CINCINNATI — As Pirates players walked back and forth with plates of breakfast and others prepared for batting practice Wednesday morning, Oneil Cruz and Rodolfo Castro chatted quietly in one corner of the visiting clubhouse at Great American Ball Park. Wearing a set of gray headphones as he listened to music and focused ahead of his start, Roansy Contreras couldn’t help but walk over and check on his friends.
Whether it’s been on the field or off of it, these three have been together and a lot of fun to watch lately, with Cruz, Castro and Contreras front and center as Pittsburgh earned a 10-4 victory over the Reds, the Pirates’ first four-game series sweep in Cincinnati since 1991.
Contreras started and delivered four innings of one-run ball before he was removed due to pitch-count limitations. Castro smacked a three-run homer in the third inning — the seventh of the series for the Pirates — to put them ahead for good.
Cruz, who entered Wednesday’s contest hitting .357 with two doubles, two triples and three home runs over his past 10 games, delivered a two-run homer in the eighth.
It goes without saying the performance of those three alone won’t be enough to fully change the Pirates’ fortunes. At the same time, they’re not exactly in position to turn down the work.
Contreras, flashing a terrific arm and maturity beyond his years, has proven to be a quick study, the right-hander possessing the ability to make adjustments inside of at-bats or certainly innings and games. The right-hander has also learned to get outs without his best stuff.
The effort against the Reds helped the Pirates (55-88) to their third series sweep of the season, while they’ve now won four games in a row for the first time since July 9-12. Derek Shelton’s team does not have a five-game winning streak in 2022.
Cincinnati jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second when designated hitter Spencer Steer smacked a slicing single past Michael Chavis at first base.
That didn’t last long, as Castro’s bomb came in the top of the third inning, the 23-year-old hammering a 2-2 curve Reds starter Nick Lodolo left up in the zone. It was one of the only mistakes Lodolo made, as he worked 6⅓ innings, allowing those three runs, walking none and striking out 11.
Castro, recalled last on Aug. 9, has gone deep three times in his last six games and has four homers in his past 10. In that time, Castro is hitting .263 across 32 games, with four doubles, two triples, eight home runs and 16 RBIs.
The chemistry between Castro and Cruz has been obvious. They love to laugh together and have dreamed about becoming the Pirates’ double-play combination of the future. If their recent offensive production continues, they’re certainly going to be in the lineup somewhere.
After Contreras exited — out of caution more than anything — Tyler Beede took over and gave up a solo home run to catcher Austin Romine in the fifth. Brutal pitch, too, as Beede left a heater middle-middle and paid for it.
The Pirates got that run back in the seventh when Greg Allen drew a leadoff walk, Tyler Heineman moved him over and Ke’Bryan Hayes (three hits) rolled a grounder through the left side.
That allowed Cruz to break the game open with a swing that was uniquely him an inning later.
With a 1-1 count, Reds reliever Joel Kuhnel threw Cruz a changeup on the outer half. It’s not a pitch a left-handed hitter should be able to really drive, but that’s what Cruz did, flicking his bat and sending the ball 398 feet over the fence in left for his 15th homer of the season. He should have an outside shot at 20 for the year.
Pittsburgh continued to pile on the offense in the ninth, scoring four times to turn this into a rout. More excellent work from the Pirates bullpen, as Beede and Miguel Yajure finished it out by allowing three runs over the final five innings of the game.
