'Proud of this one:' Pirates pull off largest comeback in franchise history

CINCINNATI -- As Bryan Reynolds stood in the box with a couple men on in the sixth, Andy Haines leaned over to Derek Shelton to say something an outsider might have thought was preposterous at the time.

"He hits a homer here, this is gonna get real," the hitting coach said.

Well, Reynolds did homer, and things got real:

Quickly, the Reds' lead was cut in half. While Haines dared to think what would happen if Reynolds came through there, the Pirates' left fielder was thinking small ball.

"I was just trying to keep the line moving because we had been doing a good job of just passing it to the next guy and get one across, get one across," Reynolds said. "I figured he was going to try to throw me a changeup, so I was just trying to shoot something to right."

Reynolds then cracked a smile. "He threw a heater, and it’s a small ballpark."

That homer capped a five-run sixth inning that brought the Pirates back and set the stage for what would be the largest comeback in the team's history. After falling behind 9-0 early, the Pirates rattled off 13 consecutive runs before a makeshift bullpen was able to cling on to victory, beating the Reds at Great American BallPark Saturday, 13-12.

"It's the best of the year," Endy Rodríguez said of the win. "100 percent."

It may not be quite a one-in-1,000 win, but it's darn close. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Pirates had played 819 games in their franchise's history where they trailed by at least nine runs at some point. It wasn't until the 820th time that they pulled it off, and it happened against a divisional rival who was playing for their playoff lives.

"I would say it’s right at the top," Shelton said. "It would be hard-pressed [to beat]. Walkoffs at home are really special. But with this group, this late in the year, to do that, yeah, this ranks right at the top."

The Pirates dug their hole early, with Bailey Falter allowing back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the first before TJ Friedl started the second with an inside the parker:

The Reds' onslaught would continue, and Falter was pulled after just two innings with eight runs allowed. Kyle Nicolas would allow another run in the third, putting the Pirates behind early. Going by Baseball Savant's win probability metrics, by the time the top of the fifth concluded, the Pirates were down 9-1 and had just a 0.5% chance of winning.

"I don't feel like we were [ever out of it]," Alfonso Rivas said. "It sucked to be down 9-0, 9-1, but it was early in the game and you have a lot of ballgame left. A lot of ABs to be taken. We never really gave up on the game."

Run-scoring hits by Ji Hwan Bae and Joshua Palacios preceded Reynolds' home run in the sixth, and it was Rivas who came through in the seventh with the biggest hit of his short Pirates career and his five RBI night: A bases loaded double in the seventh to tie the game:

"Heart's beating a bit, you're realizing it," Rivas said. "Take a deep breath and just trying to swing at a good pitch and hit the ball hard."

In the eighth, Jack Suwinski broke the tie with a base hit up the middle and Bae doubled home a pair to give the Pirates a 13-9 edge. Their hope was always to chip away and get to the bullpen, and it had worked.

"Their bullpen got beat up last night just like ours," Shelton said. "We knew we needed to get into their bullpen and use as many arms as possible. We kept chipping, we kept having good at-bats. When Bryan hit the homer, that’s when it started."

Ahead late, the script flipped on the Pirates, who were short staffed on the bullpen. David Bednar and Ryan Borucki had been used extensively of late, and Colin Holderman was placed on the injured list Friday. Without three of their leverage relievers and needing to eat innings since the third, Shelton needed to improvise. Dauri Moretta got eight big outs to bridge the game to the late innings, but that left the final frames in the hands of Colin Selby and Carmen Mlodzinski.

Selby cut the lead in half quickly, but got out of the inning on a diving double play by Bae at second base. Mlodzinski quickly put two runners in scoring position before getting an out in the ninth. With the tying run on second, Rodríguez went out to home plate for a mound visit, which entailed two parts. One was a scouting report on the next hitters.

The second was a message.

"Are you scared? No? Let’s do it."

Mlodzinski attacked and got out of the jam with just one run coming home on a productive out, sealing his first big-league save.

“Speaking for myself, but I think a lot of the guys here, we’re really proud of this one," Mlodzinski would tell me afterwards.

There's plenty of reason to be proud. This could have easily been the Pirates' 82nd loss, clinching a losing season, and the day they were officially eliminated from playoff contention. Instead, they dealt a potential finishing blow to a rival, affirming that they believe they'll be in the playoff race next year, too.

Because if they could pull off a win like that, then what else are they capable of?

"I just feel like that’s the new culture we want to set going forward," Jared Triolo said. "It was a really fun game to play in, probably really fun to watch as well."

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THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE INJURIES

• 60-day injured list: SS Oneil Cruz (ankle), RHP JT Brubaker (elbow), LHP Jarlin Garcia (elbow), INF Tucupita Marcano (knee), LHP Angel Perdomo (elbow), RHP Vince Velasquez (elbow), DH/OF Andrew McCutchen (Achilles)

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Joshua Palacios, RF
2. Bryan Reynolds, LF
3. Ke'Bryan Hayes, DH
4. Jack Suwinski, CF
5. Jared Triolo, 3B
6. Endy Rodríguez, C
7. Alfonso Rivas, 1B
8. Ji Hwan Bae, 2B
9. Alika Williams, SS

And for David Bell's Reds:

1. Jonathan India, 2B
2. Nick Senzel, LF
3. Spencer Steer, 1B
4. Christian Encarnancion-Strand, DH
5. Tyler Stephenson, C
6. Noelvi Marte, 3B
7. TJ Friedl, CF
8. Stuart Fairchild, RF
9. Elly De La Cruz, SS

THE SCHEDULE

The Pirates will go for the series sweep Sunday when Quinn Priester (3-2, 8.61) takes on Brandon Williamson (4-5, 4.56) first pitch will be at 1:40 p.m. I'll have you covered before handing things off to DK in Philadelphia.

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