The Pirates bats rolled right into this one as they smacked 19 hits and walked 11 times to humiliate the Reds 17-7 for their second straight victory. The Pirates tied an MLB record by walking seven consecutive batters in the 2nd inning to score five runs and put this one out of reach. Jim and Neil recapped this one on the NS9 Postgame Show powered by Primanti’s Bros and you can watch/listen below.
Here’s my three takeaways from this 17-7 laugher…
Holy Walks, Batman
The Pirates were leading 5-3 when the bottom of the second inning started. It went like this:
Oneil Cruz struck out
Brandon Lowe walks
Bryan Reynolds walks
Ryan O’Hearn walks
PITCHING CHANGE: Insert RP Connor Phillips
Nick Gonzales walks, RBI
Marcell Ozuna walks, RBI
Spencer Horwitz walks, RBI
Konnor Griffin walks, RBI
PITCHING CHANGE: Insert RP Sam Moll
Henry Davis force out, RBI
Oneil Cruz grounds out
Five runs scored, seven straight walks and ZERO hits in the inning. Remember that scene in Major League when Ricky Vaughn walked the bases loaded? Well, this was worse. Reds starter Rhett Lowder walked the bases loaded, was pulled and Phillips then walked four more. What a wild inning, and it was historic.
You watch baseball, a game that’s been around for like 150 years and then you see something you likely have never seen before. Also, per Pirates media relations, the Pirates also scored 5 runs in three separate innings for the first time since 1912. The Pirates entire starting lineup all had at least one RBI which is also the 5th time they’ve done that since 1920 when RBI became a stat and the first time since 1975. It was just a complete pitching breakdown by the Reds. And it wasn’t just walks, the Pirates offense ripped the Reds for 19 hits and ZERO home runs.
Konnor Griffin is Arriving
If you’re noticing that Konnor Griffin seems more comfortable at the plate or settled in, it’s because well he may be figuring out this Major League pitching.
Griffin went 4-for-5 with a double, triple and two singles and was a home run short of the cycle. Overall for the season he’s now slashing .260/.324/.390. If this is him figuring out MLB pitching at age 20 after thirty some games and 100+ plate appearances, that’s truly ridiculous. I can’t wait to see what he does next and where he goes from here.
This Offense isn’t just Average, They’re Good
I’m sticking with offense and keeping all three takeaways positive after a game like this. This offense just scored 17 runs on 19 hits and not one of them was a home run. And here’s the good news, this team can hit home runs too. I said early in the season that this Pirates offense would put up some crooked numbers this season and they put up a ton of crooked numbers all game Saturday. If it’s not Ryan O’Hearn and Brandon Lowe coming through or hitting bombs, it’s Bryan Reynolds or Oneil Cruz coming through. Then Nick Gonzales collects two hits like he’s suddenly 2006 Freddy Sanchez. Nicky G is hitting .336 with a .390 OBP by the way. Spencer Horwitz is a quiet assassin and was our best hitter last year. Now if Ozuna and Griffin get going, look out. I’m not sure what the ceiling is for this offense across a full season, but when everything is clicking for them this is the kind of game they can put up.
Per Sarah’s tweet above, this offense has scored 15 or more runs TWICE already this season and is just the 4th time in franchise history they’ve done that before their 35th game and yes, those other times were all before 1900. Think about that. This stuff is unprecedented. This offense can be downright scary when everyone is clicking. And it was cold the past two days…wait till they start hitting in warm weather when the ball carries further. I can’t believe what this offense is doing and how the team was able to overhaul this lineup to go from one of the worst offenses last year to probably a top 10 one this season. Let’s sweep this Reds team Sunday.
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