Bryan Reynolds crossing the plate after hitting his 100th career homerun. AP/Photo by Gene J. Pusker
BY WILL GRAVESUpdated 10:42 PM EDT, April 8, 2024Share
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Bryan Reynolds began the season knowing he was two home runs shy of 100 in his career. The Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder didn’t waste time getting there.
Reynolds hit a solo shot to center field in the sixth inning to become the 25th player in franchise history to reach the century mark with the club as the Pirates beat the Tigers 7-4 on Monday.
Asked if he knew the milestone was close, Reynolds deadpanned “very aware.”
“(We’ve been) talking about it since last year,” Reynolds added. “Knocked it out.”
Connor Joe and Jared Triolo both had two hits and two RBIs for the Pirates. Joey Bart also drove in two runs as Pittsburgh improved to 9-2, the best record in the National League.
Mitch Keller (1-1) allowed two runs on five hits with three walks and nine strikeouts to earn his first win of the season. The right-handed Keller, who signed a five-year, $77-million contract extension in February, has worked at least five innings in 34 straight starts, the longest active streak in the majors.
“Going back to last year, that’s the maturation we’ve seen of Mitch Keller, of him being able to execute pitches, him being able to get himself out of jams,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “And I think it’s also one of the reasons we made a commitment to him because that is so important.”
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Colt Keith and Matt Vierling had two hits and each drove in a run for the Tigers. Riley Greene added an RBI double in the ninth.
Reese Olson (0-1), who dazzled in his first start of the season last week against the New York Mets, struggled against the Pirates. Olson allowed six runs on nine hits with three walks and three strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. Detroit has dropped four of five after starting 5-0.
Pittsburgh, which needed walk-off wins to beat Baltimore twice over the weekend, made quick work of the Tigers. Bart laced a two-run single in the bottom of the second that ricocheted off second base and into center field to help give the Pirates an early 3-1 lead.
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The catcher, acquired in a trade with San Francisco last week, is the fourth Pirate player since the RBI became an official statistic in 1920 to drive in multiple runs in his first two games with the club.
Triolo gave Pittsburgh plenty of cushion in the third with a two-run single that made it 5-1.
Andrew McCutchen narrowly missed his 300th career home run when he started the bottom of the fifth with a double that hit the top of the 21-foot-high Roberto Clemente Wall in right field. McCutchen later scored on a double by Joe.
Reynolds led off the sixth with his homer.
“I think it was inevitable he was going to get to 100,” Shelton said. “It’s just a matter of seeing better swings today. It’s very important for the function of our lineup.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Tigers: Placed utility infielder/outfielder Andy Ibáñez on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring. Ibáñez sustained the injury while running out a groundball in a loss to Oakland on Sunday. Detroit called up utility infielder/outfielder Wenceel Perez from Triple-A Toledo.
Perez made his major-league debut as a pinch-hitter in the eighth when he struck out on three pitches while facing Aroldis Chapman with the bases loaded.
UP NEXT
The short two-game set wraps up on Tuesday. Casey Mize (0-0, 6.23 ERA) starts for the Tigers against Martin Pérez (1-0, 2.45).