MILWAUKEE — When Pirates fans envision late-game heroics from their rookie players, they probably imagine clutch base hits, maybe even a homer.
Tuesday night’s 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers wasn’t quite that dramatic, but having lost 14 of their past 17 games, the Pirates will take whatever they can get right now.
The deciding, go-ahead run came in the eighth. In a tie game, 2-2, shortstop Oneil Cruz took a one-out walk, then center fielder Bryan Reynolds roped a single into right before Ben Gamel drew a two-out walk a couple batters later to load the bases. Up came rookie Rodolfo Castro. All he had to do was stand still, really.
Brewers right-hander Brad Boxberger threw Castro four consecutive balls, as the rookie infielder happily took his RBI strolling down to first.
The fireworks one might imagine didn’t come until the ninth, grabbing the Pirates an insurance run. First baseman Michael Chavis led things off with a single into left, then moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt. Catcher Jason Delay struck out looking, leaving it up to Cruz.
As he’s shown capable of doing, he smashed the ball on a line to the wall in left-center, scoring Chavis easily with a two-out RBI double.
Chavis, it showed be noted, contributing an RBI of his own in emphatic fashion in the seventh, driving a two-out homer way over the left-field wall at American Family Field.
The late offense saved starting right-hander Mitch Keller from taking a loss he wouldn’t have deserved.
Keller was phenomenal outside of one rough inning. It didn’t initially look like it would be a dominant start, either. Keller struck out the first two batters he faced in the first but issued a pair of two-out walks immediately afterward. Keller did bounce back for another swinging strikeout to set the tone.
He want on to toss 1-2-3 innings in the second and third, then two more in the fifth and sixth. In total, he struck out a career-high 10 batters. 33 of his 105 pitches were either called strikes or whiffs, also a career-high.
His only problems came in the fourth. He gave up a lead-off single then a two-run blast from Kolten Wong. At the time, that gave the Brewers a 2-1 lead, and put Keller in danger of being charged with a loss.
Because thins are never quite that easy for the Pirates, right-hander Chase De Jong got into some trouble in the bottom of the ninth, giving up a double and a single with nobody out. He induced a weak pop-up to Cruz for the first out, though.
Then Castro and Cruz showed some pizzazz to finish it. De Jong got a ground ball to the left of Castro at second. He ranged way out toward right, scooped it, got it to Cruz on a spin, and Cruz fired it over to first for a flashy, 4-6-3, game-ending double play. Perhaps that’s more of the type of stuff fans imagine in game-winning situations from their rookies.
Davis returns
Prior to first pitch Tuesday, the Pirates announced their No. 1-ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline has returned to his rightful level. Catcher Henry Davis, the first overall pick in the 2021 draft, has been fighting through wrist injuries all year after being hit by a pitch with High-A Greensboro earlier this season. Now, he’s been reactivated at Double-A Altoona.
Davis hasn’t played for Altoona since July 2. He most recently played in four rehab games with Low-A Bradenton, homering in his most recent one, and the Pirates decided that was enough to give him the call back up to where he belonged. In his first game back Tuesday, he went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles.
With Davis’ return, the Pirates now have five of their top six prospects — Davis, right-hander Quinn Priester, infielders Liover Peguero and Nick Gonzales and utility man Endy Rodriguez on their roster. All four of those position players, at least, made up the top four in Altoona’s lineup Tuesday, with Davis batting cleanup.
Around the horn
Davis’ activation led to a bevy of other roster moves. To clear up space for both he and Rodriguez to catch in Altoona, the Pirates opted to promote catcher Blake Sabol to Triple-A Indianapolis. In 98 games with Altoona this season, Sabol slashed .281/.347/.486 with 14 homers and nine steals.
Additionally, the Pirates sent their No. 22 prospect, outfielder Matt Gorski on a rehab assignment to Bradenton. Gorski broke onto the scene in a big way this season, hitting .294 with 17 homers in 37 games in Greensboro before being promoted to Altoona, where he also hit .294 with a .934 OPS and six homers across 30 games. In keeping with that profile, Gorski homered in his rehab assignment game with Bradenton.
In further moves, the Piratess placed No. 24 prospect, infielder Jared Triolo, on the seven-day IL with a left knee injury and also transferred infielder Josh Bissonette from Indianapolis down to Altoona.
