PITTSBURGH — Lunch time Tuesday featured news that the Pirates had avoided an arbitration hearing with their best player, signing Bryan Reynolds to a two-year contract worth $13.5 million. It ended with a victory that was even more unlikely, especially after an ugly first inning.
It also happened thanks to a couple of interesting and borderline unexpected heroes, the Pirates getting four hits and a home run from their 250-pound leadoff hitter, Daniel Vogelbach, and some tremendous relief work from 22-year-old Roansy Contreras.
Add it up, and the Pirates did more than enough to grab a 9-4 victory over the Washington Nationals at PNC Park on Thursday, evening their record at 3-3 this season.
