PITTSBURGH — There have been times when it’s been fair to wonder how long Jack Suwinski will last in the majors this season.
The highs have been high, with five homers entering Saturday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, including one in his hometown Chicago against the Cubs. Saturday, in a 2-1 win, he set a new high.
Suwinski stepped up in the bottom of the ninth with nobody out and a runner on first. The Pirates’ offense had been dominated all afternoon by Diamondbacks starter Zach Davies, but Suwinski, or any Pirates hitter, could change it all with a swing.
Against veteran closer Mark Melancon, Suwinski looked like a veteran, working a full count, fouling off several pitches and just hanging in there. Finally, on the ninth pitch of the at-bat, Melancon tossed a curveball that just grazed the bottom of the strike zone. Suwinski was ready for it and golfed it high and deep to right, over the Clemente Wall to send PNC Park into hysterics and give the Pirates their fourth win in the last five games.
Suwinski wasn’t the only rookie to step up in this one. Starting right-hander Roansy Contreras was dominant in his own right, matching Davies step for step. By the end of the first inning, it was clear he had his best stuff.
The rookie right-hander, and the Pirates’ No. 6-ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline, has already made a strong impression this season, entering Saturday’s start with a 2.55 ERA in 17 2/3 innings this season. He’s set a bar high enough that the only way to top it is to dominate over and over again.
Saturday, he came out dealing, striking out the first two Diamondbacks he faced swinging. He allowed a double to Ketel Marte after that, but ended the frame with another swinging strikeout to set the tone for the afternoon.
One of Contreras’ more impressive assets, though, has been his ability to bounce back from strife. It’s an attribute that can be rare, especially among young pitchers.
It showed itself Saturday, because he certainly wasn’t faultless. Contreras let a pair of baserunners on in the second and another in the fifth but bounced back to end both innings without no damage done.
Things finally got dicey in the sixth. Marte doubled again with one out, then Christian Walker reached on a throwing error from shortstop Rodolfo Castro. Contreras nearly got out of it with a strikeout before Jordan Luplow stepped in.
Over a 10-pitch at-bat, the two battled, with the former pumping 96 mile-per-hour fastballs over the plate and the latter fighting them off, working the count full.
Contreras blinked first, uncorking a slider in the dirt that slid past catcher Michael Perez. Not only did Luplow reach base, but the runner from third came in to score.
That nearly cost him the battle against Davies, too. The right-hander entered the game with a career 5.04 ERA against Pittsburgh but completely dominated Saturday. It took him just 51 pitches to get through five scoreless innings, and he seemed untouchable. The Pirates knocked him out in the eighth, though, loading the bases before third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes left them loaded with a strikeout.
That deflated a rally, but the Pirates picked it right back up in the ninth. Center fielder Bryan Reynolds singled to right to lead it off, and Suwinski drove him home, another exciting highlight for a Pirates rookie and another memory made for the right fielder.
