Bryan Reynolds rapped four hits, including a tiebreaking two-run single in the seventh inning, as the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates earned a 6-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday afternoon.
Reynolds entered hitless in his previous 10 at-bats and in a 3-for-17 slump in his previous four games before helping the Pirates win a third straight game for the first time since early May.
Reynolds produced his ninth career game with at least four hits and third this season. His tiebreaking hit came as the Pirates capitalized on shoddy Chicago defense. He added another two-run single in the ninth.
In the seventh, Ke’Bryan Hayes started the rally with an infield hit that went off the glove of shortstop Nicky Lopez. After reliever Tanner Banks entered and plunked pinch hitter Connor Joe, Yasmani Grandal struck out on a bunt attempt.
However, Banks was unable to cleanly field a comebacker by Andrew McCutchen that went for a single, and on the next pitch, Reynolds lined a slider to right field to propel Pittsburgh ahead 3-1.
After McCutchen opened the game with a double off Chris Flexen (2-8), Reynolds singled to move him to third. Oneil Cruz drove in the first run with a groundout. He also lifted a sacrifice fly in the ninth to cap a four-run lead.
Joe opened the ninth with a walk. Grandal reached on a fielder’s choice grounder, and both runners moved up on first baseman Andrew Vaughn’s throwing error. Joey Bart, who was pinch-hitting for McCutchen, drew a four-pitch walk, and Reynolds lined an 0-1 cutter from Justin Anderson into right field.
Luis Robert Jr. tied the game at 1-1 with an RBI single in the sixth off Pirates starter Luis L. Ortiz, but the White Sox were held to five hits and became the first team in the majors to reach 70 losses.
Ortiz allowed one run on four hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out five and walked one.
Kyle Nicolas (1-2) entered with two out in the sixth and retired Vaughn, then pitched a perfect seventh after the Pirates regained the lead.
In the bottom of the eighth, Tommy Pham tripled off Aroldis Chapman and scored on pinch hitter Eloy Jimenez’s groundout. Chapman ended the eighth by fanning Robert on a 101 mph fastball, and Dennis Santana finished up with a perfect ninth.
Flexen allowed two runs on five hits in six-plus innings.
–Field Level Media
