Bryan Reynolds kept swinging well Thursday, but the Pirates had no answer for the rest of the Cubs. Reynolds went 2-for-3 and hit a solo home run in Pittsburgh’s 7-2 loss, a night that added another solid line to his recent stretch even as the team left without a win.
The homer came off Cubs starter Colin Rea to lead off the sixth inning and was Reynolds’ fifth of the season. It was his first long ball since May 1 against the Reds, a gap that made the blast a useful sign for Pittsburgh after a quieter run of power production.
What has stood out most lately is not just the home run, but the consistency around it. Reynolds was on a six-game hitting streak Friday morning, and he went 11-for-21 over that span. For a Pirates lineup that needed more than one swing to change the game, his bat stayed one of the few steady points in a loss that never turned in Pittsburgh’s favor.
Reynolds entered the game amid a strong recent stretch at the plate and left with his batting average at.272, along with five home runs and 35 RBI in 57 games. The numbers show a hitter finding rhythm even as the Pirates struggled to match the Cubs on Thursday. His lone run-scoring hit did not alter the result, but it did keep his season line moving in a positive direction.
The question now is whether Reynolds can carry that form into the next game and turn a productive stretch into something more lasting. For Pittsburgh, the concern is simpler: a hot bat is useful, but it will take more than Reynolds alone to turn nights like this into wins.
