Pirates' All-Star snubs make even less sense after offensive outburst vs Nationals

Just one day after the official MLB All-Star selections were announced, two of the Pittsburgh Pirates' snubbed veterans responded the best way possible: by going deep in the team's 11-5 win over the Washington Nationals.

Bryan Reynolds opened the scoring with a third-inning home run off Cade Cavalli, while Brandon Lowe put the finishing touches on Pittsburgh's five-run eighth inning with a three-run blast. Their performances served as another reminder that the Pirates' offense hasn't become one of baseball's best by accident.

Despite Paul Skenes earning the club's lone All-Star selection, Pittsburgh's lineup has been driven all season by Reynolds and Lowe. The Pirates are preparing to enter the break with the third-most runs scored in Major League Baseball, and those two have been at the center of nearly everything they've done offensively.

Pirates sluggers Bryan Reynolds, Brandon Lowe loudly respond to MLB All-Star snubs with home runs vs Nationals

Lowe is slashing .242 with 21 home runs and 63 RBI, while Reynolds owns a .282 average with 13 home runs, 56 RBI and a .393 on-base percentage that ranks eighth in all of baseball. Reynolds also pieced together a career-best 34-game on-base streak from May 23 through June 29, providing remarkable consistency in the middle of Pittsburgh's lineup.

The production has also been historic, as Lowe and Reynolds became just the ninth pair of Pirates teammates ever to each record at least 55 RBI before the All-Star break. The names they're joining speak for themselves: Willie Stargell and Roberto Clemente (1966), Stargell and Al Oliver (1972), Andy Van Slyke and Bobby Bonilla (1988), Barry Bonds and Bonilla (1990), Brian Giles and Kevin Young (2000), Aramis Ramirez and Giles (2001), and Nate McLouth and Xavier Nady (2008).

Lowe has also carved out his own piece of franchise history as just the second Pirates second baseman ever to hit at least 20 home runs in a season, joining Neil Walker in 2014 (though Lowe did it in about half the time).

If the traditional numbers weren't convincing enough, the advanced metrics strengthen the argument even further. According to Baseball Reference, Reynolds has already accumulated 3.1 WAR, more than 15 of the National League's 21 position-player All-Stars. Lowe sits right behind him at 3.0 WAR. That makes their omissions increasingly difficult to justify.

Skenes deserved his selection, even after a recent rough stretch, and he has already said he hopes another Pirate can replace him since he plans to start Sunday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers instead of pitching in the All-Star Game. Braxton Ashcraft has emerged as a deserving candidate.

But the biggest injustice happened on the position-player side. Sunday's offensive explosion simply reinforced what Reynolds and Lowe have been doing for three months. Their résumés were already worthy before first pitch, but by the time the Pirates finished scoring 11 runs, the All-Star snubs looked even more glaring.

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