Top Of The Lineup Powers Offense In Return to PNC Park
The dreaded 10-game losing streak is over as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Cleveland Indians 11-10. However, at the beginning of the game, it looked like this would be a laugher as the Pirates scored six runs in the first inning. This instant offense was based in large part because of the success of the first four Pirates hitters. They were all able to reach base safely, and all came around to score by the end of the inning. It was only the fifth time this season that the Pirates had Adam Frazier, Ke'Bryan Hayes, Bryan Reynolds, and Colin Moran in the same lineup. In those games, the Pirates are a combined 5-1 after last night's game one win over the Indians.
In last night's win, the foursome combined to go 6-15 (.400) with a home run and almost half of the team's RBI. Once they got on base, they were able to come home as they scored a combined five runs on the night. During the Pirate's 10-game losing streak, it was these guys who kept the offense with some semblance of success. When all four are healthy and in the starting lineup, the Pirates can become a nightmare for the opposition. With all four players healthy, and with about a month left before the trade deadline, the Pirates should be able to score a lot of runs in the top of the order. Frazier, Hayes, Reynolds, and Moran are the Pirate's fearsome foursome and are looking to power the offense moving forward.
The Fearsome Foursome
It wasn't just in yesterday's game that these four hitters combined to do damage against the opposition. In the last four games, Frazier, Hayes, Reynolds, and Moran have combined to hit .333 (15-45). However, in those four games, all four batters have been in the lineup only one time. When all four are in the lineup, you have a nice combination of contact and power that can lead to some early runs. Frazier and Hayes are known more as the contact hitters of the group, Reynolds has the ability to hit both home runs and extra-base hits, and Moran is the true power threat. They are also the only four batters in the Pirates lineup with batting averages over .250 and have been relied on all season.
Frazier is the one who has gotten the most attention out of the four batters and is shoeing to start the MLB All-Star game at second base. He currently leads the Pirates with a .327 batting average and had another big day last night going 2-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. He dropped out of the MLB hits leader spot and is currently in second place with 87 hits, one behind the Reds Nick Castellanos, who has 88. Frazier has two multi-hit games in his last four games played and continues to show he is one of the best second basemen in the league. After a hot start, Ke'Bryan Hayes had cooled down a little bit, hitting .231 over his last seven games. However, he did pick up the game-winning hit last night, with a bases-clearing double, and despite his struggles, he has kept his batting average at a cool .287.
However, the biggest turnaround has come from Bryan Reynolds, who is molding into the leader the Pirates wanted when they traded Andrew McCutchen. Reynolds launched his 11th home run of the season yesterday and has his average up to .297 with 11 home runs and a team-high 33 RBI. Reynolds's average is over 100 points better than it was a year ago, and he is also making a case for the NL All-Star Game. The final piece of this fearsome foursome is Colin Moran, who has missed a lot of time due to injury. He missed a month due to a pulled groin, and yesterday was his first start at first base since June 12th. He has been consistent when he has been in the lineup, hitting .292 with four home runs and 21 RBI and added an RBI groundout in last night's game.
Keeping the Four Together
With all four players finally healthy and back in the lineup, it is up to the Pirates to keep those four together. As we said before, when all four of those players are in the lineup, the Pirates are 5-1 in those games. When a team is in a rebuild, you don't often see a consistent lineup every day, but this is a combination that should almost certainly be kept together. With almost a month's worth of games left before the trade deadline, the Porages probably only have about that long until Adam Frazier is traded. So, the Pirates have to get the most out of Frazier that they can as he anchors the top spot in the Pirate's batting order. Once he leaves, the Pirates will have to find a replacement in that leadoff spot, and those will be some big shoes to fill.
However, the other three are probably here to stay for a little bit and can be the working of a better lineup. Hayes and Reynolds seem to have found their homes in the three and four spots, and Moran is looking to settle in as the team's clean-up hitter. I would keep Hayes in the two spot for his on-base ability, and keep Reynolds at three for his knack for coming through in the clutch. While the Pirates as a whole have been bad with runners in scoring position, Reynolds has done very well. He is currently second on the team with a .310 batting average with runners in scoring position. He is second only to Frazier's .370 mark and has shown that last year's numbers were just a fluke created by the pandemic.
Moving forward, I think the Pirates have a year and a half more with Moran, and Hayes and Reynolds are here until at least 2027 and 2026 respectively. Reynolds and Hayes almost remind me of the days of Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker. Both are cornerstone pieces for the Pirates to build around, and both should be in the prime of their careers when the Pirates start to turn things around in 2023. By this time, guys like Oneil Cruz, Mason Martin, and Quinn Priester will join them at the Big League level and the Pirates could have the makings of a competitive team. The rebuild as a whole will take patience, but there are positive signs for the future as the team tries to build a winner here in Pittsburgh.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (24-44) play game two of their three-game series with the Cleveland Indians (38-29) today at 4:05 pm. Wil Crowe (0-4, 6.75) is looking to build off of his strong start last time as he faces Cal Quantrill (0-2, 3.11) for the Indians. You can watch the game on AT&T Sportsnet, listen on 93.7 The Fan, or follow along with us on Twitter by following @Buccos_Cove.
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