PITTSBURGH — Call it potential contract leverage, symmetry or just plain dominance. Doesn't matter. Bryan Reynolds is in some kind of zone right now, and the White Sox — in a Pirates home opener that was supposed to be about Andrew McCutchen — paid the price.
Reynolds, who wound up as the primary piece the Pirates got back from the San Francisco Giants in that January 2018 trade for McCutchen, had another monster day, as the Pirates outslugged the Chicago White Sox, 13-9, on Friday at PNC Park.
This was billed as McCutchen’s first game back at PNC Park in a Pirates uniform since Sept. 27, 2017, and it certainly lived up to expectations in terms of excitement.
The 39,167 (a sellout) in attendance showered McCutchen with praise when he was announced as a starter and during his first at-bat. Emotional moments, both of them, and richly deserved. Those same cheers continued for a couple of McCutchen’s old buddies, A.J. Burnett and Russell Martin, who whipped the crowd into their own frenzy with a terrific first pitch.
Yet nothing could stop Reynolds, who began the game ranked first in MLB in home runs (4), third in slugging percentage (1.000), fourth in OPS (1.444) and second in total bases (24). Reynolds went 3 for 4, tied his career-high with six RBIs, scored three times and finished a double shy of the cycle.
The Pirates outfielder is now hitting .448 with a 1.572 OPS and 13 RBIs. How crazy is that last number? He had just 12 through the first two months of the 2022 season.
After the Pirates scored a run with three consecutive singles in the fourth inning, Reynolds took matters into his own hands, displaying a burst of power by crushing a 1-0 change-up on the outer half over the fence and into the Pirates bullpen.
It was the fifth home run of the season for Reynolds, tying him with Willie Stargell in 1971 for the most home runs through seven games in franchise history.
Reynolds also wasn’t finished. His homer gave the Pirates a 7-5 lead, but it disappeared when Rich Hill gave up his third two-run homer of the game, the second to center fielder Luis Robert Jr.
The bottom of the Pirates order was terrific in this one and ignited a rally in the fifth. Jason Delay singled to push one run across before Oneil Cruz drew a walk to load the bases.
Facing right-handed reliever Jimmy Lambert, Reynolds got a flat, 0-1 slider and lined it into right field, scoring three. When second baseman Elvis Andrus’ throw was off line, Reynolds quickly rose to his feet and scored a fourth run himself.
The Pirates offense finished the day with 19 hits, including six for extra bases, a tremendous effort against anyone but especially Lucas Giolito, who no-hit the Pirates in August 2020. But they were a different team back then, and Reynolds was a different hitter.
These days, he has gone completely bonkers. Whether it’s his contract — which at this point seems to hinge on that opt-out clause — or the offseason work he did with hitting coach Andy Haines, Reynolds finds himself in a tremendous place.
Like McCutchen, as the offensive catalyst on a plucky Pirates team.
ON THE MOUND
This was not a good start for Hill, who gave up three home runs in four-plus innings and now owns a share of the MLB lead with five homers allowed this season.
Chicago did the bulk of its damage in the third, when Robert and designated hitter Jake Burger each took Hill deep, the two-run shots pushing the White Sox in front 5-2 at the time.
On Robert’s first homer, he caught an 0-1 sweeper on the outside part of the plate and blasted it 413 feet into his team’s bullpen. Burger connected on a 1-1 curveball atop the zone, swatting it 419 feet out to left.
Robert’s second two-run homer came the next inning, when he reached out and poked another Hill curve — none of the three pitches were thrown harder than 71 mph — out to right, with the ball barely clearing the fence.
The Pirates obviously aren’t going to react to two Hill starts, but they obviously want and need more than a 10.00 ERA with five home runs allowed in nine innings.
AT THE PLATE
Fans obviously wanted to see McCutchen, and he delivered by singling in his first two at-bats. But he was hardly the only story.
In fact, aside from Reynolds, the most notable aspect here might've been the bottom third of the order, which finished a combined 10 for 15. Connor Joe tied his career high with four hits, including three doubles, while Ji Hwan Bae and Delay each had three-hit games.
Carlos Santana homered for the second consecutive game, tying the game at 1 with a solo shot in the second inning. The veteran first baseman put an excellent swing on a 2-2 change-up low in the zone.
Joe and Bae had back-to-back doubles in the second inning, Bae’s deflecting off second baseman Elvis Andrus and the Pirates speedster using his wheels to make it all the way to second.
The Pirates got another big swing from Ke’Bryan Hayes, who cut a three-run Pirates deficit down to 5-3 with a double in the third inning. It came on the type of swing we saw a bunch out of Hayes during spring training ... but thus far has lacked during the regular season, on an inside heater that he pulled and drove into the left-center field gap.
UP NEXT
Vince Velasquez will get the start Saturday against his former team. White Sox starter Mike Clevinger worked five scoreless innings in his first start of the season, striking out eight.
