Kovacevic: What would a satisfying final two months of 2023 look like?

MILWAUKEE -- "That's baseball," was all Endy Rodriguez had for me in explaining why he'd put down a bunt single in the next at-bat after an absolutely blistered home run. "I don't know what else to say."

Eh. That's never true with this kid.

And eventually, sure enough, once other reporters and team interpreter Stephen Morales arrived at his stall, this came:

"I don't know," he'd start this reply with a demeanor that ... just press the play button up there. "I just see that the third baseman is right by the shortstop. I need to take that one. And I got it."

Sure did, but only after he pumped all 107.1 mph of exit velocity, his hardest contact yet in the bigs, into this rope over the right field fence in the third inning of the Pirates' 4-1 flattening of the Brewers on this Sunday afternoon at American Family Field:

Before this beauty to open the fifth:

In all, Rodriguez would wind up 3 for 4, he'd make a fine popup catch behind home plate even though the Milwaukee runner at first had broken for second and, thus, began Rodriguez's move forward before the backtrack and, oh, hey, not to be forgotten, he caught and called Johan Oviedo's seven scoreless, two-hit innings.

"Probably the best game he's had since he's been with us," Derek Shelton would say.

Hardly anything significant for the supremely confident Rodriguez, though. Bear in mind, this is the same young man who a couple springs ago showed me his new bat in Bradenton and informed me that it had "too much homer" in it. And this right before rocketing to the top of the organizational prospect rankings.

"I feel more comfortable as a catcher here right now," Rodriguez would say of his first 18 games. "I just have to keep working as a hitter."

Yeah, no, he actually doesn't. What's more, I doubt he even means that. Trust me. And I'm saying this in the best way possible, because he knows -- as in knows -- he can do all this. And that anything he isn't already doing is a mere matter of time.

Sure, he's slashing .231/.286/.462 through 56 plate appearances, with two home runs, two doubles, two triples and seven RBIs. No one's about to cast Rookie of the Year votes for that. But the same violent swing, the same sense of how the pitcher's attacking him, the same generally smart approach is still there.

Bunt singles sold separately.

I'll stop here where Rodriguez is concerned. He needs no buildup. He'll write the rest, both this summer and beyond.

But honestly, what moved me most about this collective result was that ... man, this sure felt like a blueprint for how the remainder of this schedule might optimally play out for the Pirates.

These seem unrelated, but hear me out:

• Oviedo's been the rotation's peak performer for a while and, don't look now, but his 4.18 ERA just dipped below Mitch Keller's 4.35 and no one anywhere seems surprised. Those first-inning nerves have been succeeded by fastball after fastball within a far more aggressive attitude early in games, as both he and Shelton would confirm for me after this. And this dude's only 25, with the frame of an old-school horse and stuff to spare.

• Colin Holderman, owner of the staff's most electric material, not only put forth his ninth consecutive scoreless appearance in this one -- following a brief IL stint -- but also tapped triple-digits twice on the stadium gun. "He's really bringing it now," as Henry Davis would tell me. That's relevant. He's 27, and his rights are held for the next half-decade. No team wins without multiple back-end options.

• Davis himself is one of my favorite examples. He's owed a handful of hits over the next few days for all the lousy luck he endured with batted balls this weekend. His BABIP, or batting average on balls in play, is a laughably low .255 right now, when it should be right around .300 for everyone. But within that, he's stayed true to his approach and, very clearly, isn't losing any of his aggressiveness at the plate, as so many young hitters have under Andy Haines' walk-first institutional mindset. That's richly encouraging for Davis, as I see it. He'll flush away this 2-for-35 soon enough.

• Carmen Mlodzinski was summoned for a psuedo-save in this one, as the Pirates carried a four-run lead into the ninth and, as Shelton clarified for me, he didn't want to use David Bednar -- who was warming up, by the way -- in three consecutive games if he wasn't needed. Well, he wasn't. Mlodzinski entered with a 1.26 ERA in his 13 prior appearances, and he'd concede one unearned run off a hit, a walk and a Ke'Bryan Hayes throwing error. He got to shake hands and everything. He's 24. He's been here for 19 games.

• Can't leave this one out: Bryan Reynolds not only pulverized a pinch-hit, two-run home run in the eighth, but also ... um, watched it go:

Second deck, baby. I'd admire it, too.

Over the past 15 games, he's slashing .328/.359/.590 with five home runs with nine RBIs. The swing's back. Some swagger's back.

It can't be overstated, of course, how important it is to the franchise to get more from both Reynolds and Hayes, and not just because of the massive financial investments. They're foundational pieces. There's no end-around if they fail or even if they're just ordinary. 

The season's shot. Management, in large part, saw to that. But in fairness, management's motivation to not take 2023 seriously was that 2024 was the internal target all along, a stance Ben Cherington essentially blurted out loud on SiriusXM Radio on this same day by saying, "We think we can be a competitive team next year."

In Year 5. They can be competitive. They think.

Anyway ... getting better now very much matters toward that goal, however late and however modest.

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THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE INJURIES

• 10-day injured list: 2B Ji Hwan Bae (ankle)

• 15-day injured list: RHP Dauri Moreta (lower back)

• 60-day injured list: SS Oneil Cruz (ankle), RHP JT Brubaker (elbow), LHP Jarlin Garcia (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow), INF Tucupita Marcano (knee), RHP Vince Velasquez (elbow)

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Josh Palacios, LF
2. Connor Joe, DH
3. Alfonso Rivas, 1B
4. Henry Davis, RF
5. Jack Suwinski, CF
6. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
7. Endy Rodriguez, C
8. Liover Peguero, SS
9. Jared Triolo, 2B

And for Craig Counsell's Crew:

1. Christian Yelich, DH
2. William Contreras, C
3. Carlos Santana, 1B
4. Willy Adames, SS
5. Sal Frelick, RF
6. Mark Canha, LF
7. Andruw Monasterio, 3B
8. Brice Turang, 2B
9. Joey Wiemer, CF

THE SCHEDULE

Here come the Braves, the class of the National League, for four games at PNC Park, beginning Monday with Osvaldo Bido (2-2, 5.18) matched up against Spencer Strider (12-3, 3.61). First pitch is 7:05 p.m.

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