Bryan Reynolds currently has a 16-game hitting streak, with at least one hit in every game this month.
Reynolds has been hitting the ball hard frequently this month, which got me looking at how often he’s been hitting. It’s a lot. Aside from the 16-game streak, he has multiple hits in four of his last five games, with extra base hits in all of those games.
The performance from Reynolds has me thinking about the offense from the Pittsburgh Pirates. They fell 2-1 to the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, and while you can’t win every game, it’s tough losing a game where the pitching performed so well.
Bailey Falter threw seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits. The lefty now has a 3.74 ERA in the rotation this year, looking like a surprise boost to the trio of Mitch Keller/Paul Skenes/Jared Jones. More often than not this year, the Pirates have gotten a good start from Falter.
Carmen Mlodzinski returned for a single inning of relief, after pitching in a few bullpen games last week. Dennis Santana also pitched a scoreless inning, after recently joining the Pirates as a waiver claim.
Reynolds got his hits, going 2-for-4 with his 20th double of the season. However, those hits represented half of the hits for the entire Pirates offense. A solo homer from Ke’Bryan Hayes brought in the only run.
The Pirates are lucky to have Reynolds hitting so consistently this month. Their problem is they typically lack consistency from the rest of their lineup.
Reynolds has a .430 wOBA and a 180 wRC+ this month, which are both well above the league averages. There are only three other above-average hitters on the Pirates during the month of June. Those are Rowdy Tellez (.476/212), Andrew McCutchen (.350/126), and Oneil Cruz (.343/121).
In the first two months of the season, the Pirates only had five above-average hitters. Reynolds and McCutchen were on that list. They were joined by Joey Bart (.382/148), Nick Gonzales (.389/152), and Connor Joe (.347/124).
The question is whether everything can come together with this offense. The best group looks to be the following:
C – Bart
1B – Tellez
2B – Gonzales
SS – Cruz
3B – Hayes
LF – Reynolds
CF – Taylor
RF – Joe
DH – McCutchen
That lineup features seven players who have put up above-average numbers for an extended stretch this year. It also has quality defenders in Hayes and Michael A. Taylor. The problem is that lineup hasn’t been consistent, with only 4-5 players maximum ever looking like above-average hitters. The moment one hitter starts performing, another starts to struggle.
Fortunately, the Pirates have seen consistency with their pitching. This will keep them in games, and keep them close to .500 on the season.
The unfortunate thing is that this will only highlight the struggles and inconsistency from the offense, as shown last night.
Roster Moves
**Jake Lamb was granted his release by the Pirates, due to an opt-out clause in his contract. Lamb was hitting .289/.380/.416 with four homers for Indianapolis. He looked like a first base depth option, but the Pirates opted to stick with Rowdy Tellez in the majors.
**Seth Beer was promoted from Altoona to Indianapolis to take the place of Lamb. Beer was hitting for a .281/.366/.397 line at the Double-A level.
**The Pirates placed LHP Anthony Solometo on the development list. The 21-year-old has a 6.27 ERA in 33 innings in Double-A, with a 24:21 K/BB ratio. He had been pitching shorter outings and bullpen appearances for the last month, and has only pitched more than three innings in a single appearance one time this year.
**Third baseman Jack Brannigan was activated from the injured list in Greensboro. He returned to go 1-for-2 yesterday.
**Infielder Niko Goodrum was outrighted to Indianapolis after clearing waivers. He refused the assignment and elected to become a free agent. The Pirates claimed Goodrum on June 10th from the Angels, then designated him for assignment on June 14th.
Pirates Prospect Watch
Patrick Reilly struck out ten batters in six shutout innings for Greensboro. Shalin Polanco hit a walk off grand slam for Bradenton. Matt Gorski hit his 14th homer of the year for Indianapolis. Read more of yesterday’s results in the latest Pirates Prospect Watch.
Pirates Prospect Watch: Patrick Reilly Strikes Out Ten in Six Shutout Innings
