PITTSBURGH — When the Pirates reported to Bradenton, Fla., back in February, Jack Suwinski was a well-regarded prospect new to the 40-man roster — but still seemingly a year or so away. Josh VanMeter played for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Pirates didn’t acquire him until the end of spring.
Should the offense require a jolt — and most assumed it would — well, let’s just say there were others ahead of them on the depth chart.
Yet with Pittsburgh’s offense stuck in neutral for an extended stretch while the Pirates hoped to secure a series victory over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday, it was Suwinski and VanMeter who delivered the two biggest swings, their three-run home runs helping to produce a 10-5 victory at PNC Park.
Suwinski brought the game to a 5-5 tie with his fifth long ball of the season, the outfielder clobbering a low-and-inside fastball to win a nine-pitch battle. When Suwinski homered recently at Wrigley Field, in his hometown, he won an eight-pitch at-bat.
It was the fifth home run of the season for Suwinski, who was recalled on April 26 from Class AA Altoona. Among Pirates, only Daniel Vogelbach has more, as Suwinski continues to impress in a variety of ways.
VanMeter has certainly come under fire because his lineup spot could easily be used on a prospect. In 28 games before Wednesday, VanMeter had a .195 average and .582 OPS. After picking up two hits on Monday, VanMeter put a big exclamation point on the series with his home run.
Facing Rockies pitcher Justin Lawrence in the seventh with the Pirates trying to build on a 6-5 lead, VanMeter connected on a slider and also pulled one into the right-field seats, landing a couple sections toward center when compared to Suwinski’s homer.
Lawrence squatted and showed his frustration. Fans here cheered. And the Pirates closed it out by turning to Wil Crowe and Yerry De Los Santos, who helped them improve to 18-25 ahead of a six-game trip out west.
The latter, of course, made his MLB debut as part of a recent run of prospects getting a chance. De Los Santos handled the ninth. Promoted a day earlier, Cal Mitchell collected a pair of hits and knocked in the Pirates’ 10th run with a double in the eighth inning.
Just 3 for 29 before Wednesday, Ben Gamel — not a prospect but certainly a valuable part of the team — went 2 for 4 with a pair of RBI singles, as the Pirates scored five or more runs for the first time since May 11.
On the mound, Zach Thompson has been the Pirates’ best and most consistent starter in May. His April was lousy, sure, but in four games (three starts) this month, he had given up just one earned run across 17 innings.
Monday was not that level of performance.
Thompson didn’t outright struggle, but he also wasn’t as crisp as he’s been, allowing four earned runs on seven hits in just three innings. After Thompson breezed through the first inning on just eight pitches, the Rockies scored three times against him in the second inning, using some soft contact to take an early lead.
Right fielder Randal Grichuk caught a sinker from Thompson and poked it down the right-field line at 65.3 mph, plating two runs. Catcher Brian Serven made it a 3-0 game by serving a soft single into right. Its exit velocity: 62.4 mph.
While those balls weren’t exactly scalded, first baseman C.J. Cron — who’s been one of the most dangerous hitters in the National League this season — showed off his immense power to give Colorado a 4-0 lead in the fourth. Cron went down and nine-ironed a 1-2 change-up from Thompson, crushing it 427 feet at 107.9 mph.
Batting leadoff for the first time this season, Bryan Reynolds got a two-run rally going in the third with a one-out double. He scored on Ke’Bryan Hayes’ ground ball to shortstop. The Pirates crept to within 4-2 when Gamel went the other way with a fastball from Rockies starter Ryan Feltner.
The Rockies tacked on another run courtesy of Grichuk’s single up the middle in the fifth inning before Suwinski’s homer tied the game at five.
Mitch Keller, who replaced Thompson by making another appearance out of the bullpen, again threw very well and wound up working 3 1/3 innings, allowing an earned run on five hits with a walk and two strikeouts.
It wasn’t the type of thing where the Pirates know they need to immediately slot him into the rotation, but it was at least better than what Keller has done in his most recent starts.
