Michael Chavis helped cap a second comeback Friday night at PNC Park with a bases-loaded, walkoff single for the Pirates to top the Reds, 5-4. It was a big night for a team that's lacked hits in big spots too often this season.
Ben Gamel helped complete a comeback from a 3-0 hole with an RBI single of his own just a couple innings prior. After an Oneil Cruz error opened the door for the Reds to regain the lead in the eighth, Kevin Newman continued his strong form at the plate, tying the game once again in the ninth with an RBI double.
At the center of both rallies was Bligh Madris, who carried a .167/.223/.250 slash line into Friday's action. He followed Greg Allen's leadoff single in the seventh with a single of his own, allowing Allen to reach third base then score on a sacrifice fly by Newman to pull the Pirates within a run before Gamel's tying RBI single. Then he led off the ninth with his second single of the game, advanced to second on a bunt by Tucupita Marcano and scored on Newman's RBI double.
For an offense that's often felt like Bryan Reynolds and everyone else, that's a lot of names contributing in big spots for Derek Shelton's Pirates.
"They kept battling back," Shelton said. "The last three innings, really good at-bats and contributions from a lot of people. The young kids stepped up. ... Overall, it was a good team victory."
Before the Pirates took the field, Ben Cherington spoke to the media for more than 30 minutes about the organization he's helped construct since taking over prior to the 2020 season. There were questions on several topics, but nothing compared to the time spent talking about the thing that matters more than anything in 2022: Progress.
Friday's win improved the Pirates' record to 47-72, leap-frogging the Reds into fourth place in the National League Central thanks to a whopping .002 in the win percentage column. In addition, the Pirates entered play Friday with the NL's worst team batting average and OPS.
Among many other stats, "progress" has been difficult to pinpoint. This team is on its way to its fourth straight losing season, and even perhaps its second straight 100-loss season. And, Cherington emphatically announced in this same meeting that Shelton will remain his field manager next season.
However, Cherington talked as candidly as I've seen him talk when he went on uninterrupted for a few minutes about the progress this team has made since he became the 23rd general manager in club history. Among his comments, he empathized with fans, sharing their "frustration" about a lack of results.
But, outside of his unwavering support of Shelton, one thing that stood out was this particular stanza:
"Now, we have to get better in a lot of ways, and we will. I can only speak to the now third year that I’ve been here, the first of which, obviously, was unusual in a lot of ways. We believe we made a lot of progress during that time to get us closer to a point where we have to be to have a chance to win. Not just win, but sustain that. Our aim is not to win some more games to feel a little bit better about it, to get to a little bit better record to feel a little bit better about it. We want to win on a level where it’s going to help us get into October and deep in October. No shortcuts to that, but we believe we’re making progress. We need to make more."
Lest we forget, Cherington took on an awful situation. Bad trade after bad trade after bad trade and some awful decisions/philosophies from the previous regime put this club in a horrific spot where mediocrity was the ceiling accompanied by a depleted farm system. It was always going to take time for Cherington to rebuild a pipeline of young talent that is so vital to a small-market team like the Pirates.
This team might be winning more games this season if Cherington took shortcuts. But they'd also be stuck in the same loop. Tear-it-all-down rebuilds take time.
"We all know in baseball, there’s just no single solution," Cherington said. "There’s no single move or shortcut that’s going to get us from Point A to Point B. It’s a lot of stuff that adds up over time, and all of sudden, you’re in a better spot and you’re winning games. We really do believe, organizationally, we’re making progress."
Friday's game personified some of that perceived progress, and the growing pains that coincide with having a young ballclub.
We're watching Newman have some of the most sustainable success since 2019, becoming more of a reliable bat atop the lineup to come through with hits like this in clutch situations:
Or when Chavis carries an 0-for-4 night into the ninth inning, he's able to keep his heart rate down in a high-pressure situation and doesn't try to do too much with this slider breaking down and in:
At the same time, there are times it will be painful to watch some of the most talented players in the organization go through the struggles of becoming a major-league ballplayer. Cruz had a couple rough moments Friday, including this aforementioned error that the Reds eventually capitalized on to regain the lead in the eighth:
And then there's the pain of watching a hitter with so much talent and so much potential refuse to lay off these kind of pitches:
This season was never going to be about competing. It was always set up to be focused on evaluation and, most important, development. Results aren't everything in such seasons. The vast majority of younger players don't know how to navigate their first exposure to the big leagues while having what it takes to win more often than lose.
