Aiming to snap a seven-series losing streak and win their first in nearly a month, the Pirates had to wait around awhile. Through a 2-hour, 34-minute rain delay, in fact.
But when the weather finally stopped and play resumed, the Pirates closed out an 8-3 victory over the Red Sox at PNC Park, taking two of three over the weekend to create a little bit of momentum.
Over three days, we saw several things the Pirates must hope will stick, including twice beating left-handed starters (now 12-26 against them), solid starts from Bubba Chandler and Jared Jones and a bullpen game that worked to perfection in the series finale.
Speaking of Pirates relievers, they have a 3.51 ERA in the second half compared to a mark of 4.48 in the first. Figuring out Paul Skenes and getting this level of offense — 29 runs over the past four games — ironically may be two keys to building on a series victory.
Lake Bachar and Hunter Barco combined for a quality start Sunday, and a lineup that was criticized plenty on social media prior to this one hung a touchdown on the Red Sox.
“Yeah, that was a big series,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “The bounce-back in Miami [Thursday] and then, to win the series here at home, especially to beat two lefties, that's an area where we've struggled. … Thought the bullpen did a great job finishing it up, and the offense, to be able to put up eight runs again was huge.”
Esmerlyn Valdez, Bryan Reynolds, Brandon Lowe and Nick Yorke, recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A Indianapolis, finished with two hits apiece. Yorke led the way with three RBIs, while Reynolds and Lowe each had two.
As a result, the Pirates improved to 61-65 on the season, stretching this to three wins in four tries starting with Braxton Ashcraft’s complete-game gem Thursday in Miami.
Another thing we learned in this series could be Reynolds heating up. He had two hits Friday, including a double, and scored two runs. His first two Sunday required a grand total of three pitches and had exit velocities of at least 100.2 mph.
Reynolds entered Sunday’s game with a 1.307 career OPS against the Red Sox while also hitting .312 with 46 RBIs and a .920 OPS with runners in scoring position.
However, Reynolds has experienced a sizable downturn in the second half. After posting an .878 OPS and making a legitimate case for the MLB All-Star Game, his second-half OPS was .557 prior to Sunday’s game.
For the Pirates to steady their season, obviously they need more from Reynolds. One of his white-hot streaks would be huge.
Lowe, too. He hit his fifth home run since the All-Star break Friday and ambushed two first pitches for singles Sunday. He’s another player capable of carrying the offense when he's hot.
“When they're getting their swing off like that, it's a really good thing,” Kelly said. “And both of them have been really attacking recently, getting good swings off."
This series also continued an upward trajectory for Valdez, who had two hits Saturday and a double Friday. He was in a slump, though his plate disciplined helped him walk his way to a high on-base percentage.
The Pirates need the July power to return — or at least something close. If Valdez, Lowe and Reynolds are going, it covers up for a lot of other stuff.
Also Sunday, the Pirates got key contributions from an unlikely source in Yorke, who only arrived at the park around noon.
After Reynolds and Lowe drove in runs in the third, Yorke came through with a two-run single up the middle on a 1-1 slider down, textbook hitting that resulted in a 6-0 advantage.
Yorke went the opposite way in the seventh, his line-drive single extending the lead to 8-3. Yorke was hitting .375 in four games with Indianapolis after missing time with a finger injury. However, it looks like he could help in a couple different spots, especially hitting lefties.
“I was just trying to stay ready, trying to do what I can to produce right away,” Yorke said. “Obviously not having the year that I want. ... I'm just happy to be here and contribute."
With the Pirates pushing Skenes’ start until Wednesday, it put them in a tight spot pitching-wise, which is why what Bachar and Barco did meant that much more. They combined to allow four hits, three runs and two walks while striking out eight.
If you were given the option before the game, absolutely you would have taken that, especially because Barco had a 7.36 ERA in six MLB appearances this season and Bachar hadn’t logged more than two innings in an appearance.
But they got it done. Bachar used spin to notch his four strikeouts. He let the first two batters of the second reach but escaped with a double play and strikeout. Barco had a nearly identical line, save for using harder stuff to net his four punchouts and the three-run homer he allowed to catcher Connor Wong in the fifth.
“It meant a lot for me,” Bachar said. “I knew it was a bullpen day, so I wanted to eat as many innings as possible.”
Out of the break, Kirby Yates, Camilo Doval and Mason Montgomery made sure the finish was a quiet one.
Jake Mangum made a key sliding catch to end the eighth, highlighting what was a strong fundamental series for the Pirates, as well.
But with the additions of Bachar, Doval, Yates and Luke Weaver, the Pirates are set up differently in the bullpen. They’re deeper, with enough available arms to go behind Carmen Mlodzinski Monday.
What they did this weekend wasn’t everything. The gap for the final National League Wild Card spot remains 6.5 games. But they did accomplish something — they started to turn this in a better direction.
“These guys show up every day,” Kelly said Friday. “They’re fighting. They’re doing everything they can pregame. To go out and compete the way that we have, Major League Baseball is hard, especially when you’re going through a tough stretch like we were. These guys continue to post. It’s really impressive.”
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.