DENVER — Before the Pirates began a three-game series against the Rockies at Coors Field, Jack Suwinski had questions for Connor Joe, who called this place home the previous two seasons.
Whether at the plate or in the outfield, Suwinski wanted to know how the ball would travel in the thin, Rocky Mountain air. Suwinski also listened to advice when it came to curtailing his typically lengthy pregame routine, all in the name of preserving energy.
If the past two games are any indication, PNC Park may have a challenger when it comes to Suwinski’s favorite ballpark. The center fielder with the dramatic home-road splits in 2022 smacked a pair of home runs on Tuesday to help Pittsburgh eclipse an early lead and earn a 5-3 victory against the Colorado Rockies, its second in as many nights.
Dating back to Monday’s lopsided victory, Suwinski totaled 1,259 feet worth of home runs in three successive at-bats, with the first of those ranking as the farthest home run by a Pirate this season and the team’s 10th-farthest in the Statcast Era (2015-present).
That, though, came off a position player in Alan Trejo. What Suwinski did Tuesday was much more impactful.
His first dinger followed a three-run first for the Rockies. It came on a 1-2 slider low-and-away from Colorado starter Jose Urena, a pitch Suwinski pushed the opposite way and over the left-field fence.
If that one was framed by finesse, his second bomb brought heft. It was also an ambush, as Suwinski was presented with a 95 mph, four-seam fastball up in the zone. The left-handed hitter turned on it in a hurry, clobbering the pitch 434 feet out to right to push the Pirates in front by a 4-3 score.
That Suwinski seems to favor a particular ballpark is not necessarily news. The funky part is that he has seemingly found a place as palatable as Pittsburgh.
During his debut season, Suwinski hit .282 with a .982 OPS (including 16 homers) in 56 home games. Yet on the road, Suwinski was a .112 hitter with a .395 OPS (3 homers) in 50 contests. The difference was not subtle.
But as the Pirates put together a four-run fourth to overtake the Rockies, it was Suwinski who played a starring role while extending his hitting streak to six games. Suwinski is 8 for 19 (.421) during that time with a double, four home runs and six RBIs.
Vince Velasquez gave the Pirates another quality start, Duane Underwood Jr., Robert Stephenson and David Bednar finished the job. Stephenson was a surprise choice instead of Colin Holderman, who must not have been available. He stranded a pair of hits.
Bednar took a liner off the thigh. It was certainly a scary moment, but Bednar stay in the game and finished it off for the save.
ON THE MOUND
Given the way this thing started, it certainly seemed like the Pirates’ impressive run of quality starts would come to a close. But after Vince Velasquez regrouped, the streak lives on.
Velasquez gave up three runs in the first before shutting off the spigot, working six frames, walking three and striking out seven. The right-hander kept things fairly simple, sticking mostly to his fastball, slider and changeup, and wound up with nine whiffs — half as many as his last start.
The slider was Velasquez’s best swing-and-miss weapon against the Rockies. His curveball was mostly shelved. Three of the strikeouts came looking.
Right fielder Kris Bryant homered against Velasquez in the first, a solo shot on a middle-in heater that missed. Former Pirate Elias Diaz cracked a two-run double on a full-count four-seamer that was actually a pretty good pitch down-and-away.
The ERA for Pirates starters during this current stretch: 2.57.
AT THE PLATE
The only Pirates player without a hit on Monday, Joe made up for it a day later finishing with a double and triple. As a team, the Pirates racked up seven extra-base hits.
Joe’s double ignited the Pirates’ fourth-inning rally, as he scored on a double Carlos Santana scorched off the fence in front of the bullpens in right center.
A key ingredient in Monday’s win by beating out a double-play ball, Santana showed plenty of zone control by going down to get a 1-1 changeup and hitting it with power.
The Pirates notched their fourth run when Tucupita Marcano tripled and scored with some of Matrix-style slide on a wild pitch.
As much as Suwinski shined, it was a rough game for Ji Hwan Bae, who hit into a double play, was caught stealing and picked off first base and also committed an error at shortstop, snapping the Pirates’ stretch without an error at 48 2/3 innings.
UP NEXT
The Pirates have one more in Denver where Johan Oviedo — whose 15 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings are the most in MLB this season — will oppose lefty Austin Gomber.
