Pirates OF Jack Suwinski makes a splash by hitting 2 home runs into McCovey Cove

When Jack Suwinski smacked Anthony DeSclafani’s changeup over the right-field bleachers at Oracle Park, the Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder had no idea the ball had a splash landing in McCovey Cove.

“I wasn’t aware of that,” Suwinski said on the AT&T SportsNet postgame show. “I think I found out in the dugout.”

Suwinski became the first visiting player to hit a home run into the water this season in the seventh inning of a 14-4 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Monday, a feat he accomplished again in his next at-bat. Suwinski crushed infielder Brett Wisely’s 59-mph Eephus pitch for a 414-foot shot into McCovey Cove to lead off the ninth.

“My brain kind of picks it up,” Suwinski said, “when to start and how to wait and go after those pitches, I guess.”

Jack puts it into the bay pic.twitter.com/VaFM2K1C16

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 29, 2023

⚾Jack Suwinski! HR (10)

5/29/23 @ SF, ⬆️ 7th
vs RHP Anthony DeSclafani

107.8 MPH / 26° / 396 ft to RF
Off a 84.7 MPH changeup

▶️It's a home run in 30/30 parks.◀️

See this play in Gameday: https://t.co/bHWA7Wnp8X pic.twitter.com/OQZbhpp7NW

— Home Run Report (@homerunreport) May 29, 2023

The rarity wasn’t that Suwinski homered into the water. That has happened 159 times since Oracle Park opened in 2000, including 60 by visiting players. Suwinski joined Garrett Jones (2013) and Adam LaRoche (2007) as the only Pirates players to do so.

“The ball felt good coming off the bat,” said Suwinski, who has a team-best 11 home runs and ranks second with 28 RBIs. “I’m just trying to take good swings. That’s really it.”

But hitting it into McCovey Cove twice in the same game?

That put Suwinski in rare company. Only Barry Bonds, who hit the most home runs in baseball history, had done that before. The first time came in a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on May 10, 2000; Bonds did it again in a 10-5 win over the Florida Marlins on May 18, 2002.

2 home runs in McCovey Cove in the same game:

Barry Bonds - 2x
Jack Suwinski - today

(h/t Sam Hovland, @OptaSTATS)

— Joe Block (@joe_block) May 29, 2023

Suwinski’s swings provided a pair of bright moments at the plate for the Pirates in a humbling defeat that dropped them below .500 for the first time since April 2. He also made a shoestring catch of a Bryce Johnson fly ball to center in the bottom of the eighth inning.

That the 24-year-old lefty slugger has found success on the road is a positive sign for the Pirates, especially given his home-away splits last season: He slashed .112/.211/.184 with two doubles, three homers and seven RBIs in 50 games on the road and batted .282/.373/.609 with nine doubles, 16 homers and 31 RBIs in 56 games at PNC Park last year.

Suwinski has downplayed those splits, believing his road troubles had more to do with adjusting to a travel schedule that disrupted his sleep and pre-game routines than it did with playing at other ballparks.

“It wasn’t really a concern of mine this year at all,” Suwinski said. “I haven’t put that much thought into it, to be honest. Not something that I want to try and force in a situation. I don’t think it would do me any good mentally to kind of take that into a road series.”

Suwinski has reversed that trend this season, slashing .284/.388/.672 with two doubles, eight homers and 17 RBIs in 22 games on the road while batting .200/.322/.387 with five doubles, three homers and 11 RBIs in 23 games at home.

His road numbers, however, have been inconsistent. Suwinski went 1 for 9 in the first road series of the season, at Cincinnati and Boston, before batting .462 (6 for 13) with three homers and five RBIs in five games last month at St. Louis and Colorado, where he hit his first grand slam.

Although Suwinski strikes out at an unacceptable level (32.5%), he has lowered his chase rate almost eight points to 16.7% and increased his walk rate by four points to 15.1%. Pirates manager Derek Shelton called it an “encouraging sign” that Suwinski found his timing on this road trip, saying his first homer helped spark a Pirates two-run rally.

“We see when Jack hits on time, the ball can go a long way,” Shelton said. “He hit the second one off a position player, but the first one he hit and flushed that up and kind of gave us some energy to get back in the game in the seventh. I’ve seen that at Colorado, and we’ve seen it at home. When he gets it flush, it’s going to go a long way.”

Suwinski hit .167 in six games at Washington and Tampa Bay before batting .429 (6 for 14) on this trip, going 4 for 10 with two homers and three RBIs in three games at Seattle. After dealing with struggles, Suwinski has simplified his plate approach with success, home or away.

“One of my goals is to make hard contact and not really try to force it in any direction or anything,” Suwinski said. “Just sticking with the game plan and the approach and let that be one of my attainable goals.”