Going Deep: Might Reynolds just need some time down?
May hasn't been kind to Bryan Reynolds as another 0-for-5 tonight at Citi Field in the Pirates' 2-1 loss to the Mets left him 2 for his past 42 and lowered his average to .198.
He stepped to the plate three times with runners in scoring postion.
• The first resulted in an inning-ending ground ball to third on a Kodai Senga forkball that was well outside the zone.
• The second was a pop-out to right field.
• The last came in the ninth with Adam Frazier on third and Isiah Kiner-Falefa on second, representing the tying and go-ahead runs:
That was a 96-mph fastball from Edwin Diaz into the heart of the zone.
He also struck out in the first:
Reynolds began May 3 for 7 with a home run. Over the past 10 games, amid that 2-for-42 stretch, he's struck out 13 times, walked four times.
"I just feel like he’s trying to do a little too much right now and trying to carry the team and put the team on his back," Don Kelly said afterward. "He’s getting out of the zone a little bit and chasing. He really just needs to slow things down, simplify and get back to getting his pitch in counts that he can handle."
Reynolds wasn't available after the game.
He has never finished a season below .262, not including the COVID-shortened 2020 season, when he hit .189 over 55 games. He's been in slumps but has always bounced back. In April and May of 2022, he hit .194 over 19 games and still finished with a .262 average. In July of 2023, he hit .200 over 23 games but rebounded in August and September to hit .263 with a .790 OPS.
This one's more severe: His 28.3% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate are the worst of his career. His hard-hit percentage (45.3%) and barrel percentage (12.0%) remain healthy, with the latter being a career high, but his launch angle (4.6) is a career low.
Despite dealing with a teres major muscle strain in his right shoulder toward the beginning of the season that limited him to just hitting, Reynolds has played in 42 of the Pirates' 43 games. He missed one game, April 7 against the Cardinals, due to the injury.
I asked Kelly if he's considering giving Reynolds a day off, and he acknowledged he'd discussed it with his staff.
"Ultimately, nobody feels worse than Bryan does right now," Kelly said. "Being in that situation and going up there and grinding it out, he wants to come through and find a way to slow it down and get back to the Bryan Reynolds that we all know. We'll see. Maybe get him a day down. Not exactly sure when that'll be, but just trying to get him going. We need him."
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THE ASYLUM
Greg Macafee
3:55 am - 05.14.2025NEW YORKGoing Deep: Might Reynolds just need some time down?
May hasn't been kind to Bryan Reynolds as another 0-for-5 tonight at Citi Field in the Pirates' 2-1 loss to the Mets left him 2 for his past 42 and lowered his average to .198.
He stepped to the plate three times with runners in scoring postion.
• The first resulted in an inning-ending ground ball to third on a Kodai Senga forkball that was well outside the zone.
• The second was a pop-out to right field.
• The last came in the ninth with Adam Frazier on third and Isiah Kiner-Falefa on second, representing the tying and go-ahead runs:
That was a 96-mph fastball from Edwin Diaz into the heart of the zone.
He also struck out in the first:
Reynolds began May 3 for 7 with a home run. Over the past 10 games, amid that 2-for-42 stretch, he's struck out 13 times, walked four times.
"I just feel like he’s trying to do a little too much right now and trying to carry the team and put the team on his back," Don Kelly said afterward. "He’s getting out of the zone a little bit and chasing. He really just needs to slow things down, simplify and get back to getting his pitch in counts that he can handle."
Reynolds wasn't available after the game.
He has never finished a season below .262, not including the COVID-shortened 2020 season, when he hit .189 over 55 games. He's been in slumps but has always bounced back. In April and May of 2022, he hit .194 over 19 games and still finished with a .262 average. In July of 2023, he hit .200 over 23 games but rebounded in August and September to hit .263 with a .790 OPS.
This one's more severe: His 28.3% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate are the worst of his career. His hard-hit percentage (45.3%) and barrel percentage (12.0%) remain healthy, with the latter being a career high, but his launch angle (4.6) is a career low.
Despite dealing with a teres major muscle strain in his right shoulder toward the beginning of the season that limited him to just hitting, Reynolds has played in 42 of the Pirates' 43 games. He missed one game, April 7 against the Cardinals, due to the injury.
I asked Kelly if he's considering giving Reynolds a day off, and he acknowledged he'd discussed it with his staff.
"Ultimately, nobody feels worse than Bryan does right now," Kelly said. "Being in that situation and going up there and grinding it out, he wants to come through and find a way to slow it down and get back to the Bryan Reynolds that we all know. We'll see. Maybe get him a day down. Not exactly sure when that'll be, but just trying to get him going. We need him."
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