Bryan Reynolds returns as a new dad, leads Pirates to 6-2 victory against the Cubs

After the ball left his bat at 109 mph and he settled into second base with a double, Bryan Reynolds decided he had earned a place in the spotlight.

So he stood tall on the PNC Park infield, allowed himself a slight smile and cradled his arms as if rocking a baby to sleep, something he did for real this week after his wife, Blair, gave birth to their son, Reese Scott, on Monday.

Dad Strength ? pic.twitter.com/iHkCNnUJqN

— Pirates (@Pirates) September 3, 2020

“I just said, ‘Screw it. I’m going to do it.’ So I did it,” he said Thursday after he added a three-run homer to his double and led the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-2 victory against the Chicago Cubs.

The celebratory show was a bit out of character for the normally low-key Reynolds, who slept only an hour — “If that,” he said — after Reese was born at 3 a.m.

Reynolds said the name Reese Scott has no family origin, other than his dad’s middle name is Scott. But his mom immediately went to the store and bought a bag of Reese’s Pieces.

“I eat them. He’s going to eat them, too,” the proud dad said.

The birth might have been a pressure release for Reynolds. Before he left the team Sunday in Milwaukee for paternity leave, he had only one hit in 21 at-bats.

“It was definitely something that was always there, stressful,” said Reynolds, whose batting average had fallen to .184.

Yet Reynolds didn’t agree getting away from baseball for three days might have helped.

“It was just good to meet my son,” he said.

Manager Derek Shelton, the father of three, said, “Awaiting your first child, that could put pressure on you, too.

“Having the baby, knowing his wife’s good, knowing the baby’s good, it makes you breathe a little bit. (Thursday), we saw the looseness that you guys saw in Bryan Reynolds all last year.

“Anytime you get your first homer after a kid, it’s an exciting thing.”

The victory broke the Pirates’ three-game losing streak and was only their second since sweeping a doubleheader from the St. Louis Cardinals on Aug. 27.

The 11th victory among the first 35 games this season was also the first in the majors for rookie starting pitcher JT Brubaker, who survived plenty of baseline traffic to keep the game close.

In the third inning, the Cubs already had a 2-0 lead, scoring the second run on a throwing error by third baseman JT Riddle. Then, with runners on second and third, Brubaker forced Anthony Rizzo to ground out and struck out Javier Baez and Kyle Schwarber.

He left the game after stranding five runners, striking out five and walking one.

“To Brubaker’s credit, he calmed back down, and that’s a hard thing for a rookie to do,” Shelton said.

He said Brubaker has matured since spring training.

“Spring training 1.0, he looked like he was trying to belong and trying to find his footing,” Shelton said. “I think the more starts he gets under his belt, I think he feels like he belongs in the big leagues.

“That’s a major step. There’s the step of, ‘Hey, do I really belong here?’ Once you start to execute pitches and get yourself out of jams, you start to realize you do belong here.”

Brubaker said his gameplan was to keep his pitches in the strike zone.

“Attacking the zone, attacking the hitters, not trying to be too fine,” he said. “Saying, ‘Here it is. Hit it.’

“Limit the damage, keep the ball on the ground. Not too many runs can score when the ball’s on the ground.”

Brubaker also credited pitching coach Oscar Marin for two well-timed mound visits.

“They were momentum stoppers for (the Cubs),” he said.

The Pirates also got a string of scoreless relief appearances from Sam Howard, Geoff Hartlieb, Nik Turley and Richard Rodriguez.

After Reynolds’ home run, the Pirates led 4-2, but Cole Tucker’s two-out, two-run single in the sixth inning provided room to breathe.

Meanwhile, Reynolds doesn’t know if he will reprise his rock-the-baby act this season.

“TBD,” he said. “Let it be organic and see what happens.”

NOTE: Shelton said Steven Brault and Cody Ponce will start the doubleheader Friday at Heinz Field against the Cincinnati Reds.

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