The Pirates completed their sweep of the Reds at PNC Park Sunday afternoon, 9-8, with rookies Kevin Newman and Bryan Reynolds doing the heavy lifting.
"We joked earlier, saying we're going to try to get some back-to-back hits because it felt like we hadn't done that in a while," Newman was saying after the game.
It wasn't a joke during Sunday's game. Newman went 4 for 4 and reached base a fifth time on a hit-by-pitch. Reynolds, meanwhile, went 2 for 4 from his traditional No. 2 spot, including a go-ahead, bases-clearing triple and a walk.
Newman was put back into the lead-off spot this weekend, and he feels that move contributed to his success in today's game.
"It's just what I've done most of my career, so I think there's a comfortability with it," Newman said.
Newman's on-base percentage enjoys his starts at the top of the order, too. As a lead-off man, Newman has a .373 OBP in 225 late appearances. When he is in another spot, the number drops to .318.
After reaching base three times Saturday, Newman provided the catalyst for the Pirates' offense Sunday, scoring three runs and driving in another.
"Really good stuff," Clint Hurdle said of Newman's afternoon.
Speaking of good stuff, Newman's base-running also played a key role. He swiped two bags, with his steal in the eighth directly resulting in what would be the winning run. Starling Marte hit a ball to the wall in right-center, but a fan reached over to grab it, resulting in a book-rule double. Had Newman not stolen second, he would not have been awarded home and the run would not have scored.
His trip home was not as leisurely in the second inning, however, as he was sent dashing to the plate after Reynolds hit the top of the right-field wall.
"I had my back turned. I was just running," Newman said, admitting he did not know where the ball went or how it bounced. "Off the bat, I knew it wasn't going to get caught."
Reynolds didn't miss by much:
"I thought it was gone," Reynolds told me after the game.
I responded by saying that, for what it's worth, it looked like it was going out from my view in the press box.
"Well, I'll take it," he responded.
• Reynolds Watch: With the triple, a single and a walk, he raised his season slashline to .328/.401/.523. He is still third for the NL batting crown, but he gained ground. Mets outfielder Jeff McNeil's average dropped to .333, and reigning NL MVP Christian Yelich currently stands at .329.
Newman's batting average also went back over the .300 mark. currently sitting at .302. He also has enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title. According to the Baseball-Reference Play-Index, the last team to have a pair of rookies eligible for the title finish with a .300 batting average or better was the 1975 Red Sox (Jim Rice and Fred Lynn). Before them, it was the 1931 Phillies (Buzz Arlett and Les Mallon).
The Pirates just can't stop making history this year.
• After being held to 13 runs in the first eight games of the homestand, including five games where they were held to one or zero runs, the Pirates offense caught fire, scoring 23 over the final two games.
"We've been swinging the bat well. It's just that we've been hitting them at people," Reynolds said. "This series, they're finally starting to land for us."
• Starter Dario Agrazal's afternoon started on the wrong foot, walking two, allowing two hits and hitting Derek Dietrich as part of a three-run first inning. While he did not throw a clean inning in his five frames of work, he yielded only one more run.
"That inning could have got away from him," Hurdle said, referring to the first. "... I like the fact that he just kept throwing. He kept pitching ...
"He gave us what we needed today. It was a full's day work for him."
The bullpen group of Michael Feliz, Kyle Crick and Felipe Vazquez each surrendered a home run. Keone Kela was the only one to toss a clean inning, striking out two and getting Dietrich to line out.
• Speaking of incidents, the series is over and no brawls or warnings were issued, though both teams got plunked Sunday. Agrazal hit Dietrich and Aristides Aquino, and Trevor Bauer clipped Newman, but there did not appear to be any malice behind any of the pitches.
• This is the Pirates' first sweep since their series with the Padres from June 21-23 and their first three-game winning streak of the second half of the season. They are now 11-30 since the All-Star break. Still, three in a row and a little momentum has to mean something, right?
"Nothing — nothing — breeds confidence like success. Nothing," Hurdle said. "You can talk to people. You can encourage them. You can (look at) video. You can do all those things. But at the end of the day, when guys go out and get hits, score runs, pitchers get outs, guys get wins and saves and all that, that's where you get your momentum and your traction. We were able to create some and earn some this weekend."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Video highlights
• Scoreboard
• Standings
THE INJURIES
• Clay Holmes (10-day IL, quadriceps)
• Gregory Polanco (10-day IL, shoulder)
• Lonnie Chisenhall (60-day IL, calf)
Here's the most recent full report.
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates are heading over to the other side of the state to start a three-game series with the Phillies on Monday. Joe Musgrove (8-12, 4.74) and Jason Vargas (6-6, 3.99) will square off, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. I'm handing the reins back over to Dejan Kovacevic, but you'll still see me around.
THE COVERAGE
All our baseball content, including Mound Visit by Jason Rollison, Indy Watch by Matt Welch, and Altoona Watch by Jarrod Prugar, can be found on our Pirates page.
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