Pirates rebound from lopsided Yankees loss, split doubleheader with Reds
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A day after being pummeled by the best team in baseball, the Pittsburgh Pirates found the perfect remedy to recover from their double-digit loss to the New York Yankees.
The worst team in the National League.
The Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-2, in the first game of a doubleheader but had to settle for a second consecutive series split after losing the nightcap, 5-1, Thursday at Great American Ball Park.
The Pirates had a quick turnaround from a 16-0 loss to the New York Yankees on Wednesday night, as they arrived in Cincinnati around 3 a.m. and had to play 10 hours later in 85-degree temperatures. They improved to 7-0 in games that follow losses by eight runs or more.
“They bounced back really well,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “I would like to not have to bounce back really well, but I give this group a lot of credit. They’re really resilient.”
It also was a big bounce-back game for rookie right-hander Roansy Contreras, whose previous start was the worst of his major league career. He allowed seven runs on five hits, including three homers, in only 1 ⅔ innings in a 19-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on July 1.
Contreras (3-2) got his breaking pitches working again, especially his slider, and earned the win after completing his first career six-inning start and allowing one run on four hits and one walk while striking out seven on 90 pitches.
“I’m pretty sure ever since that last outing, a lot of people were probably wondering or thinking to themselves, ‘Man, Roansy’s in a hole. He’s probably going to struggle getting out of there, this and that,’” Contreras said through translator Mike Gonzalez. “However, I’ve always been a competitor. I’ve always come out with a winning mindset, always ready to compete, a lot of commitment and dedication and always trusting in myself. The mindset is always there. Just coming back and flushing the last outing with everything that I have to try to help the team.”
After the game, Contreras was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis as the Pirates recalled left-hander Eric Stout. Contreras will remain with the club on the taxi squad.
The Pirates added right-hander Bryse Wilson as their 27th man for the doubleheader to start the second game. Wilson was named player of the month for Triple-A Indianapolis after going 3-0 with a 2.49 ERA in four starts in June and made a quality start in a 7-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on July 2.
The Pirates failed to score in the first despite having runners on first and third. They took a 1-0 lead in the third inning, when Ben Gamel doubled off Ross Detwiler and scored on Daniel Vogelbach’s single to right. The Reds tied it in the sixth when Tyler Naquin knocked Wilson’s changeup 422 feet to right field to make it 1-1.
Wilson allowed one earned run on seven hits in 6 ⅔ innings but didn’t get run support, as the Pirates failed to score with runners on first and third in the seventh. The Reds rallied for four runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh when a pair of Pirates defensive lapses proved costly.
After second baseman Josh VanMeter booted a Nick Senzel grounder for an error and a diving Gamel couldn’t corral Michael Papierski’s fly ball to right, Jonathan India singled to score Senzel for a 2-1 Reds lead.
Chris Stratton replaced Wilson, only for Brandon Drury to hit a two-run triple past a diving Gamel for a 4-1 lead. Tommy Pham followed with a single to score Drury to make it 5-1.
“Ultimately, we have to score,” Shelton said. “We missed a scoring opportunity in the first where we didn’t put the ball in play. We got nothing going offensively.”
A first for one Pirates catcher led to the first for another in the matinee. With Tyler Heineman on paternity leave for the birth of his first child, Jason Delay recorded both his first major league hit and RBI with a seventh-inning double.
Delay was promoted from the taxi squad Tuesday for the series against the New York Yankees when Heineman was placed on the paternity list, and caught Contreras in his second career start. A 2017 fourth-round pick out of Vanderbilt — where he was a teammate of Pirates center fielder Bryan Reynolds and righty reliever Tyler Beede — Delay spent six seasons in the minors.
“It wasn’t exactly a traditional route,” Delay said. “A lot of obstacles — not a lot of people understand what goes into it — but it just makes it that much better, that much sweeter being here with the guys and getting a win.”
Delay was proudest of the pinpoint throw he made to shortstop Diego Castillo to get Pham out in an attempt to steal second base in the first inning to end any chance of a Reds rally.
“I’m going to be honest. That fired me up more than the hit,” Delay said. “Catching is what I live for — receiving, throwing. I’m a defensive catcher so that really got me going. I was really pumped about that.
“I believe in myself as a hitter, but I think the value comes from my defense. That’s my game, calling pitches, executing game plans and receiving. That’s where I can add value to the team the most.”
Reds lefty starter Mike Minor retired the first 10 Pirates batters and kept them from reaching base until the fourth inning, when Reynolds drew a one-out walk. The Pirates didn’t get a hit until the fifth, when Castillo, the leadoff hitter, drilled Minor’s 1-2 changeup 409 feet to left-center for his ninth home run and a 1-0 lead.
The Reds tied it at 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth when designated hitter Donovan Solano sent a Contreras fastball 408 feet to left-center for his first home run of the season. Contreras, however, rebounded to strike out Albert Almora Jr., Aramis Garcia and India. Shelton credited Contreras’ execution of his slider, which he used to get all three batters swinging for the third strike.
“He did a nice job. He gave up the homer and bounced right back,” Shelton said. “Overall, a solid outing. Nice to see him bounce back and give us a victory.”
The Pirates increased their lead to 3-1 in the sixth, when Minor gave up a single to Ke’Bryan Hayes and hit Reynolds with a pitch before Michael Chavis delivered a two-run double.
Gamel reached on a bunt single in the seventh, setting the stage for Delay to double to right-center that rolled to the fence for his first career hit and RBI off Minor to give the Pirates a 4-1 advantage. The Reds cut it to 4-2 in the eighth, when India hit a one-out double off Wil Crowe and scored on a Pham single.
“I was starting to feel the pressure,” said Delay, who went 1 for 4 and struck out twice. “A couple of at-bats had gone by where I hadn’t gotten one. It’s always nice to get that out of the way but, more importantly, to get the win was huge.”