Colin Moran powers Pirates past Cubs in opening game of final homestand
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Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton recently claimed that Bryan Reynolds is the biggest beneficiary when Colin Moran is locked in at the cleanup spot because Reynolds sees better pitches.
The reverse was true for the Pirates against the Chicago Cubs, as Reynolds reached base four times and twice was in scoring position when Moran came to the plate.
Moran delivered a three-run homer in the first inning and an RBI single in the seventh to lead the Pirates past the Cubs, 8-6, on Tuesday night before an announced crowd of 9,218 at PNC Park.
“Hitting behind him is fun,” Moran said of Reynolds, who went 3 for 4 with a double and reached on a two-base error in the seventh. “It’s fun to watch him work up there. He’s obviously a special player. I can kind of get a good feel with what the pitcher’s got, how he’s working him.
“Obviously, hopefully I can get him some good pitches to hit when I’m squaring up the baseball because when I’m not, he’s probably not going to see as many pitches to hit, and they’ll come after me.”
Moran went 2 for 2 with two walks and four RBIs in the opener of a three-game series and six-game homestand to end the season, the Pirates (59-98) fell behind by three runs before rallying with a four-run sixth.
It started when Reynolds singled, Moran walked and Jacob Stallings singled to load the bases. The Cubs pulled starter Alec Mills, only for Adam Morgan to give up a Ben Gamel sacrifice fly to make it 6-4 and Hoy Park’s triple that tied the score at 6-6. The Cubs (67-90) replaced Morgan with Trevor Megill, but pinch hitter Michael Chavis smacked a four-seam fastball for a single to right to score Park for the go-ahead run just hours after coming off the 10-day injured list.
“To come in and kind of go cold at 97, it’s challenging,” Shelton said of Chavis, who sprained his right elbow Aug. 28 while trying to make a diving catch in right field. “This kid has the ability to hit, he has the ability to hit fastballs and it really showed.”
Moran put the Pirates ahead in the bottom of the first inning with his 10th home run. After Kevin Newman beat the throw for an infield single and Reynolds doubled, Moran sent a Mills 0-1 fastball 406 feet into the visiting bullpen for a three-run homer and 3-0 Pirates lead.
After cruising through the first two innings on 25 pitches, Pirates starter Mitch Keller gave up three runs on five hits in the third. Frank Schwindel singled to right to cut it to 3-1, and Matt Duffy and Nick Martini hit back-to-back bases-loaded singles to tie the game before Keller got David Bote to hit into a double play for the second consecutive inning.
The Cubs knocked Keller out of the game after taking the lead and having runners on second and third with no outs in the fifth. Keller allowed six runs on nine hits and three walks with two strikeouts on 92 pitches.
“I got some good counts and left it over the heart of the plate,” Keller said. “It’s where all the damage is done, over the middle of the plate. Can’t leave it there.”
Rafael Ortega drew a leadoff walk, advanced to third on Frank Schwindel’s single up the middle and scored on Ian Happ’s single to right field to make it 4-3. Reynolds took a bad route on Matt Duffy’s double off the center field wall, which scored Schwindel for a 5-3 edge. Lefty Anthony Banda replaced Keller but gave up a sacrifice fly to Nick Martini to make it 6-3.
The Pirates responded with the four-run sixth to take the lead and Moran’s run-scoring single to provide a cushion. The Cubs drew a pair of two-out walks to bring the go-ahead run at the plate against David Bednar in the eighth but he got Schwindel to fly out to right to escape the jam.
It started with Reynolds and Moran
What started with Reynolds and Moran ended with Chris Stratton retiring the first two batters of the ninth before giving up a single to Nick Martini to bring the tying run to the plate. Stratton got pinch hitter Willson Contreras to ground out to end the game.
“Colin had really good at-bats tonight,” Shelton said of Moran. “He did benefit. Bryan had good swings throughout the night and was on base, and Colin had the three-run homer early and the base hit late. So it was a big day for both of them.”