Well, that’s one way to get out of a slump.
In the 7th inning of last night’s 4-3 Pirates victory, Bryan Reynolds outsmarted everyone on the Cubs and turned a ball with an exit velocity of 49.4 mph into a triple.
Reynolds hit the ball down the left field line, and was guaranteed at least a double with on one in sight.
The Pirates center fielder realized that no one was covering third and didn’t miss a stride going for third with short stop Nico Hoerner haplessly chasing Reynolds to try and cover the third base bag.
The play did two things, it helped get Reynolds a hit that he desperately needed, going 3-for-21 recently with 11 strike outs.
It also got the Pirates a little revenge for last season’s comedy of errors play against the Cubs at PNC Park, when first baseman Will Craig decided to chase Javier Baez down the line back to home instead of simply stepping on first for the easy out.
Craig was designated for assignment shortly after and signed with a baseball team in Korea.
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While the triple didn’t produce any insurance runs for the Bucs, Wil Crowe and the Pirates bullpen continued to be lights out, not allowing Chicago to cross the plate from the sixth inning on.