Pirates bats go silent, but Bryan Reynolds, Jack Suwinski, Travis Swaggerty have their moments

The first single left Bryan Reynolds’ bat at 77.7 mph, but it counts just as much in the box score as if the cover flew off the baseball.

The second also was a mere one-bagger, but it was much weaker (50 mph in the infield).

The third was legit, a single at 92.3 mph that completed Reynolds’ first three-hit game of the season. It also was his third multi-hit game this month, and the 3-for-4 effort lifted his batting average from .216 to .227.

Baby steps, but the Pittsburgh Pirates need a rejuvenated Reynolds bat to build off their recent 7-3 stretch that included an historic three-game sweep of the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Reynolds’ night was encouraging because he has been struggling for most of the season.

“It was nice to see him get (hits) right-handed,” manager Derek Shelton said of his switch-hitting center fielder getting all three hits against left-handed starter Max Fried. “It’s an encouraging sign for a couple reasons. He’s hit the ball hard and had nothing to show for it (previously this season). Sometimes, when you get a ball that squeaks through, it’s really important.”

Despite Reynolds’ three hits and two by Ke’Bryan Hayes, the Pirates lost 3-1 to the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night at Truist Field. They took a three-game losing streak into the second of the four-game series Friday night. Total runs in the three losses (two at home to the struggling Detroit Tigers): five.

After Hayes and Reynolds collected five hits, the other seven batters in the order managed only three.

Fried allowed eight hits — two more than the Atlanta hitters recorded against JT Brubaker and Chase DeJong — and the Pirates went hitless against relief pitchers Will Smith, A.J. Minter and Kenley Jansen, who earned his 16th save.

The Pirates also were 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position.

That’s no way to beat a team that won the 2021 World Series, but the good news for Pirates hitters was Jack Suwinski and Travis Swaggerty marking milestones in their rookie seasons.

Suwinski homered for the Pirates’ only run, giving him the National League lead among rookies (eight) and tying him with Reynolds for the team lead.

Swaggerty, a left-handed batter, collected his first big-league hit, a well-struck single to shortstop (102.4 mph) that beat the infield shift. A wide throw from Dansby Swanson eluded first baseman Matt Olson, causing Swaggerty to wonder if the scorer might rule it an error.

But when he saw his teammates in the dugout start to shout, he knew.

“It wasn’t exactly the 450-foot homer that I had been picturing my entire life,” he said. “But I will take it, especially off a guy like Max Fried.”

Fried (6-2) has the 10th-best WHIP in the National League at 1.04.

“Hopefully, the first of many,” Swaggerty said of his first hit. “I’ll take it. A single’s a single, baby.

“They are going to maybe put it in a little plastic case, hopefully with a little plaque. That would be cool.”

Swaggerty knows it’s only one hit that didn’t leave the infield, but it meant a lot because he played in only 12 games in Triple-A Indianapolis last season after shoulder surgery. The Pirates’ first-round draft choice in 2018, he earned a promotion to Pittsburgh on Sunday after hitting .280 with four home runs and 22 RBIs for Indianapolis this season.

Shelton was pleased to see Swaggerty get that first hit. He is 1 for 7 with three strikeouts since he joined the team.

“It lets a young player breathe a little bit,” Shelton said. “Once you get that first hit, it makes everything after this a little bit easy. You get that weight off your chest.”

Meanwhile, Shelton said Suwinski continues to show growth.

“Early on, when he was hitting .160 (he’s now up to .235 entering Friday), we continued to talk about how controlled he was in his at-bats. He didn’t let things get out of hand.

“We’re seeing him start to just grow into a really good big-league hitter.”