Nine observations: Pirates' loud response says a lot about how they've evolved as a team

By the time the Pirates took ground balls prior to Monday’s series opener against the Nationals, the mood of the team and chatter between players had returned to normal

The blown leads and failed attempt at a Chicago sweep squarely in the rearview mirror, Brandon Lowe even chided Spencer Horwitz for having zero homers and not yet donning the welder’s hood the Pirates use to celebrate them — which changed when Horwitz went deep in the third inning.

“That was probably the best response,” Lowe would later say. “To have a chirp, then go out there and shut my mouth for me.”

The idea of a proper response mattered because that’s exactly what the Pirates did during their 16-5 drubbing of the Nationals at PNC Park. They compartmentalized a frustrating loss and kept passing the baton while rallying for 10 runs in the sixth inning.

Yes, you read that right.

Ten runs on nine hits, started by Bryan Reynolds’ three-run triple and capped by Lowe’s three-run bomb. The Pirates had a slew of solid at-bats. The result broke the poor Nationals, eliciting several colorful responses.

“I got in the dugout, almost put my gear on and was like, ‘No, I’m going to hit again,’ ” Henry Davis said. “So, I kept it off.”

Added Lowe, “It sneaks up on you when you bat around. You’re caught up in the moment, cheering the next guy on. Then you look up, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I have a chance to get another at-bat.’ ”

Reynolds: “Can’t draw it up much better.”

No, you really can’t. The Pirates are 10-6. They’ve scored the seventh-most runs in MLB (82) and are also seventh in batting average (.250) and OPS (.734). Meanwhile, four Pirates are within the top 20 for RBIs: Oneil Cruz (16), Lowe (14), Ryan O’Hearn (13) and Reynolds (12). Those four have combined for 17 home runs, more than 18 entire teams.

Furthermore, the Pirates have scored 38 runs in Paul Skenes’ starts this year and no fewer than seven per game. It took until Skenes’ 12th start for the Pirates to score 38 runs for him in 2025.

That Skenes, who’s now 3-1, pitched as well as he did almost felt like an afterthought given the offensive onslaught.

“We have a very balanced lineup, and everybody puts a good at bat together, so it's been fun to watch,” Skenes said. “I still don't feel like we're playing our best baseball yet. And not that it's been bad, but I think there's kind of more in the tank.

“It’s gonna be really fun."

Arguably more impressive than the 10-run inning, which may or may not happen again, was the Pirates’ maturity with their response. To fly home, forget about it, move on and absolutely obliterate Washington.

It also wasn’t the first time they’ve moved past an ugly loss quickly. It’s a strong quality to have in a team.

“[Sunday] tough,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “They're pulling with each other, pulling for each other and continuing to battle. It's really cool to see when you're able to stay in that approach of passing the baton, continuing to grind out at-bats. Really big bounce-back win [Monday].”

Plenty to deconstruct with this one. Let’s get started.

1. Skenes gave the Pirates everything they could’ve asked for in his start, delivering six innings of one-run ball while walking one and striking out six. Until the sixth-inning explosion, it was the difference in the game, Skenes allowing just one hit and one run — a homer from CJ Abrams in the first — while retiring 10 in a row to close.

Skenes threw 88 pitches and 60 strikes while racking up 15 whiffs. He did so by throwing 36% changeups, an unusual increase, to go along with 32% four-seamers and 19% sweepers.

“The [changeup] felt good,” Skenes said. “That was it. Just felt good coming out of the hand. Got some bad swings on it early in the game. We just kept throwing it."

2. The other thing I liked about Skenes’ outing was how he pitched to the scoreboard. He was at 49 pitches through three, which was probably higher than he wanted. So, he got more aggressive and worried less about strikeouts. Challenged guys to hit him. Of course they didn’t. Just great situational awareness.

3. While the Pirates offense has been scoring runs, two pieces have been missing: Marcell Ozuna and power from Spencer Horwitz. Ozuna was out of the lineup against the Nationals and remains mired in a slump.

But Horwitz has been having better at-bats and crushed a 2-0 cutter from Paxton Schultz, sending it high into the right-field seats for his first of the season.

After hitting .111 in his first six games this season, Horwitz has hit .348 (8 for 23) over his past eight. The power finally arrived with his home run, which gave the Pirates a 5-1 lead in the third.

“Spence has been working really hard,” Reynolds said. “He’s been hitting great the past few games. That was a great swing on a tough pitch.”

4. Reynolds kept the second-inning (for four runs) rally going with a line-drive single that chased Cade Cavalli, lining an elevated four-seamer to left.

It was a solid response after Reynolds’ error Sunday in Chicago. He’s also hitting .350 (14 for 40) with 10 RBIs in his first 11 games of April after hitting .182 in five March contests.

In a similar category as Cruz, Reynolds (.290 average, .859 OPS) has enjoyed the offensive season many hoped he’d have.

5. Leave it to Lowe to highlight his two-run, bloop single in the second that left his bat at 69.5 mph. Joked that he got it off his pine tar. On the flip side, his homer was a missile, a no-doubter that left the bat at 104.5 mph and traveled 410 feet.

Lowe said he found something swing-wise in Chicago. The second baseman wasn’t kidding. Lowe’s up to six homers. Only Jordan Walker of the Cardinals (8) had more as of this writing.

Absolutely robbery for general manager Ben Cherington to get Lowe, Jake Mangum and Mason Montgomery for Mike Burrows.

“He’s a great hitter,” Reynolds said. “Always has been. He’s got pop and drives in runs, and he’s doing exactly what he’s always done. Good players play good, and that’s what he does.”

6. Speaking of good hitters, Cruz continues to mash — and have solid at-bats. He won a seven-pitch battle to draw a bases-loaded walk in the second, then singled to right in the fourth to extend his hitting streak to a career-long 12 games.

It matches the longest hitting streak the Pirates had last season (Ke’Bryan Hayes, 12 games, June 19-July 4). It’s also the longest active one in MLB.

Cruz finished 2 for 3 with three RBIs, two walks, a stolen base and three runs scored. He’s hitting .355 with a 1.074 and has been a power-hitting catalyst atop the lineup.

“He’s put a lot of work in to get where he’s at right now,” Kelly said.

7. Feel like I type the same stuff every game, but he’s looks so darn good right now. If he can keep this up, it’s his much-anticipated breakout year and then some. Made a huge difference in this game and has for much of the season.

“I thought that was the most professional at-bat I've seen him take,” Kelly said of Cruz’s bases-loaded walk, where he dug out an 0-2 hole.

“To watch his at-bats, to see the maturity that he has with the power and everything else he has going for him,” Lowe said, “he’s gonna be a lot of fun to hit behind this year.”

8. The sixth was the Pirates’ first 10-run inning since July 9, 2017 at the Cubs. At home, the last time the Pirates scored 10 or more runs in an inning came May 17, 2009.

Furthermore, Lowe became the first Pirate since the RBI became an official stat in 1920 to enjoy consecutive games with five or more RBIs.

Monday marked the eighth game in PNC Park history where the Pirates scored at least 16 runs. They’ve only scored 16 or more runs at PNC Park twice: June 18, 2005 against the Rays (18-2) and July 1, 2019 against the Cubs (18-5).

9. Lowe has been a tremendous addition to this team. Has perspective. He’s personable but intense in his own way. Can obviously play. Knows how this should work.

As much as we’ve talked about them needing someone like O’Hearn — which is true — it’s been cool to see Lowe’s leadership play out. That happened Sunday into Monday.

Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.