that's always been incorrect.

• Situations change. Stances should change.

When I reported early last fall that the front office would be punting on the 2023 season, that came straight from the front office. Like, face-to-face. But to their inestimable credit, they changed their minds around Christmastime and decided instead to take an aggressive approach toward making a real stride. And once I saw that -- and believed it, which didn't happen until Bradenton -- my stance on the punt changed.

It ain't that hard.

• Reynolds and Ke'Bryan Hayes are here through the 2030 season. Cruz's rights are held through 2029, even without an extension. Endy Rodriguez, Henry Davis, Quinn Priester, Termarr Johnson and, yes, LSU slugger Dylan Crews, the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in this summer's MLB Draft, are all on the way.

Relax, everyone. Finally.

• There isn't a manager in the land who gives Cutch a red light. That's his call 100 percent. He missed. It happens. And to reiterate, I'm not even sure that was ball four.

• The Cutch home run made for a moment way too cool to leave out of the column entirely, so enjoy:

• I have an R-rated adjective I could apply to Noah Syndergaard's pitching, but I'll try to rise above his own classlessness.

• A friendly reminder that there are no uglier media/fan followings of any teams than of those in New York:

Wish all the ill things upon them. Always.

• Thanks for reading my baseball coverage.

THE ESSENTIALS

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

THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE INJURIES

• 15-day injured list: RHP Chase De Jong (lumbar spine), Rob Zastryzny (elbow)

• 60-day injured list: 1B Ji-Man Choi (Achilles), RHP JT Brubaker (elbow), SS Oneil Cruz (ankle), LHP Jarlin Garcia (elbow), RHP Max Kranick

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
2. Tucupita Marcano, 2B
3. Andrew McCutchen, DH
4. Carlos Santana, 1B
5. Jack Suwinski, LF
6. Connor Joe, RF
7. Rodolfo Castro, SS
8. Ji Hwan Bae, CF
9. Austin Hedges, C

And for Dave Roberts' Dodgers:

1. Mookie Betts, SS
2. Freddie Freeman, 1B
3. Jason Heyward, RF
4. James Outman, CF
5. Miguel Vargas, 2B
6. David Peralta, LF
7. Michael Busch, DH
8. Chris Taylor, 3B
9. Austin Barnes, C

THE SCHEDULE

Second game with the Dodgers is next Wednesday night. It's Roansy Contreras Day. First pitch 6:35 p.m.

THE MULTIMEDIA

THE CONTENT

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