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Bryan Reynolds’ 3 Homers Push Pirates Past Nats 8-7, Snap 5-Game Skid

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Pittsburgh Pirates Bryan Reynolds Diego Castillo

Not once, not twice, but thrice. Bryan Reynolds hit three homers for the Pirates, leading them to an 8-7 victory over the Nationals on Wednesday afternoon. It was the first career three-homer game for Reynolds and the second time he had multiple homers in the same game in his career. In addition to the homers, he set a career-high with six RBIs.

His first of the three came in the first inning, a two-run shot the other way that put the Bucs ahead 2-0.

Trailing by two in the sixth inning, Reynolds clobbered a solo shot to right, bringing the Bucs back within one.

In the seventh inning came the big one. With two on and one away and the Pirates still down a run, Reynolds deposited one into left field to put the Pirates ahead 8-6.

It has been quite the month for Reynolds who now has eight homers in June. He entered play hitting .323/.375/.531 slash in June, and improved on those numbers with a career-game at the plate.

Daniel Vogelbach reached double-digit homers on the season with a 400-foot solo shot to tie the game 3-3.

There was a confusing situation later in the inning that resulted in multiple umpire meetings and a rules check. Hayes lined out to Josh Bell at first and threw across the diamond for the second out. The Nationals never appealed Jack Suwinski leaving third early, and couldn’t do so after leaving the field. The inning-ending double play should have been just that, but resulted in a go-ahead run for the Bucs.

The Pirates 2-0 lead was quickly erased in the home half of the first thanks to a pair of RBI-singles from Nelson Cruz and Keibert Ruiz. Washington jumped out in front after a Juan Soto run-scoring double in the second inning.

The Nats took the lead back in the home half. Hoy Park failed to convert a double play ball and Nationals made them pay. Ruiz came through again with another RBI-single, and Yadiel Hernandez doubled home Cruz to put the Nats ahead. Cesar Hernandez drove in another run to put the Nats ahead 6-4.

Hernandez added a solo shot in the seventh inning to being the Nats back within a run.

After a string of strong starts, Mitch Keller really struggled in this one. His final line read four innings, nine hits, five earned runs, four walks and four strikeouts.

Without the services of David Bednar, the Pirates bullpen was able to preserve the lead. Yerry De Los Santos picked up his first career save by finishing it off in the ninth. The win snaps the Pirates five-game losing streak.

The Pirates will host the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park for a four-game series beginning on Thursday night. JT Brubaker (1-7, 4.14 ERA) will look to stay hot. The Brewers will have Adrian Houser (4-8, 4.50 ERA) on the hill.

Takeaways

  • Have A Day, B-Rey: What an afternoon it was for Reynolds. Entering play, the 2021 National League All-Star had just 25 RBIs on the year, but drove in nearly a quarter of that total in this game alone with a solo shot, two-run homer and three-run bomb. The three-run homer in the seventh inning was the first hit the Pirates recorded with runners in scoring position so far this series, snapping an 0 for 15 skid.
  • Well, That Was Weird: The confusing run that put the Pirates ahead by a score of 4-3 in the top of the fifth was something that I have never seen before. It looked like a basic, inning-ending double play by the Nats that killed the Bucs scoring opportunity. However, since the umps ruled that the Nationals needed to appeal Suwinski leaving third base early, normally seen on a flyball to the outfield not a soft liner to first, the play resulted in a run for the Pirates, even though the inning was over. Baseball is a game where you can see something you’ve never seen before, and that certainly was the case here. The whole game in general was filled with interesting moments.
  • Already Matched: So far this season, the Pirates have three players with at least 10 homers — Reynolds (15), Jack Suwisnki (12) and Vogelbach (10). Last year, the Pirates had only three players with double-digit homers on the entire season — Reynolds (24), Gregory Polanco (11) and Colin Moran (10). Michael Chavis and Diego Castillo (both have eight) are both knocking on the door to reach the double-digit mark this season. Oneil Cruz is another candidate to reach 10+ homers at some point this season.

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