Ke'Bryan Hayes chasing confidence Bryan Reynolds displaying at plate for Pirates

Even after Ke’Bryan Hayes hit a home run Tuesday against the Cincinnati Reds, the Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman couldn’t shake the feeling in his head that he wasn’t where he wanted to be at the plate.

When Bryan Reynolds smacked a solo shot that proved to be the game winner the next day, the Pirates outfielder shrugged that he was simply seeing the ball well and put his barrel on the baseball.

“He’s been swinging it really well,” Hayes said of Reynolds. “A lot of times, we’re a lot closer than we think we are. We just have to keep working hard and doing our best to keep our mind off of results, just control what we can control. In a sense, it’s going to work itself out.”

That captures the disparity between the Pirates players who provided their only runs the past two games. Where Hayes is struggling with his swing after a stint on the injured list, Reynolds has one of the hottest bats in baseball and is riding an MLB-best 17-game hitting streak.

Both couldn’t help feeling it’s mostly in their minds.

No one knows more than Reynolds the importance of exuding confidence at the plate, as he’s boosted his batting average from .235 on May 4 to his current .271. Reynolds traces his success to an 8-6 win at Milwaukee on May 13, when he followed an 0-for-5 game against the Chicago Cubs with the first five-hit game of his career.

“It’s the biggest thing for a hitter,” Reynolds said. “If you’re confident, you’ll see the ball better, make better decisions. If you’re not, you’re going to swing at everything and be in-between. I feel confident in the box, feel like I’ve got a good chance. That’s where everything starts.”

Bryan Reynolds lifts a go-ahead blast to put the @Pirates on top! pic.twitter.com/rgKng5hLm4

— MLB (@MLB) June 19, 2024

Hayes still is searching for that feeling after a 17-day stint on the injured list last month with low back inflammation, a recurring issue that has disrupted his performance at the plate.

Hayes told TribLive he has been frustrated with his swing since spring training, despite going 8 for 18 (.444) in the season-opening series at Miami. Hayes noted the disparity of his splits, as the right-handed hitter has fared far better against left-handed pitchers (.346/.429/.577) than righties (.199).

Hayes admitted he’s in-between: If he’s not catching balls too deep on contact, Hayes is taking pitches he should be swinging at. Most of his success has come against breaking pitches (.309) this season, while he has struggled to hit fastballs (.213) and offspeed pitches (.176).

“If I’m being honest, I was starting to not really feel great with getting the barrel out towards the end of spring,” Hayes said. “For me, I feel like I’ve hit so much in my life that I know whenever it’s right. Right now, stuff just doesn’t feel right. I’m catching the ball way too deep.

“The biggest thing is, whenever I’m hitting the ball on the ground too much you can see it’s the contact point. There’s times when I’m not aggressive, I’m waiting to swing instead of being aggressive swinging — like a yes-yes-no type of thing.”

Reynolds can relate, especially to the indecisiveness. He had 24 strikeouts against five walks in May, and he was 7 for 38 (.184) in the first 10 games of the month before hitting two singles, two doubles and a homer in going 5 for 5 in that game against the Brewers. In June, Reynolds is batting .343 with a .995 OPS and seven multi-hit games.

“He’s just so steady, man. Even when he’s not producing or getting his hits, he’s still taking really good at-bats,” Pirates first baseman/outfielder Connor Joe said of Reynolds. “He’s just finishing at-bats when he wants to, when he gets that pitch to hit or whatever he’s looking for. … I can’t really say I’m too surprised with him. He’s a really good baseball player. When he knows the team needs a big hit there, to come through for us says a lot about his makeup and how strong he is mentally.”

Ke'Bryan Hayes homers to put the Buccos on the board! pic.twitter.com/JKIZFDjywA

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 19, 2024

Where Hayes harped on how his timing feels off, Reynolds sees it differently. Hayes hit Reds lefty Nick Lodolo’s curveball 382 feet at a 100.3 mph exit velocity for his homer in the 2-1 loss to the Reds on Tuesday and had a lineout to center off Hunter Greene that was clocked at 103.9 mph in the fourth inning Wednesday.

“He’s been hitting the ball well. They’re just not falling,” Reynolds said of Hayes. “He’s had a few line drives that have been run down. It’s a long season. You’re going to have blips like that. That happens sometimes. Start with good at-bats, get barrels and they’ll fall.”

Pirates manager Derek Shelton said the switch-hitting Reynolds is in sync, especially from the left side, and believes Hayes is trending in the right direction. On Monday, Hayes reached twice on hard contact, on a fielder’s choice in the third (101.3 mph) and a single to right-center in the eighth (103.2). His homer was clocked at 100.3 mph.

“I really like his swings right now,” Shelton said. “He’s aggressive. He’s out front. He’s taking good swings.”

The key for the Pirates is getting Reynolds and Hayes swinging the bat well at the same time, given the recent strong performances by their starting pitching and bullpen. Along with Oneil Cruz, they can be the catalysts for the offense to get all three phases clicking together and create some separation in the wild-card standings.

“I feel like whenever we’re playing at our best, we’re moving the lineup each inning, getting guys on, hitting line drives hard,” Hayes said. “The pitching has been doing an unbelievable job for us. … We’ve got to find a way to be consistent on the offensive side. That’s when it will all come together and we’ll be the team we know we can be.”