Bryan Reynolds draws bases-loaded walk; Pirates gets walk-off win

Walks by Pittsburgh Pirates rookies Rodolfo Castro and Ke’Bryan Hayes, sandwiched around a single by Adam Frazier, loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth inning of a tied game.

Bryan Reynolds wasn’t inclined to swing at any pitches by Atlanta Braves left-handed reliever Tyler Matzek unless they were over the plate.

“Our plan whenever we went up there was to just make sure we got him out over the plate,” Hayes said, “make him throw strikes.”

Reynolds never swung his bat in drawing a four-pitch walk for a 2-1 walk-off win over the Braves on Tuesday night before 10,844 at PNC Park.

“I trust Bryan Reynolds, and I think that he’s going to make really good decisions,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “And he was very patient and didn’t get a ball near the zone. I think if he would have gotten a ball near the zone, he would have taken a good swing at it.”

It was the third consecutive win for the Pirates (32-53), who will be seeking their first series sweep of the season when they play the Braves (41-44) on Wednesday afternoon.

The Pirates hadn’t won on a walk-off walk since Kevin Newman drew one for an 11-10 win over the San Diego Padres on June 23, 2019 at PNC Park.

It was a fitting finish, considering that the Pirates pitcher who dealt with walk issues early this season completed six innings without allowing one. It’s the first time Chad Kuhl went six innings without a walk since April 13, 2017, when he gave up one run in 6⅓ in a 4-3 loss at Boston.

“Obviously, that’s just been my issue this year,” Kuhl said. “There’s no way around it. It’s not like I’ve been hit hard, and it’s not like I’ve given up three home runs every outing. It’s just my own problem with walks. … So it just feels really good to attack the zone and have it kind of play out, execute when you’re down in the count and not give up those free passes.”

Kuhl mixed his slider and four-seam fastball to hold the Braves to two hits through the first four innings, singles by Orlando Arcia and Ozzie Albies. Kuhl gave up four hits, with the only run coming on an Arcia solo home run in the fifth, and struck out seven while tying a season high with 97 pitches in six innings.

Kuhl had been bothered by the “bad luck” of a blister in his previous start, when he pitched 4⅔ innings in a 6-2 loss at Denver on June 30. Kuhl explained that a callus ripped off and the new skin hadn’t toughened up yet, despite using Rodeo Rub and soaking it in lime juice.

So pitching on six days of rest benefited the right-hander.

The Pirates gave Kuhl a 1-0 cushion in the third when Frazier hit a leadoff single to center off Braves starter Ian Anderson, reached third on a double to left-center by Hayes and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Reynolds.

But Kuhl hung a 2-2 slider that Arcia took for a 430-foot ride to the left-field bleachers for his first home run to tie it at 1-1 in the fifth.

The Pirates threatened to score against A.J. Minter in the eighth. With two outs, John Nogowski smacked Minter’s first pitch down the left-field line and just outside the foul pole, so close the umpires did a video review before ruling it was out of play.

Nogowski worked Minter to a full count before hitting a bloop single to right field when the ball dropped at the feet of Ronald Acuna Jr. as he attempted to make a shoestring catch.

Wilmer Difo followed with a bloop to shallow center that fell between Acuna, Albies and Guillermo Heredia. Nogowski made a running blunder, however, holding up at second base to see if the ball dropped despite there being two outs instead of advancing to third.

Catcher Michael Perez drew a walk to load the bases for rookie right fielder Jared Oliva, who bounced one in front of the plate. Braves catcher Kevan Smith, a Seneca Valley and Pitt graduate, scooped up the ball and tagged Nogowski for the final out.

Pirates closer Richard Rodriguez (4-1) got through the top of the ninth despite hitting Heredia with a pitch. Castro, called up from Double-A Altoona earlier in the day, pinch hit for Rodriguez and led off by drawing a full-count walk against Matzek (0-3).

“The first pitch was high, then he swung at a ball over his head – a little anxious – and then he calmed himself down,” Shelton said of Castro. “You watch him throughout the rest of the at-bat, you watch him when walks and how confident he was, which was really cool to see.”

Frazier singled through the Braves’ shift with a grounder to short, putting runners on first and second. Hayes came to bat with no outs and drew another full-count walk to load the bases for Reynolds.

“Good win for us,” Shelton said. “Chad Kuhl was outstanding. Pretty cool moment for us organizationally. Rudy Castro leading off that inning with a walk, really aggressive baserunning, got back and then scoring the winning run. So that’s a win for the whole Pirates organization.”