PITTSBURGH — Michael Chavis sprinted toward first base and raised his right fist in the air, the emotion evident as his line drive into left field easily finding some grass, the Pirates walking it off for one of their more enjoyable victories during a frustrating season.
The bases-loaded single from Pittsburgh’s first baseman completed a 5-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park on Friday, a game in which Pittsburgh trailed by scores of 3-0 and 4-3.
Pittsburgh's comeback started when Bligh Madris — who entered the game hitting .048 over his last 18 — led off with a single, completing his two-hit night. Tucupita Marcano pinch hit and laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt before Kevin Newman skied a 2-2 slider from Joel Kuhnel into center field for a double, allowing Madris to easily score.
It continued after Ross Detwiler, who relieved Kuhnel, intentionally walked Bryan Reynolds and hit Ben Gamel, who contributed three hits. With a 1-0 count, Chavis pulled a low-and-inside cutter to left to reverse an 0-for-4 night and send the Pirates home winners.
Until the comeback, the biggest story in this one for the Pirates appeared to be a career-long, seven-inning start from Bryse Wilson, continuing his recent run of success. Over Wilson’s past eight starts since the Pirates recalled him from Triple-A Indianapolis on July 2, he has a 3.83 ERA while issuing just five walks in 44 2/3 innings.
As the Pirates assess what they might have for 2023, Wilson has been looking more and more like someone who could fit in the starting rotation ... if he's able to tamp down the random mistakes that again crept up in this one.
With Wilson’s seven-inning performance, the Pirates have enjoyed consecutive starts of that length for the first time since Joe Musgrove and Steven Brault in August 2019; however, the ending obviously what Wilson or the Pirates wanted.
Derek Shelton removed Wilson after seven innings and 84 pitches. The Pirates manager turned things over to Duane Underwood Jr., who was victimized by Oneil Cruz’s seventh error of the season.
Underwood Jr. got that ground ball, then another off the bat of right fielder Jake Fraley. Given an extra out, Cincinnati pulled ahead, 4-3, after third baseman Kyle Farmer caught enough of a well-placed, 0-2 slider from Wil Crowe and shot it into right-center field.
The first of two mistakes Wilson made came in the second inning, after Reds first baseman Mike Moustakas led off with a single. Designated hitter Nick Senzel pounced on a slider that sat middle-middle and pummeled it 410 feet over the fence in left-center.
Wilson retired the next 10 batters he faced before left fielder TJ Friedl — who was actually born in Sewickley and had plenty of supporters on hand — belted an 0-1 curveball from Wilson. That, too, sat in the center of the strike zone, and Freidl tucked it inside the right-field foul pole.
While Cincinnati built an early lead, the Pirates had a tough time solving Reds starter Graham Ashcraft, who used a bunch of cutters and sliders to keep Pittsburgh’s bats quiet.
The Pirates had only three singles through five innings. In the sixth, Newman singled, went to third on a base hit from Gamel and scored on a wild pitch when Ashcraft bounced a slider that scooted away from catcher Michael Papierski.
After Rodolfo Castro walked, the Pirates came within inches of scoring a second run thanks to some nifty baserunning from Gamel, who wound up in a rundown between third and home after Cruz beat out an infield single.
Gamel’s last-second deke nearly bought him enough time, but Farmer dove and tagged the Pirates outfielder before he was able to get a piece of home plate.
The Pirates closed the gap to one at 3-2 when Greg Allen and Madris opened the bottom of the seventh with back-to-back singles, and Newman’s sacrifice fly to center scored Allen.
They tied the game at 3 when Gamel continued his production with runners on base, something that has separated him this season from many of his Pirates peers.
With Reds manager David Bell turning things over to reliever Alexis Diaz, who had held opponents to a .126 average, Gamel lined a first-pitch fastball — 97 mph and inside — into left to score Madris.
Gamel has now gone five consecutive games with at least one RBI, the longest such streak confined to a single season since Josh Bell in July 2019. Cruz went six in a row earlier this season and dating back to October 2021.
