Jack Suwinski Leads Pirates’ 5-3 Comeback Win Over Rockies

Jack Suwinski extended his hitting streak to six games in a big way as his two-homer night helped lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on Tuesday.

Suwinski got the Pirates (11-7) on the board with a solo homer to left field in the second inning off of Jose Ureña (0-3) to trim the Rockies’ lead to 3-1.

In his next at-bat, Suwinski gave the Pirates the lead with a two-run home run to right field. It was Suwinski’s third-straight plate appearance with a home run as he homered in the ninth inning of the Pirates’ blowout win on Monday night. The home run was part of a four-run fourth inning for the Bucs.

During his six-game hitting streak, Suwinski is hitting .421 (8 for 19) with four home runs and six RBIs.

Sandwiched in between Suwinski’s homers, Connor Joe and Carlos Santana hit back-to-back doubles to give Pittsburgh another run. In addition to his double, Joe later tripled, finishing the night 2 for 4.

Tucupita Marcano was responsible for the Pirates’ fourth run of the inning. After tripling into the right-center gap for his first hit of the season, Marcano avoided a tag with a nifty move at home plate on a wild pitch. 

Ke’Bryan Hayes was on base three times and stole a base for the Pirates. He extended his hitting streak to five games with his ninth-inning base hit to left.

Colorado jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning off of Pirates starter Vince Velasquez (2-2). Kris Bryant hit a solo homer, his second in as many games, to begin the scoring. Elías Díaz later drove in two with a double off the wall in right field for the Rockies (5-13). 

After the first inning, Velasquez settled in nicely. The three runs in the first were the only three he allowed in the game and he completed six innings. The right-hander allowed five hits, walked three and struck out a season-high seven batters. 

Robert Stephenson danced out of a first and third, nobody out jam in the eighth and David Bednar recorded his fifth save of the season to preserve the win.

The Pirates will go for their second series sweep of the season on Wednesday afternoon. Johan Oviedo (1-1, 2.45 ERA) will look to keep it rolling on the mound. Southpaw Austin Gomber (0-3, 8.16 ERA) will start for the Rockies. First pitch: 3:10 ET.

Takeaways:

• That’s High Quality: Velasquez’s three runs in six innings qualifies as a quality start, the eighth straight quality start delivered by Pirates’ starting pitching in a row. The streak dates back to Mitch Keller’s outing against the Houston Astros on Apr. 11. The Pirates are 5-3 in those eight games. 
• Oppo Taco Tuesday: Suwinski’s solo home run to left field in the second was the first opposite-field home run in his career. Entering play, his first 21 home runs were all either to center, right-center or right field. It also marked the fourth time in his career that he went deep in back-to-back games. The last of which came last September against the Cubs.
• Rough Night For Bae: Ji Hwan Bae has been a sparkplug for the Pirates this season but it was a pretty tough game for him on Tuesday. Bae was caught stealing for the first time in his career and was later picked off of first base. In the field, he was charged with an error and saw a hard liner bounce off his glove. While he did have a base hit and a walk, he also bounced into a double play and struck out.