Bucs ride bats, gloves of outfielders to G2 win

CINCINNATI -- Ben Gamel and Bryan Reynolds were in the business of hitting home runs. Jack Suwinski was in the business of taking one away.

Following an afternoon that was equal parts odd and forgettable, Pittsburgh’s outfield filled up the highlight reel in the Pirates' 8-5 win over the Reds in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader at Great American Ball Park.

“I think the one thing we found out about this group is they do bounce back,” said manager Derek Shelton of the win. “They don’t let things linger. It was nice to come back and get a win.”

That trio didn’t lack for highlights, but it was Gamel’s home run that was the most aesthetically-pleasing of the bunch. In the top of the fourth inning, Gamel sat on a changeup from Robert Duggar that lacked both location and movement and sent it into the Cincinnati night. Gamel’s two-run shot, which registered at 414 feet, completely cleared the Pirates’ bullpen and made its way onto the Budweiser Balcony, generating groans as it soared toward the Ohio River.

Gamel isn’t Pittsburgh’s most prolific slugger, but the home run, one of Gamel’s two hits on the evening, was representative of how good he’s been at the plate.

“He’s seeing the ball really well right now,” Shelton said. “I think he’s in a good spot, and he’s getting good pitches to hit.”

One full month into the season, it is Gamel who has been Pittsburgh’s best hitter. In 26 games, Gamel is slashing .308/.379/.474. In his past 11 games, Gamel is 15-for-37 (.405) with six extra-base hits. At the end of play, Gamel’s 149 wRC+ ranked fourth among all National League outfielders, trailing only Jeff McNeil (166), Juan Soto (162) and Nick Castellanos (154). There’s a lot left to play, but those aren’t insignificant names.

“Really good run,” Shelton said. “You can’t get caught up in 40 at-bats. You have to play it out and the sample’s small, but over the last whatever days, he’s really hit the ball hard.”

Reynolds, of course, is someone who usually resides at the top of offensive leaderboards. The month of April was not kind to Reynolds, but as spring slowly begins to give way to summer, Reynolds, too, is heating up.

Reynolds’ home run, his first since April 14, will be the hit that makes the highlight reels, but just as notable was his bloop single in the top of the sixth inning. Reynolds found himself down in the count, 1-2, but kept the at-bat alive, fouling off three pitches and watching a ball go by.

On the eight pitch of the at-bat, Reynolds got jammed but muscled a little flare into shallow left field, one that Reds shortstop Kyle Farmer couldn’t backhand. When things aren’t going well, those are the kind of balls that get caught.

While Reynolds and Gamel were hitting home runs, Suwinski was taking them away. In the bottom of the first inning, Suwinski tracked Colin Moran’s towering fly ball, felt for the right-field wall and perfectly timed his leap to take away a home run.

The highlight was a microcosm of Suwinski’s impact at the defensive end. Entering play, Suwinski had already accrued two defensive runs saved in just 60 innings. By the time the leaderboard updates, Suwinski might have another.

Suwinski may not have had a round-tripper like his partners in crime, but he did enjoy a career day at the plate, reaching base three times by way of a walk, hit-by-pitch and an RBI double, the latter of which scored Daniel Vogelbach from first base.

"He made a really nice play, a play that kind of saved us early on from going 4-2 to 4-4,” Shelton said. “Really nice play. He continues to be pretty steady.”