CINCINNATI -- It’s not like one particular thing kept going wrong for the Pirates during their nine-game losing streak. Most nights, sure, they’d hit plenty, but not pitch well enough. When their pitching was up to par, it seemed, they didn’t hit enough. Sometimes, they were done in by their defense or poor fundamentals. As manager Clint Hurdle put it, they had trouble “connecting the dots.”
The Pirates finally connected the dots on Tuesday night. Corey Dickerson returned to the lineup and helped bring the Bucs’ bats back to life. Joe Musgrove put together the start they needed. The back end of the bullpen finished the job, and there was even a late-game melee that seemed to unify the clubhouse. For the first time in 10 days, it all came together in an 11-4 win over the Reds at Great American Ball Park.
It was only one win in an otherwise-disappointing second half, but it ended the Pirates’ longest losing streak since July 29-Aug. 7, 2011. On Wednesday afternoon, with the Trade Deadline looming at 4 p.m. ET, the Bucs will have a chance to win a series for the first time since the All-Star break.
“The baseball side of it was pretty sharp on our end. We played really good baseball,” Musgrove said. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a solid start from one of our starting pitchers. It felt good to be able to go out there and turn the tide. We swung the bats really well. We got key hits when we needed to.
“A lot of things tonight, but the most positive side of it is that we won a game. It’s been a while.”
Sidelined since Friday due to groin discomfort, Dickerson came back with authority against the Reds. Pittsburgh’s left fielder, a likely trade candidate, blasted two home runs in his ninth career multi-homer game and drove in a career-high five runs from the sixth spot in the order.
“I think with how much people talk about [the Trade Deadline] nowadays with social media and family and stuff, it comes in and out of your head sometimes,” Dickerson said. “I’ve been so focused on my routine, what me and Rick [Eckstein] have been working on, the process of being healthy and trying to be the best version of me every day. I just try to do the best I can for the Pirates right now.
Josh Bell, the All-Star first baseman who has slumped through most of the Pirates’ 3-15 start to the second half, handed Musgrove an early lead. Batting with two on and one out in the first, Bell ripped a Tanner Roark fastball to right-center field for a two-run double.
“To drive in two there to get us on the board right away, it’s good for him,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “Some positive traction for him.”
With the bases loaded and two out in the third, Dickerson punched a two-run single to left field and Kevin Newman lined an RBI single to center that gave Musgrove some breathing room.
Musgrove, who was on the mound for the Pirates’ previous win on July 20 at PNC Park, didn’t need all that run support. The right-hander held the Reds to two runs -- on a pair of solo homers -- over six efficient innings.
Dickerson took care of the rest, taking Lucas Sims deep to right-center in the fifth before homering off Robert Stephenson in the seventh. He exited the game -- perhaps for the last time as a Pirate -- along with Musgrove as part of a double switch that brought in reliever Keone Kela.
“It’s nice to get back out there with my teammates playing the game that we all love and competing,” Dickerson said. “It’s always fun to get out there.”
Kela, also the subject of trade rumors with the Deadline drawing near, threw a high fastball to Derek Dietrich that set in motion the events that led to the eventual benches-clearing melee, but he also struck out two in a perfect seventh.
Amir Garrett replaced Jared Hughes and gave up a three-run homer to pinch-hitter Jose Osuna. Not long after that, Garrett charged the Pirates’ dugout and threw a punch at Trevor Williams. Then the benches cleared, with just-traded Yasiel Puig right in the middle of it. When the smoke cleared, the Pirates had four players ejected: Williams, Chris Archer, Kyle Crick and injured catcher Francisco Cervelli.
And when that was all over and done, the Pirates could process everything that happened inside a winning clubhouse.
“It feels good to get a win. I think that this win can ignite us,” Kela said. “If we utilize it and channel it moving forward, we can do some good things. But we’re not going to live off this. We’re going to take this and continue to develop as a team and go out there and win.”