Pittsburgh Pirates Salvage Series Finale at Wrigley Field

May 18, 2022; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Jack Suwinski (65) crosses home plate after hitting a solo home run against the Chicago Cubs during the fifth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
May 18, 2022; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Jack Suwinski (65) crosses home plate after hitting a solo home run against the Chicago Cubs during the fifth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports /
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2. 9. Final. 3. 4

Wednesday night the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Chicago Cubs to salvage the final game of their three-game series at Wrigley Field

Monday and Tuesday night the Pittsburgh Pirates were blown out at Wrigley Field. These two nights saw the hometown Chicago Cubs beat the Pirates by scores of 9-0 and 7-0, respectively.

Wednesday night the Pittsburgh Pirates were able to rebound to salvage the final game of the series. Following a 3-2 victory in the series finale the Pirates improved to 16-21 on the season. The victory improved them to 5-4 on the season against the Cubs, and put the Pirates back ahead of the Cubs in the NL Central standings.

Wil Crowe opens and sets the tone for pitching staff

So far this season Wil Crowe has looked like a completely different pitcher from last season. A big reason for this is that Crowe had exclusively worked out of the bullpen. Well, Wednesday night he served as an opener for the Pittsburgh Pirates and had another strong outing.

Crowe pitched 2 innings for the Pirates. He walked a batter and struck out 3. The lone hit he allowed was a solo home run that was hit by Ian Happ in the 1st inning. Crowe came out, pitched with authority, and set the tone for the Pirate pitching staff.

In dire need of a strong outing Mitch Keller, who was originally scheduled to start, followed Crowe and pitched 2.2 innings. Keller allowed a run on 3 hits, no home runs, 2 walks and 4 strikeouts.

Duane Underwood Jr. followed Keller, firing 2.1 scoreless innings of work. Underwood Jr. fastball continues to play up with the velocity and he flashed a plus changeup on Wednesday night.

All of this set up David Bednar. Bednar got the final 6 outs of the game, retiring 6 of the 7 batters he faced. This was the third 6 out save of the season for Bednar who is the only MLB pitcher with multiple 6 out saves this seaosn.

Bryan Reynolds potentially starts to bust his slump

There is no denying that Bryan Reynolds has been disappointing at the plate this season. Reynolds entered play on Wednesday with a .203/.300/.341 slash line and an 89 wRC+ on the season.

In the victory, Reynolds was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. This was the best and most comfortable Reynolds has looked at the plate in a week or two. Hopefully, this is the start of Reynolds breaking out of his slump.

Pittsburgh Pirates strike for a pair in the 3rd inning

With two outs in the 3rd inning it appeared the Pirate offensive woes were going to lead to yet another 1-2-3 inning. This is when Ke’Bryan Hayes hit a double that just missed being his first home run of the season. Following a walk by Reynolds, Michael Chavis drove in Hayes with one of his 3 hits on the night to tie the game at 1.

Daniel Vogelbach then singled to left field. Vogelbach’s base knock scored Reynolds and gave the Pirates a 2-1 lead. With how much the Pirate offense has struggled in recent days a 2-run rally, especially with two outs in the inning, felt like a massive accomplishment.

Jack Suwinski hits game winning home run

Outfielder Jack Suwinski has done a lot of good things since making his MLB debut earlier this season. Playing in front of his parents, as well as other friends and family the Chicago native had the biggest hit of the game.

After the Cubs tied the game at 2 in the bottom of the 4th inning, Suwinski launched a solo home run in the top half of the 5th inning. The 3rd home run of the season for Suwinski gave the Pirates a 3-2 lead they would not relinquish.

Next. Emergence of Jacob Gonzalez. dark

Following an off day on Thursday, the Pittsburgh Pirates will kick off a three-game series at PNC Park against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night. Zach Thompson (5.47 ERA, 4.98 FIP) who has not allowed a run in May will look to stay hot for the Pirates as he opposes veteran Adam Wainwright (3.15 ERA, 3.53 FIP). First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 PM ET.