Pittsburgh Pirates Three Stars of the Week: May 16-22

Talk about a rough week for the Pirates. After being outscored 16-0 in the first two games against the Cubs, the Bucs were able to salvage the series on Wednesday, their lone win of the week. Pittsburgh was then swept at home against the Cardinals, capped off by an embarrassing 18-4 loss.

Two players stood out with the bats, and the Pirates had good performances from a handful of pitchers, especially in the bullpen. Here’s who made the cut.

Third Star: Wil Crowe – 4 innings, 1 run, 1 hit, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts, 2 appearances

Crowe made his first start of the season for the Pirates, tossing two innings as an opener for Mitch Keller. He gave up a homer in the outing, but that was the only blemish on the right-hander’s week.

Other than that, Crowe didn’t allow a baserunner and really had his strikeout stuff on display and lowered his season ERA to 2.52 thanks to the impressive week.

Second Star: Bryan Reynolds – .333/.391/.524, 7 for 21, 1 double, 1 home run, 3 RBIs, 1 stolen base, 6 games

Reynolds might finally be breaking out of his prolonged slump. He enjoyed a strong week at the plate and looked much more like the player we got used to seeing in his excellent 2021 season.

His homerun was an exciting one, as it was a two-run inside-the-park homer that had the fans at PNC Park on buzzing.

Bryan Reynolds is that guy!! pic.twitter.com/Ln0bSG6m98

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 22, 2022

First Star: Michael Chavis – .476/.522/.714 10 for 21, 2 doubles, 1 homer, 2 RBIs, 6 games

Chavis has been impressive so far this season for the Bucs and that continued with a terrific stretch of games this past week. He collected hits in all six games on the week, giving him a season-high six-game hitting streak.

Thanks to picking up 10 hits in six games, Chavis has raised his average over the .300 mark (currently sitting at .301) and saw his OPS jump over 100 points from .724 to .829.

The Pirates have the Rockies at PNC Park for a three-game series before heading out west for the first time this season, starting with a weekend series against the Padres. Check back next week for the Pirates top three performers from the week ahead.