CHICAGO -- The Pirates are running out of time. A powerful first inning proved they know it.
Before White Sox starter Sean Burke could record an out on Tuesday, the Pirates tallied five runs on six hits, squaring up Burke at exit velocities of 99 mph or higher five times. Pittsburgh’s offensive outburst led to a dominant 9-3 win over Chicago to start a pivotal six-game road trip.
“Everybody kind of did their homework, did their research on [Burke] and they were ready to go,” Brandon Lowe said. “Hats off to Konnor [Griffin] starting it off hot. A loud barrel to start the game gets the boys going.”
Griffin’s loud barrel was a 109.4 mph shot into the left-center gap on the third pitch of the game. Lowe and Reynolds followed with a walk and a double, and Oneil Cruz caught a barrel himself at 111.2 mph off the bat.
When the damage was done, and 20 minutes had passed, Burke was at 37 pitches as the White Sox bullpen began to loosen. Boos poured down at Rate Field after nearly every hard-hit ball into the outfield.
Statcast recorded a season-high 21 hard-hit balls (95 mph exit velocity or more) for the Pirates, and 15 at 100-plus mph. Each was a new season high for a team that has ranked among the top offensive groups all season.
At the top of the food chain was Cruz’s 115.9 mph missile in the fourth inning, and three hit at 107-plus mph from Griffin.
“Guys know,” manager Don Kelly said of the hard hits. “They look up, they see how hard they hit it. ... That’s the goal. You go up there to square it up, hit it as hard as you can. I thought we did a really good job of staying in that approach. Even had some pretty loud outs.”
Burke’s day eventually ended after recording just one out in the second inning, when Esmerlyn Valdez walked to load the bases. Chicago brought in the left-hander Tyler Schweitzer, but Pittsburgh kept hitting. Spencer Horwitz ripped Schweitzer’s first pitch to center field for two more runs.
Pirates players were 9-for-19 against Burke entering the game. They exited having boosted those numbers even further, going 8-for-11. Burke tossed it up to “one of those days where everything I threw they were hitting.”
Lowe added that Pittsburgh’s offense wasn’t trying to do too much, not pulling the ball and instead using the middle of the field. Reynolds pointed to finding Burke’s weak points.
“I don't know,” Reynolds said. “I guess we were just hitting mistakes. Made him throw strikes and we hit him good.”
Bubba Chandler had plenty of cushion to play with once he took the mound. He stayed loose before the first inning by throwing plyo balls in the tunnel. Chandler estimated he then threw 13 warm-up pitches to get hot. He didn’t mind. He hopes it happens every time he pitches.
The Pirates entered Tuesday off a series victory where they scored just three runs and won two games 1-0. Pittsburgh had one run after the third batter of the game against Chicago. Each player in the starting lineup finished with a hit, and seven tallied two or more.
It’s go time for the Bucs to get rolling. Still 5 1/2 game behind the final National League Wild Card spot, they'll need more night like Tuesday’s first inning if they're going to make a late push.
“I think the whole month of September has been pretty pivotal for us,” Lowe said. “It's a great way to start it. We're going to be here for a week. We got three three night games here, so it's great to get it rolling in the right direction pretty early. Just keep riding the wave.”