PITTSBURGH -- It’s the dog days of summer. The weather is muggy, bodies are sore and postseason spots are officially up for grabs. The Pirates are holding on for dear life.
“You've been riding the bike for this long now,” veteran Brandon Lowe said pregame. “Just hold on to the handlebars and don't fall off.”
With Lowe’s help, Pittsburgh took down the Red Sox, 8-3, Sunday after a two-hour, 34-minute rain delay for its first series win since taking two of three from the Guardians on July 18-19. The Pirates jumped on left-hander Patrick Sandoval for seven runs in the first four innings, holding on to playoff hopes just a bit further into August.
“We've talked a lot about it. We want to go 1-0 each day,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “How do we continue to grind and fight for that? And I thought we did a really good job in a big series win against a tough team.”
As Lowe sees it, the Pirates can use being sore to their advantage. Every player around the league is at the same point in their season. So the 32-year-old Lowe broke it down as, “How can you make yourself feel good for about three hours every day?”
On Sunday, the Pirates would need to do so with a break in between that was exactly as long as the game.
Pittsburgh started early with three consecutive hits in the first. Esmerlyn Valdez and Bryan Reynolds both doubled to bring in the first run. Then, Lowe singled to left field to score Reynolds for a 2-0 lead.
Pittsburgh deployed a new lineup to beat its woes versus lefties, slotting utility man Jared Triolo into the leadoff spot and Lowe, the only left-handed hitter, at cleanup. The top of the order added on in the third, as Triolo tallied an infield single and Valdez doubled again. Reynolds followed with a single to score Triolo, and Lowe singled to score Valdez.
Two batters later, Jake Mangum and Nick Yorke followed with singles, adding two more runs. Henry Davis capped the five-run frame with a sacrifice fly to build a 7-0 lead. On the mound, Pittsburgh’s bullpen took care of the rest.
Lake Bachar started the game in place of Paul Skenes, as the reigning Cy Young winner’s start was pushed to Wednesday. Bachar glided through three scoreless innings before making way for Hunter Barco. Barco worked a clean fourth before allowing a three-run homer to Connor Wong in the fifth.
Then came the rain ahead of the top of the seventh, stopping the game for over two-and-a-half hours. Yorke, who arrived in Pittsburgh at 10:55 a.m., reached the PNC Park clubhouse around noon and took a nap during the delay. The Pirates continued where they left off after the delay, adding on one more run to cruise to victory.
“That's a good team we just played,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said. “Watching what they can do offensively, some of the arms coming out of the 'pen that are all throwing 100 miles an hour. There's a lot of good players over there.”
The time off wasn’t going to stop Pittsburgh from taking home what was virtually a must-win game at this point. While August is when teams begin to separate themselves, it’s also when the Pirates hope to hold on for a little bit longer before adding reinforcements.
Oneil Cruz (left hand fourth and fifth metacarpal non-displaced fractures) will join the team in a matter of days after returning to Pittsburgh off a rehab assignment Sunday. Konnor Griffin will have his left ring finger -- where he suffered a torn sagittal band -- looked at early this week and begin baseball activities in Bradenton, Fla., soon after.
While questions remain around the starting pitching staff and the struggles of ace Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh’s new-look bullpen emerged against Boston, as Mason Montgomery continues to star in the late innings. Offensive struggles have hampered the Pirates in recent weeks, but those, too, seem to be in the rearview mirror.
Valdez climbed out of his rut and now has nine hits in the past six games. Reynolds and Lowe are surging once again. And taking down two left-handed starters felt far-fetched just a few days ago.
Now, the Pirates must build upon the momentum to not fall off the bike.