CINCINNATI — Phillip Evans and Colin Moran had a couple of loud swings early. Bryan Reynolds added one late. But in between, there was too much ugliness for the Pirates to survive.
Too many strikeouts, for one.
And an alarming lack of production from the outfield.
Playing at Great American Ball Park, it’s a generally expected rule to pack some punch, and the Pirates came up short during a 5-3 loss to the Reds on Monday in the opener of a three-game series.
It wasn’t a terrible effort by the Pirates, but it was also incomplete, with a few red flags just four games into the season.
“The middle part of the game, it looked like we were a little bit late to hit,” manager Derek Shelton said. “That was the thing that kinda stood out.”
It’s hard to argue with Shelton. After Evans and Moran swatted solo homers in the first, the Pirates spent the next seven innings walking to home plate, swinging a time or two and walking back, full of frustration.
They managed just one hit – a single from starting pitcher JT Brubaker – during that span while also striking out 13 times. They whiffed 15 times total. The issue, Shelton explained, was syncing up to the fastball. That did not happen, as the Reds bullpen buzzed through the Pirates lineup with relative ease.
Tied at 2, the shape of the game changed for good in the seventh inning, as Reds right fielder Nick Castellanos sat on a 3-1 slider from Sam Howard and blasted it 431 feet to left-center.
The Reds weren’t done, either. Second baseman Jonathan India (single) and left fielder Aristides Aquino (double) added run-scoring hits in the eighth, which proved to be important when Reynolds homered in the ninth.
The lesson to take out of this one should be that the Pirates should (obviously) not base their offense around homers. If they get a couple, great. But don’t count on ‘em. They need to do a better job syncing up to the fastball. That should lead to more consistent contact and traffic on the bases.
If that stops … well, we’ve seen what will happen. It’s not pretty.
At the same time, their outfield needs to figure it out. And fast.
Gregory Polanco, Dustin Fowler and Anthony Alford went a combined 0-for-9 with five strikeouts against the Reds. Alford is 0-for-8 with six strikeouts this season. The group is hitting .066 (2-for-30) with 15 strikeouts.
Brian Goodwin? Jared Oliva? Derek Bell? Literally anyone. Reynolds has been good thus far -- .333 average, .945 average – but he’s getting zero help.
On the bright side, the Pirates should like what they’re getting from Moran, who has homered in consecutive games.
Moran crushed the first pitch he saw from Reds starter Jose De Leon, a hanging slider that was right in the first baseman’s wheelhouse. Opposite field, pulling pitches, doesn't matter. His approach has evolved.
Evans seemingly is doing something with his opportunity, too. With Ke’Bryan Hayes out, Evans had three hits Sunday and crushed a middle-in changeup off De Leon 445 feet Monday.
The swing showed maybe why the Pirates viewed Evans as someone they really wanted to have here and would risk losing Todd Frazier to do it.
Credit to the Pirates for battling late, too: Moran singled after Reynolds’ home run, and they had the tying run on base with Kevin Newman pinch-hitting. But Newman lined out to first to end it.
"We put up a good fight," Moran said. "We have a lot of really talented hitters, so we just have to keep going up there and having good at-bats. We’re going to score runs.”
Similar to the offense, it was an up-and-down start for JT Brubaker, who had half of Springfield, Ohio – his hometown – watching him here, cheering his every move.
Brubaker, making his second career start some 70 miles from home, allowed an earned run over four, walking four and striking out six.
Brubaker mixed his pitches well and got three strikeouts with four-seamers or sinkers. He also ran up too many long counts, the unfortunate byproduct of pitching against the patient Reds.
"I just tried to expand too much," Brubaker said. "Got ahead of guys, but then fell right back behind instead of just being aggressive over the middle of the plate."
Another important bounce-back moment came from rookie Luis Oviedo, who gave up a fifth-inning home run to Mike Moustakas – his 17th in 42 career games against the Pirates – but didn’t crumble.
In fact, the 21-year-old showed some serious guile, a fastball that he throttled up and down and a loopy curve that’s been making hitters look silly. Oviedo worked two innings and struck out four, allowing only the Moustakas homer.
“To go out and throw two innings and essentially get through that lineup with the exception of one homer, definitely a step in the right direction for a kid like that,” Shelton said.
If nothing else, the first four games of the season have revealed some truths about these Pirates. They may be strikeout-prone, they have more pop than maybe even they expected, and their pitchers need to attack the strike zone more.
The good news for Pittsburgh is that the first and last of those are at least moderately fixable.
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: April 6, 2021, 2:02 a.m.