PITTSBURGH -- What a difference a few short days can make for a team’s fortune.
The Pirates didn't have a single win to show for 18 runs scored during its four-game sweep at the hands of St. Louis earlier this week. But the team is now 2-0 since flipping the calendar over to May after a blowout 17-7 victory Saturday afternoon against the NL-Central-leading Reds at PNC Park.
It was the second consecutive day that the Pirates had their way at the plate, with the entire lineup getting involved at one point or another as everybody in the starting lineup recorded at least one RBI -- for the first time since Sept. 16, 1975 vs. the Cubs -- by the end of the fourth.
They struck for five first inning runs on five hits, including a pair of doubles, and a walk. Brandon Lowe, Ryan O’Hearn, Nick Gonzales, Marcell Ozuna and Konnor Griffin all drove in runs in the opening frame against Reds starter Rhett Lowder.
An inning later, following three consecutive walks, the Pirates chased Lowder from the game after just 1 1/3 innings. Gonzales, Ozuna, Spencer Horwitz and Griffin all drew walks, the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh in a row surrendered by Cincinnati, driving in four more runs without the benefit of a hit. It was a display of historically bad control and solid plate discipline to keep the bat on its shoulders.
The seven walks allowed in the inning tied a big league record for most in an inning.
The Pirates struck for five more runs in the fourth inning, led off by Griffin’s second career triple and punctuated by a Horwitz single to drive in the team’s 15th run of the game as the Pirates scored at least five runs in three of the first four innings.
Griffin finished 4-for-5 with two RBIs, a home run shy of the cycle and Ozuna finished 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs, while four other Pirates chipped in with multi-hit efforts in the team-wide 19-hit game.
Pittsburgh right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski got off to a shaky start in the first two innings, allowing three runs, but struck out six batters in a row soon after and posted back-to-back one-two-three innings to get himself through four. He received an ovation when exiting the game after 5 2/3 innings. He allowed five earned runs on eight hits but struck out 10 en route to his second victory of the season.