Bryan Reynolds snaps out of funk with homer but Zack Wheeler pitches Phillies to win

The Pittsburgh Pirates unveiled a reconfigured batting order against the Philadelphia Phillies, one that moved Bryan Reynolds into the third spot and finally featured the debut of first baseman Spencer Horwitz.

Zack Wheeler set the tone by striking out the first two batters he faced and letting the Pirates know that it was going to be a long night. The Phillies ace showed why he was the 2024 NL Cy Young runner-up, recording six strikeouts while allowing three hits and one walk in six scoreless innings.

Reynolds hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning to prevent a shutout, as the Phillies pounded out 10 hits to roll to a 5-2 win on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park.

The Pirates (15-31) will try to avoid a three-game series sweep Sunday when Paul Skenes faces Mick Abel, who will make his major league debut for the Phillies (27-18).

Oneil Cruz returned to the leadoff spot but was followed by Andrew McCutchen instead of Reynolds, who snapped an 0-for-22 streak with a bloop single in the fourth inning. Horwitz grounded out to second twice before being replaced by Alexander Canario in the seventh.

The Phillies jumped on Pirates starter Carmen Mlodzinski early, with three consecutive hits. Trea Turner reached on an infield single, advanced to third on Bryce Harper’s single to center and scored when Kyle Schwarber drilled a double to the right field corner for a 1-0 lead.

But Horwitz, activated after completing a rehabilitation assignment split between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis, fielded a grounder by Nick Castellanos and made a perfect throw to catcher Joey Bart to tag Harper out at home plate to prevent another run from scoring.

Bryson Stott started the third inning with a 411-foot blast on a full-count slider for his fourth home run to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead.

Mlodzinski, who allowed four runs on seven hits and one walk in 3 1/3 innings, was pulled after Alec Bohm singled and Brandon Marsh doubled in the fourth. Lefty Joey Wentz came on in relief but gave up a two-run single to Stott and an RBI double to Harper as the Phillies increased their lead to 5-0.

After McCutchen drew a full-count walk off Tanner Banks with one out in the ninth, Reynolds followed by smashing a 3-2 slider 408 feet to right field for his sixth home run.