PITTSBURGH — Jack Suwinski thought about the question for a second and laughed: When was the last time he hit leadoff? Tampa last year, Suwinski eventually recalled (correctly). As far as his last single ... well, different story.
The improbable storylines came to an improbable intersection in the seventh inning Wednesday, in the middle of an improbable game and an improbable comeback for the Pirates.
Suwinski’s dribbler up the right side, which didn’t even register on Statcast, encapsulated what was a strange day on the North Shore, one that resulted in a 5-4 comeback victory for the Pirates.
Facing a 4-0 deficit at one point, the Pirates stormed all the way back with a pair of runs scoring on Suwinski’s squibber that reliever Tim Hill ultimately threw away. Not only did a pair of runs score, creating a 4-4 tie, but it was Suwinski’s first single since June 11 came off of a lefty.
The Pirates’ regular center fielder, despite hitting a team-high 16 home runs this season, had been batting .170 with a .501 OPS against southpaws prior to Wednesday. Thursday marked his second game hitting first, the other coming June 24, 2022.
“I feel I’ve been having some pretty good at-bats,” said Suwinski, who had suffered through an 0-for-29 stretch before homering earlier in this series. “I just haven’t had much to show for it.”
He does now.
And so do the Pirates, notching their fifth series sweep and continuing the momentum they built during a couple of offensive eruptions the past few days —important with the Brewers coming to town this weekend.
If that wasn’t enough, this game was delayed by 45 minutes because of poor air quality, a situation that had several players ripping the decision-making process only hours before the series finale was supposed to start.
After Suwinski’s excuse-me single, Henry Davis followed with his third hit of the afternoon, blooping a 99-mph fastball from Padres reliever Luis Castillo into right field to give the Pirates the lead for the first and last time.
From there, Angel Perdomo and David Bednar finished off the Padres in the eighth and ninth innings, setting off what are sure to be some alarm bells in San Diego as manager Bob Melvin’s team fell to 37-44 on the season.
After Pirates starter Luis Ortiz breezed through a 1-2-3 first, the Padres got to him in the second inning, starting with a one-out single from first baseman Jake Cronenworth. He scored on Padres second baseman Ha-Seong Kim’s sacrifice fly.
Ortiz fell behind center fielder Trent Grisham, 2-0, with two outs and grooved a four-seam fastball. Grisham didn’t miss and cranked it 419 feet over the fence in right-center.
Two innings later, Kim extended San Diego’s lead to 4-0 with a solo shot, this one coming on a four-seamer at the top of the strike zone. It was a slightly better pitch from Ortiz but still exposed some of the issues he has experienced commanding his fastball.
Carlos Santana, who began the game hitting .294 with four homers and an .896 OPS over his past 13 games, followed Davis’ leadoff single to give the Pirates runners on second and third with nobody out in the fourth. That became important, as Nick Gonzales’ sacrifice fly two batters later got the Pirates on the board at 4-1.
ON THE MOUND
As solid as Ortiz looked his last time out, allowing one earned over seven innings last week in Miami, this felt like a step back, both with his pitch execution and velocity.
Ortiz lasted just 4 2/3 innings and allowed four earned runs. He walked three, struck out none and coughed up a pair of home runs, throwing just 69 pitches (40 strikes) before manager Derek Shelton turned to lefty Ryan Borucki.
It wasn’t an easy spot for Borucki, entering with the bases loaded and trying to keep the score close, and he did the job by getting pinch hitter Brandon Dixon to fly out to center field.
After Perdomo gave up a two-out double, Shelton went to Bednar early. The Pirates closer struck out Kim and wound up notching a four-out save.
AT THE PLATE
In addition to Santana, the Pirates enjoyed some top-of-the-order production from Andrew McCutchen and Davis. McCutchen, who was extremely vocal about wanting MLB and the players union to take a more cautious approach to playing, collecting two more hits.
That extended his on-base streak to 18 games, tying Suwinski for the longest by a Pirate this season. Since the streak began on June 5, McCutchen’s .467 on-base percentage entering Thursday was the third-highest in MLB.
Davis, meanwhile, extended his hitting streak to seven games. His sixth-inning single drove in McCutchen to cut San Diego’s to 4-2. It came on a first-pitch curveball from former Pirate Joe Musgrove that Davis lined into right field.
UP NEXT
Osvaldo Bido will start Friday with the Brewers in town. The right-hander has not enjoyed a single run of support while he’s been in the game over his past two starts.
