Pirates Series Takeaways: Reynolds’ Rebound, Mlodzinski Usage
It was an ugly start to the series for the Pirates, who were walloped 11-2 by the Athletics on Monday night.
It looked like the Pirates were destined to drop the first two games of the series before they erased a four-run deficit to squeak out a 6-5 win in the second game of the series.
Then in Wednesday’s rubber match, the Pirates overwhelmed the Athletics by a final score of 12-4 while recording 16 hits.
It was a needed series win for the Pirates, and one that looked unlikely given how things started. It was only the Pirates’ second series win this month and first since taking two of three games against the Astros from June 2-4.
Again, the Pirates showed resilience, and just when it felt like the season was hitting a critical stage, they did enough to right the ship for now.
Here are a couple takeaways from a three-day trip to Sacramento.
Bryan Reynolds Bouncing Back
Historically, Bryan Reynolds has raked in June. Nothing has changed this year. In 15 games this month, the 31-year-old is slashing .305/.388/.593 with five doubles, four home runs and nine RBI.
Reynolds has been red-hot. He’s riding a nine-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in 24 straight games. In the three game series against the Athletics, he went 7 for 13 with a walk, two homers, a double, five RBI and five runs scored.
It’s been a really strong bounce-back season for Reynolds, who is coming off his worst full season as a big-leaguer (excluding the shortened 2020 season).
As it currently stands, Reynolds has the highest on-base percentage (.400) of his career, and he has his highest batting average (.283), slugging percentage (.472), OPS (.872) and OPS+ (140) since his 2021 All-Star campaign.
If he keeps playing like this, Reynolds has a chance to get selected to his third All-Star game.
The additions of Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn have been huge for the offense, by Reynolds’ resurgence is one of the biggest reasons the Pirates have turned things around this season.
Better Ways for Mlodzinski to Impact Bullpen
It was nice to hear Don Kelly suggest tthat the Pirates are open to using Carmen Mlodzinski in other roles than a bulk guy following Jared Jones.
I understand the reasoning. The Pirates are going to be cautious with Jones coming off elbow surgery, but with such a need in the bullpen, they can’t afford to automatically use Mlodzinski in relief of Jones every five days. By doing that, Mlodzinski’s role change really doesn’t change much in a struggling ‘pen.
For much of his career, Mlodzinski has been an effective relief pitcher. He’s a guy who is capable of handling leverage situations, which would give the Pirates exactly what they need. If Mlodzinski is available to pitch more days by handling higher-leverage situations one or two innings at a time, he immediately becomes the top right-handed option to call upon out of the bullpen.
Will there be situations where pitching him after Jones makes the most sense? Sure. But keeping your options open with Mlodzinski will be much more beneficial to the team.
Right now, Gregory Soto is probably the only reliever Kelly believes he can fully count on. Mlodzinski, given his track record in the role, would provide another.
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