'We got to see Jack smile': Pirates slugger Jack Suwinski shows pop with 1st homer in 5 weeks

That Jack Suwinski was all smiles was a welcome sign for the Pittsburgh Pirates, as the second-year outfielder ended a five-week homerless streak by going to the deepest part of Kauffman Stadium.

When Suwinski crushed Collin Snider’s 0-1 sinker 436 feet and off the back of the batter’s eye in straightaway center for his team-leading 22nd home run in the seventh inning of a 4-1 win over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night, it was cause for celebration in the Pirates’ dugout.

“We got to see Jack smile. That was a really good thing,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said on the AT&T SportsNet postgame show. “Sometimes that’s all it takes. He hit the ball (Tuesday) that hit the top of the wall. Today, he hit one that hit the back wall, which is hard to do in this ballpark. Yeah, it was nice to see Jack smile.”

That Pirates players mobbed Suwinski meant the world to the 25-year-old slugger. He had endured a miserable month, batting .101 (7 for 69) with three doubles, two RBIs and a .432 OPS, until the Royals series.

On Tuesday, Suwinski settled for a triple after he hit the railing atop the left field fence in the ninth inning of a 6-3 win. On Wednesday, Suwinski went 2 for 4 with two RBIs for his first multi-hit game of the month and his first homer since July 24.

“I’d be lying if I said it was easy,” Suwinski said in an on-field interview with AT&T SportsNet. “It’s challenging, that’s for sure. Between the staff and the players loving on me and leaning on me and letting me lean on them, it’s been huge.

“That was awesome, those guys always supporting me and loving on me. … For them to do that in that moment was really special for me.”

The slump took its toll on Suwinski, causing Shelton to give him a two-day break during the St. Louis Cardinals series to work with hitting coaches Andy Haines and Christian Marrero.

Since returning Aug. 24, Suwinski has rediscovered his stroke. He is batting .285 (6 for 21) with a pair of extra-base hits while drawing four walks against seven strikeouts over seven games. Shelton said Pirates players saw the work Suwinski was doing behind the scenes, trying to fix his funk and become a reliable power bat once again.

“That’s why: They know how hard he’s grinding. They know he’s working his butt off,” Shelton said. “When you have a person that is liked as much as he is, you saw that reaction with everybody in the dugout.”

Not only was Suwinski’s homer his first in five weeks but it provided the cushion for the first career MLB win for Andre Jackson, who said he’d “been hearing about (Suwinski’s) pop.”

“He’s got 21 home runs on the scoreboard every game,” Jackson said. “To see him do that is awesome. For a guy maybe struggling a little bit to do something like that, that’s awesome. I hope it gets him going.”