‘You See What Good Teams Can Do Out There,’ Reactions to Pirates’ 10-Run 6th Inning
PITTSBURGH — Scoring runs behind eventual National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes proved to be an incredibly difficult task for the Pittsburgh Pirates last season.
That hasn’t been the case so far this year, and Monday night’s win over the Washington Nationals — and one inning in particular — tells all about the complete flip of the script.
The Pirates (10-6) scored 10 runs and sent 13 batters to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning and went on to rout the Nationals (7-9) by a final score of 16-5.
Skenes (3-1), who held the Nationals to one run on one hit in six innings, knew his outing was done as the runs continued to pile up.
“I mean that long inning cost me going back out there,” Skenes joked after the game. “Just took forever, which is what you want. Went through a couple pitchers that inning. I feel like that inning everybody just pulling the rope and passing it off to the next guy. It was cool to watch.”
The inning started with a single and a stolen base from nine-hole hitter Henry Davis. After Oneil Cruz walked and Brandon Lowe singled, Bryan Reynolds cleared the bases with a triple into the right field corner.
Ryan O’Hearn followed with a double to deep center and Konnor Griffin chipped in an RBI single two batters later. After the lineup flipped back over, Cruz drove in Spencer Horwitz and Griffin with a single to right, which simultaneously pushed Jake Mangum to third base.
“Hitting’s contagious,” said Lowe. “When multiple guys are going well, everybody is itching to get up there and ready to go. That’s kind of a tip to all the guys in here.”
It was Lowe who provided the exclamation point. In his second trip to the plate of the inning, the Pirates second baseman belted a three-run home run to right field, giving him five RBI on the night and 10 over his last two games.
Lowe became the first player for the Pirates to have five RBI in back-to-back games since RBI became an official stat in 1920.
“He’s a great hitter. Always has been,” Reynolds said of Lowe. “He’s got pop and drives in runs and he’s doing exactly what he’s always done. Good players play good, and that’s what he does.”
The bottom of the sixth marked the first time the Pirates scored 10 runs in an inning since July 9, 2017 against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. It was also the first time they did it at home since May 17, 2009 against the Colorado Rockies.
“You see what good teams can do out there,” said Lowe.
It’s early, but the Pirates look like they have a shot to be a much-improved team from a year ago. The starting pitching remains strong, aided by Skenes’ efforts on Monday night. The offense, even before a 16-run performance, has looked much better thanks to the additions of Lowe and O’Hearn, plus improved showings from Cruz and Reynolds.
10% of the way through the season, the Pirates sit atop the National League Central. April standings don’t mean much, but this time last year, it already felt like any chance at the playoffs was zapped.
This year, however, the sentiment around the team is the exact opposite.
“I think it shows what this offense is capable of,” said Horwitz, who finished 2 for 4 with a solo home run. “The pitching staff we have, if we take at-bats like that, it should be a special season.”
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