PIRATES

Carmen Mlodzinski kept the Pirates within reach here tonight at Oracle Park in large part due to the defensive efforts behind him. 

That's an area in which this team has struggled this season, tying for the fifth-worst fielding percentage (.985) and the fifth-most errors (21) among teams in Major League Baseball. On this night, though, the defense was rather strong. 

Consider a few examples: There was this Konnor Griffin diving stop and throw to first, one that shouldn't have looked this easy, to rob Heliot Ramos of a hit in the second inning:

That's not an uncommon thing for Griffin. He's made more than a few rather spectacular plays in his short time in the majors. That also wasn't a situation with runners on base, but it did come shortly after Mlodzinski allowed a home run to Rafael Devers. Because of that play, the inning didn't last longer than it had to. 

Two innings later, two more plays stood out: 

The first is Jared Triolo preventing a run from scoring after back-to-back hits by Casey Schmitt and Devers put runners on the corners. Matt Chapman hit a ball right to Triolo, who wisely threw home for the out. It was a rather easy play, especially for a Gold Glove defender with a runner taking off right in front of him, but it served a significant purpose. 

Then, in that same inning, Bryan Reynolds made a play at the wall to ensure Willy Adames wouldn't be rounding the bases with an extra-base hit. A run did end up scoring in that inning, but things surely could have gotten worse had Triolo and Reynolds, who has struggled defensively with -5 Defensive Runs Saved this season, not come through when they did. 

“As a starter, that’s kinda what you want to happen," Mlodzinski said. "You want guys to swing and you want your defense to play, especially in early count stuff. You’re OK giving up an 0-0 hit, a 1-0 hit or a 0-1 hit, because that means you’re in zone and you’re being efficient. Anytime your defense is a part of the game, it usually means you’re being pretty efficient and you’re going to get early outs. When you see good plays like that, you have to be aware that there are going to be some momentum shifts. I know they took a homer away, too, so being aware of the momentum, especially in a stadium like this where the crowd can get into it. Just keep executing as a pitcher. That’s all you can really do.”