The Pirates spend the next week in Chicago and it didn’t take them long to settle in as they batted around in the 1st inning and took a 5-0 lead. They added two more runs on in the 2nd to chase Sean Burke from the game as they coasted to a 9-3 victory. Oneil Cruz and Rafael Flores had three hits each as Flores clubbed his 8th home run of the season. Konnor Griffin, Brandon Lowe, Bryan Reynolds, Spencer Horwitz and Jake Mangum all had two hits each. Bubba Chandler fired six strong innings with two runs allowed while striking out eight batters for his 7th win of the season. Jim and DiNardo recapped this win on the NS9 Postgame Show powered by Primanti Bros. You can watch or listen here:
Here’s my 3 takeaways from this 9-3 win…
Pirates Offense is Strange
This Pirates offense was so good throughout the first half of the season and now in the second half, they either bat around once a week and explode for 9 or 13 runs in a random game or they disappear for the rest of it. After scoring three runs in three games in the entire series against the last-place Angels, the Pirates scored three runs in the first five batters of the game Tuesday night against the first-place White Sox. This offense didn’t make an out in the 1st inning until the 8th hitter Jacob Gonzalez struck out.
I’m not sure what this offense is right now, but consistent is not it. In game two Wednesday, they’ll probably go back to one or two runs and continue to be maddeningly frustrating. Obviously the return of Cruz and Griffin is helping the offense be more competent, but it’s still so inconsistent. Ryan O’Hearn is on his way back too as he’s currently on a rehab stint so we may see him by this weekend, but I’m interested if when fully healthy, if this offense can produce like they did in the first half again to close out this season.
Bryan Reynolds Doesn’t Get Enough Credit
Bryan Reynolds went 2-for-4 with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored in this win against the White Sox. His slash line is now .268/.373/.432. He’s already past 3.5 bWAR this season and is quietly putting together one of the betters seasons of his career are a “down year” in 2025. Reynolds two doubles Tuesday night gives him 35 for the season and it’s the fourth time he’s recorded at least 35 doubles in a year. He’s played every game this season after playing 154 games last season, 156 in 2024, 145 in 2023, 145 in 2022 and 159 games in 2021. His stability and health has been incredible in today’s game where rest and load management are emphasized around baseball. He’s put up nearly 25 bWAR in his 8 MLB seasons all with the Pirates and is climbing the ranks in Pirates all-time offensive categories. He’s 16th on the list in doubles and will be passing Jay Bell (233) soon, and he’s 9th all-time in Pirates home runs with 154 long balls. The Andrew McCutchen trade that sucked at the time ended up being a slam dunk bringing Reynolds to Pittsburgh. You couldn’t ask for anything better than what BRey has done since putting on the black and gold jersey.
I feel it just doesn’t get talked about enough, but Bryan Reynolds is becoming an all-time Pirates great right in front of our eyes. He definitely gets taken for granted as he continues to show up and play every day and churning out another 3.5-4 WAR season.
Pirates Finally Passed the Cardinals
With the win Tuesday night and a Cardinals 2-1 loss to the Giants, the Pirates finally move back into third place and pass the Cards in the standings. It’s the first time they’ve been in third place since August 4, more than a month ago. This isn’t some thing to celebrate passing the Cardinals, but I just really want to finish ahead of the rat birds this season. Can they finish ahead of them? It would be the first time since 2023 and just the second time since 1999 that it’s happened. It’s a sad state of affairs, it’s even sad that I’m looking forward to it possibly happening because the bar is so low and playoffs aren’t happening this season, but here we are. Screw St. Louis and that Cardinals team. At this point, I will take a season where they finish ahead of those dopes.
Comments· 0
No comments yet — be the first to weigh in.