The Pirates offense finally looked like what this roster was built to be. Four home runs, eight runs, an 8-3 final in Cincinnati the night after getting shutout by Chase Burns and looking like they would never score again. Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz both went deep, and when those two are in the home run column alongside Brandon Lowe, the Pirates offense is a legitimately dangerous thing. One game does not fix everything. But this is what was always supposed to be in here.
Lowe has been carrying this lineup on his back since Opening Day. Three home runs in the first four games, reaching base constantly, doing the work while the rest of the order slept through the first week of the season. This offense cannot run through one guy. That is not a plan. When Reynolds and Cruz are locked in and producing alongside Lowe, though, you are talking about three hitters who can make any pitching staff uncomfortable, and tonight the Reds found that out.
The Pirates Offense Was Always More Than Brandon Lowe
Reynolds is one of the better hitters in this league when he is right. He was not right in the first four games. Cruz is the kind of guy where you always know the home run is one swing away, and tonight he delivered it off Brandon Williamson when the Pirates needed the punch. That is the version of the Pirates offense this team constructed over the winter. Not every night is going to look like this, but tonight proved the ceiling is real.
Williamson was making his first competitive start after missing all of 2025 with Tommy John surgery, and that context matters. Pittsburgh jumped on a guy who had not thrown meaningful innings in over a year. Fair caveat. You still have to beat whoever is on the mound, and the Pirates did that tonight, so take the win.
Chandler Struck Out 6 and Walked 6, and Both Things Matter
Bubba Chandler struck out 6 Reds tonight and walked 6, and you cannot talk about one without the other. The strikeouts tell you the stuff is there. The walks tell you the command still is not, and when your starter is putting guys on base for free every other inning, your bullpen is in the game earlier than you want it. The Pirates need Chandler to go deep in starts. When he is walking 6 batters he cannot do that, and when he cannot do that, the pen takes on extra work on a night it should not have to.
Barco Is Already a Problem and It Is Game 5
Hunter Barco gave up the walk-off blast to Luis Robert Jr. when the Mets beat the Pirates in extra innings. That one hurt. Tonight Barco came in and gave up 4 hits and 2 earned runs in 2 innings. Two appearances. Two ugly ones. I am not waiting until July to say this is a real concern. A bullpen arm who gives up runs every time he takes the ball is a liability, and this Pittsburgh pen already has enough unproven pieces that Barco cannot be the guy costing them games on a weekly basis. He has good stuff. He needs to start using it.
Pittsburgh had enough cushion tonight that Barco’s rough inning did not change the outcome. That will not always be the case.
Skenes Has to Put It All Together Tomorrow
Paul Skenes pitches tomorrow, and after getting pulled after two outs on Opening Day against the Mets, Skenes needs a real outing in the worst way. That start in New York was not him. Two misplayed fly balls in center turned a manageable first inning into a five-run disaster and Skenes never got a chance to pitch his way out of it. He still has not shown anybody what the 2026 version of himself looks like on the mound.
The Pirates offense needs to keep this energy going, and Skenes needs to run six or seven innings against a Cincinnati lineup that is beatable. When this offense is scoring runs and Skenes is dominating deep into games, the Pirates look like exactly the team they were supposed to be coming into this year. Tonight showed the Pirates offense can hold up its end. Tomorrow Skenes has to hold up his.
