COMON Network

By COMON Network Team

Final Score – Pittsburgh Pirates (11-24) 6 def. Chicago Cubs (22-15) 2

WP: JT Brubaker (1-0) LP: Alec Mills (3-3) SV: N/A

The Pirates managed to salvage a game from the week-day series with the Cubs in today’s matinee contest, winning 6-2 with both teams reaching the double digits in the hit column.

Chicago drew first blood on a Victor Caratini single that allowed Kyle Schwarber to score the game’s first run in the second inning. In the third, the Cubbie lead would be extended to 2-0 as Jason Kipnis scored on a ground ball to third that Pirates’ third baseman JT Riddle airmailed.

Pittsburgh started its charge in the bottom of the same inning, as Erik Gonzalez lifted a sac fly that scored John Ryan Murphy. Later in the inning, in his second at bat since being re-activated from the paternity list, Bryan Reynolds hit a three-run homer to right field, making it 4-2, as Cole Tucker and Gregory Polanco scored. Tucker singled home Adam Frazier and Riddle in the sixth to bring the game to its final of 6-2.

The Pirates now turn their attention to the Reds, who come into town over the weekend for a four-game series. The set starts with a doubleheader tomorrow. The seven-inning games will be played at 4:05 p.m. and 7:05 p.m, or shortly after, weather permitting. Luis Castillo (0-5, 4.10 ERA) goes for the Reds in game one against Steven Brault (0-1, 4.00 ERA). The starter in game two for Pittsburgh has not been announced. Trevor Bauer (3-2, 2.13 ERA) will start the nightcap for Cincy.

COMON Network Team Commentary

KYLE DAWSON

• Shoutout to Bryan Reynolds. Time off for the birth of his first son and came back today and made an impact. I’ll save you the comments about “Dad Strength.” Twitter has you covered there. Reynolds has the roped double and the mashed homer in the win for the Bucs. The double was hit off the bat at 109.1 mph. The homer came off at 98.2 mph, but traveled an estimated 397 feet to give the Bucs the lead for good.
• I refuse to look at consecutive multi-hit games for Gregory Polanco and make anything of it. He’s up to .149 on the year.
• JT Brubaker was solid. He was aggressive against a pretty good lineup and filled the zone. I can live with three hard-hit balls and the seven hits when only one run comes across. Brubaker picks up his first major-league win in the effort. Good stuff.
• I mentioned the fireman-ability of Geoff Hartlieb the other day and he did it again today. Hitters are now 0-for-12 against Hartlieb with runners in scoring position and two outs this season.
• That’s a good win all around. There’s not much to say because not much went wrong. A welcome sight… Oh, other than having to watch JT Riddle play. He’s not a part of the future. I don’t want to see him on the field.

Player of the Game – Bryan Reynolds (PIT)

JOE SMELTZER

• It feels weird to praise the Pirates bullpen, but Geoff Hartlieb has done a solid job in 2020. The second-year reliever has done well as the Pirates unofficial “fireman”, leaving 16 of 18 inherited runners on base. Equally impressive is that opposing bats are 0-12 against Hartlieb with two outs and runners in scoring position. Depending on if/when Keone Kela comes back, don’t be surprised to see Hartlieb get a shot at closing a game or two before the season ends.  
• Gregory Polanco having back-to-back multi-hit games should cause Governor Wolf to consider temporarily easing capacity restrictions to allow the city to throw a parade.  
• Josh Hader set an MLB record today with his 12^th consecutive outing without allowing a hit. I wonder if the previous holder walked in two runs with the bases loaded at any point during his streak.  

Player of the Game – Bryan Reynolds (PIT)

DONNY CHEDRICK

• Another solid outing. I seem to mention what JT Brubaker does every time he takes the mound. I don’t know if it’s because I covered the guy a few times as a broadcaster or I just thoroughly enjoy his performances. He ain’t Nolan Ryan or Randy Johnson, but he’s serving his purpose in Pittsburgh. Last time out he went five innings, a career high, and this time he repeated that longevity. Five innings, allowing just one earned run. The bullpen helped him earn a victory. 
• Welcome back Bryan Reynolds. Congratulations to Bryan Reynolds on the birth of his first child. He celebrated in a big way Thursday afternoon. A double, a home run and three runs batted in as the Pirates topped the Cubs at PNC Park. 
• Keep the momentum at home. Say what you want about momentum, but the Pirates were able to take a game from the Cubs to finish the series and have six more games at home before heading back out. It starts with two against Cincy tomorrow. With both games being seven innings, a five inning start could prove to be huge on either side.

Player of the Game – Bryan Reynolds (PIT)