SAN FRANCISCO -- A day after failing to produce in a pair of bases-loaded situations against the team that originally drafted him back in 2016, Bryan Reynolds gained a sense of redemption with one swing of the bat Saturday night.
Reynolds led off the top of the 10th inning with a two-run home run that broke open a tie before Ke'Bryan Hayes followed with a blast of his own to help the Pirates to a 4-3 victory over the Giants at Oracle Park.
The two home runs helped put an end to a three-game skid and allowed the team to reach the .500 mark again at 14-14. But the first of those long balls served as a way for Reynolds, who showed a rare bit of emotion as he began his home-run trot, to bounce back from a showing that lacked a certain clutch factor a day prior.
"Just had a tough game yesterday, tough start to the game (tonight), so I let a bit (of emotion) out right there," Reynolds said. "Slow game yesterday, slow first part of the game today, so to break out in the tenth, it felt good.”
Derek Shelton also acknowledged the importance of Reynolds' bounce-back performance, as he additionally managed to overcome strikeouts in his first two plate appearances to finish 2 for 5 in the win.
“It was really good because yesterday he had some opportunities that he didn’t capitalize on," Shelton said, referring to opportunities with bases loaded in which he struck out and grounded into a double play. "But we're talking about a really good hitter here. If we continue to get him in those opportunities, then he’s gonna cash in on them."
It wasn't the same high-stakes situation with runners residing on every base, but Reynolds still managed to show more of a clutch gene by hammering a first-pitch sweeper from Taylor Rogers -- one that caught the inside part of the plate -- over the fence and off the roof of an ambulance in left field. Hayes then added his shot off Rogers, a line drive that traveled 377 feet for his first of the season:
Back-to-back homers by Bryan Reynolds and Ke'Bryan Hayes give the @Pirates the lead in extras! pic.twitter.com/Mi7DLrT2Ro
— MLB (@MLB) April 28, 2024
"Felt like we had a really good cushion once he hit that two-run homer and then I was able to follow it up," Hayes said. "Felt good to put a really good swing on it.
"I feel like being in the middle of the order, whenever guys are on, you are expected to get those guys in. B, he's a really big part of our lineup. We love whenever guys are on whenever he's up there. Connor, he's being doing a really good job whenever guys are on. Really just consistently hitting the ball hard. Collectively, we all want to be able to do that and pass the baton from hitter to hitter."
The uncharacteristic home-run-reliant production on this night might've been exactly what the Pirates needed after they snapped a streak of nearly 20 innings without a run via a Rowdy Tellez sacrifice fly in the seventh inning. Prior to manufacturing that game-tying run, their offense had struggled to push runs across, especially in the series opener against the Giants on Friday. Like it has throughout the season, the team's generally passive offensive approach led to collective struggles. Sure, there were eight hits amongst those who stepped to the plate, but timely hitting was non-existent, leading to key scoring opportunities that were squandered.
On Saturday, Giants starting pitcher Jordan Hicks made things even more difficult for Pirates hitters, as he allowed one earned run on five hits with nine strikeouts in six strong innings. Luke Jackson, Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval combined to throw three scoreless innings before Reynolds and Hayes got to Taylor Rogers in the final inning.
“Taylor Rogers is probably one of the better left-handers in the game," Shelton said. "Bryan got a breaking ball and hit it good, and Key flushed it. It was good to see. Two big hits by guys we need big hits from.”
Home runs can certainly alleviate issues when teams aren't performing at their best, but this team, as Hayes alluded to, isn't one that's going to always be able to sustain a home-run happy approach. It'll take more than that for the group to consistently be able to manufacture runs like it did when it scored six-plus in six of its first seven games to start the season.
"I don't think we're really a team that so much lives and dies by the long ball," Hayes said. "I feel like we're better when we're taking walks, running the bases well, going gap-to-gap, hitting singles, not doing too much."
Reynolds and Hayes are both aware of the offensive deficiencies that have plagued the club, not just as of late, but for a majority of the season thus far. Perhaps, though, their late-game heroics could serve as a turning point for the collective bunch.
“Yeah, it’s going to be good momentum-wise," Reynolds said. "Maybe just build off that and score some runs before the 10th, to be honest. So, that’d be good."
And how should this team expect to build off the late-inning surge of runs?
"I think it's a little bit of everything. I can't really speak for everyone else, but just trying to slow the game down the best you can. Not trying to do too much," Hayes said. "Really just all of that. I mean, tonight, Hicks, he had a lot of good stuff going. He was hitting corners, as well as Martín. Sometimes that's just how it kind of happens. That's baseball. Just gotta find a way at the end of the day. I think we'd, collectively, would like to be a little better at that aspect."