That's why veterans such as Gamel are valuable to a team like this, helping provide production while also setting examples for how to come through with game-tying hits like this much more often:
"It’s really valuable that we’ve had so many young position players get as many reps as they’ve had at the Major League level, and it’s just only going to help some of them be in a position to be better, stronger contributors sooner rather than later and be part of that lineup that we need to build to score more runs," Cherington said.
"So, it’s part of the process. We know we’re going to rely on young players. It means that those young players have to go to the big leagues and go through that transition. A lot of them are starting to do that this year. I do believe that represents progress."
Now, Cherington can talk at will about the progress he believes this organization has made throughout the season. If the "progress" taking place in 2022 doesn't lead to more moments like Friday, and ultimately, more wins in 2023 and beyond, it's simply not enough. Only time will tell.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• The best and easiest way to measure progress is through tangible results, and Bryse Wilson is providing promising data over the past month and a half.
Wilson kept the Pirates in the game, allowing three runs in seven innings while striking out four batters. Most important, he didn't walk anybody. Only two mistakes cost him -- both hanging breaking balls that were clobbered for home runs to give the Reds a 3-0 advantage.
But Wilson worked quickly and efficiently, retiring the Reds in order in four of his seven innings. Wilson continues to rely more on the sinker, which has given him the confidence to attack the strike zone more often. And since July 2, Wilson has a 3.83 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in eight starts and 44 2/3 innings.
"I think a lot of it is just trusting my stuff," Wilson said of his recent form. "We made the mechanical adjustments, which help as well. But the growing confidence and trusting my stuff allows me to not feel too worried about throwing pitches in 3-0, 3-1 and 3-2 counts that are decent pitches to hit."
• One more thing on Wilson: His seven innings from Friday along with JT Brubaker's seven innings from Thursday's 8-2 win over the Red Sox is the first time since Aug. 16-17, 2019 that the Pirates had starters pitch at least seven innings on consecutive days (Joe Musgrove and Steven Brault).
• The Reds' fourth run to regain the lead after the Pirates tied it, 3-3, in the seventh, came after Duane Underwood Jr. started the eighth. Cruz's error started the inning, then Underwood allowed a weak single to put two runners on. With two outs, Wil Crowe came into the game to try and keep the game tied, but Kyle Farmer was able to come through for the Reds.
Shelton said they thought about keeping Wilson in for the eighth inning since he was only at 84 pitches, but they like the matchups with Underwood.
"He threw the ball well," Shelton said of Underwood. "Essentially, he got four outs because we gave away an out there. Even the base hit he gave up was kind of a jam shot."
Crowe got the final out of the eighth without allowing another run, then pitched a scoreless ninth to eventually set up the walk-off winner.
• As mentioned earlier, Madris had hits in both of Friday's rallies, and it couldn't come at a better time for the young hitter.
"It felt really good," Madris said. "I've been barreling the ball but I haven't been able to find grass or a hole anywhere, so that felt really good for me. It was huge for us as a team and to be able to contribute to that is what I'm here for. I’ll just try to pile that on and get that snowball effect going and hopefully get a couple of rallies going here in the next few days."
• Prior to the game, Shelton announced that Zach Thompson will start Sunday's finale against the Reds, and Mitch Keller will take the ball Wednesday for the final game against the Braves.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• 10-day injured list: 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes (strained mid-back muscle)
• 15-day injured list: RHP David Bednar (low back), LHP Dillon Peters (left elbow inflammation)
• 60-day injured list: RHP Yerry De Los Santos (lat), OF Canaan Njigba-Smith (wrist), RHP Blake Cederlind (elbow), RHP Nick Mears (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow), C Roberto Pérez (hamstring)
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Kevin Newman, 2B
2. Bryan Reynolds, CF
3. Ben Gamel, RF
4. Michael Chavis, 1B
5. Rodolfo Castro, 3B
6. Oneil Cruz, SS
7. Greg Allen, LF
8. Bligh Madris, DH
9. Jason Delay, C
And for David Bell's Reds:
1. Jake Fraley, RF
2. Jonathan India, 2B
3. Kyle Farmer, 3B
4. Mike Moustakas, 1B
5. Nick Senzel, DH
6. Albert Almora Jr., CF
7. TJ Friedl, LF
8. Jose Barrero, SS
9. Michael Papierski, C
THE SCHEDULE
Same two teams Saturday: Tyler Beede (1-2, 3.72) will take on Justin Dunn (0-1, 8.64) at 7:05 p.m. I've got you covered once again.
THE CONTENT
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