The Pittsburgh Pirates believe they're built differently this year. A sweep of Cincy offered proof
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Skenes stood at his locker in a near-silent Pittsburgh clubhouse on Thursday after a four-game home sweep at the hands of St. Louis and offered a prediction when asked if he was confident things wouldn't snowball on a Pirates team still finding its way. “I think we'll be alright,” the reigning NL Cy Young winner offered.
Less than 72 hours later, the vibes had shifted significantly. Three very different kinds of wins in three days over a division rival trying to have a breakout season of its own will do that. As Big Sean blared from the speakers following a taut 1-0 win over Cincinnati on Sunday that completed a weekend sweep of the Reds and put the Pirates safely back over .
500 heading into a six-game road swing through Arizona and San Francisco, the mood was considerably lighter. Resiliency hasn't exactly been a calling card of a franchise that hasn't reached the playoffs in over a decade. And while five long months remain, the Pirates believe they are better equipped to navigate the ups and downs than they've been in a long while.
Mitch Keller, the longest-tenured player on the team who has been one of the few mainstays during a methodical organizational overhaul, could sense that confidence when he showed up for work on Friday. “We were just kind of ‘screw it, we lost five in a row, whatever, we'll get them again tomorrow,'" Keller said. And they did.
Keller scattered three hits over seven innings and catcher Henry Davis homered twice in a 9-1 victory. On Saturday, Pittsburgh's offense worked 11 walks and poured in a season-high 17 runs in another blowout. Things were considerably tenser on Sunday as Braxton Ashcraft and Reds rookie right-hander Chase Burns matched each other over seven innings.
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