Here are the Pirates' top 5 wins of 2019

PITTSBURGH -- Coming off a 93-loss season with a new management team in place, the Pirates are hopeful for better days ahead.

But that doesn’t mean there weren’t plenty of good days sprinkled in amid the overall disappointment of this past year. The Pirates pulled off eight walk-off wins, a handful of dramatic comebacks and some memorable moments despite a last-place finish in the National League Central.

Here’s a look back at the Pirates’ top five wins of 2019, and what they might tell us about the club’s future:

1) The six-run comeback, June 19
In a vacuum, this 8-7 win over the Tigers was simply a one-run victory against the team with the Majors’ worst record. But it set the tone for the Pirates’ 12-5 stretch heading into the All-Star break, an inspired run that turned out to be their last gasp. After 2 1/2 innings, the Pirates trailed by six runs.

But they methodically worked their way back into the game, Trevor Williams steadied himself after an ugly start, and Bryan Reynolds’ three-run homer put the Bucs ahead in the sixth. The back end of the bullpen held on from there to secure the Pirates’ first win after trailing by six runs since July 12, 2008.

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What does it tell us for 2020?
Theoretically, maybe it’s a representation of the fighting spirit still present in the clubhouse -- something the Pirates will need to show after a difficult season gave way to a complete change of leadership in the organization. During this stretch, they outplayed their run differential and overcame a number of injuries and underwhelming performances that eventually caught up to them.

More practically, it’s a reminder of Reynolds’ impact from the No. 2 spot in the lineup, as he had three hits: leadoff singles in the two-run third and two-run fourth, plus the big home run. He’s a keeper.

2) Two comebacks, one walk-off walk, June 23
This one was a pretty succinct summary of the Pirates at that point of the season: a short start, shaky middle-relief work and a scrappy enough lineup to make up for the lack of pitching. They were down three runs heading into the bottom of the ninth, and they rallied against Padres closer Kirby Yates to force extra innings.

The Bucs fell behind by three again in the 11th, then all of a sudden, Kevin Newman was at the plate working a walk-off walk for a wild, 11-10 win.

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What does it tell us for 2020?
See Game No. 1 when it comes to their never-say-die attitude, albeit against another losing team. But this one, if nothing else, was also a testament to the depth of the Pirates’ lineup when (mostly) healthy. Newman, Reynolds, Josh Bell and Adam Frazier finished with two hits, José Osuna picked up three hits in a rare start at third base and Jacob Stallings came off the bench to drive in a pair of runs in the 11th.

Finally, it may have been an indication that Newman has something of a flair for the dramatic, as it was one of the four walk-off celebrations he started this year.

3) Three rings and a rout, July 1
Bell reached historic highs in the month of May then quieted down in June. He began July, the month in which he appeared in the Home Run Derby and started in the All-Star Game, with a bang. Bell went 4-for-6 with three homers and seven RBIs in the Pirates’ 18-5 win over the Cubs at PNC Park. Pittsburgh set season-high marks in runs, hits (23), doubles (seven) and homers (five).

It wasn’t just The Josh Bell Show, either, as Frazier had four doubles among his five hits and Colin Moran recorded five hits as well.

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What does it tell us about 2020?
At his best, Bell is a game-changing force in the batter’s box. He produced the franchise’s 20th three-homer game, the first by a switch-hitter, as well as the Bucs’ first three-homer/seven-RBI game since Willie Stargell in 1968.

Bell fell off after his award-winning month of May, sure, but if not for a season-ending injury in September, we might be talking about a 40-homer/40-double season by the All-Star first baseman. The Pirates can build a competitive lineup around Bell, especially if he’s consistently capable of performances like this.

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4) Keller’s coming-out party, Aug. 23
There were a lot of outings to forget during Mitch Keller’s first partial season in the Majors. This was not one of them. The rookie right-hander struck out nine, walked only one and worked into the seventh inning of the Pirates’ 3-2 win over the Reds at PNC Park.

What’s more, reliever Michael Feliz -- who has been up and down since being acquired in the Gerrit Cole trade -- struck out three to escape the seventh-inning jam Keller created, and Pablo Reyes ended the night with a walk-off single. This glimmer of hope for Pittsburgh and the club’s No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline was particularly welcome amid the Bucs’ brutal second half.

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What does it tell us about 2020?
Keller has Major League stuff, and the Pirates should give him every opportunity to show he can reach his top-of-the-rotation potential. A lot of the right-hander’s issues this year were the result of his inability to get ahead in the count or throw his breaking balls for strikes.

But on this night, Keller threw first-pitch strikes to 20 of the 24 hitters he faced and got the Reds to whiff on 19 of his 91 pitches. He threw 28 sliders and consistently located his curveball in or around the strike zone early on, which forced the Reds to swing at breaking balls out of the zone later in the game.

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5) Rocky Mountain high, Sept. 1
You’ll remember this 6-2 win for two reasons, both of them related to Steven Brault. First, it was the afternoon that Brault threw 69 straight fastballs to begin a strong 6 1/3-inning start at Coors Field; overall, 77 of his 82 pitches were fastballs.

Second, it was the day that Brault hit a home run -- a 102.5 mph, 441-foot blast to right field. There wasn’t a whole lot to feel good about in the second half, but Brault’s success on the mound from May 18-Sept. 1 (2.97 ERA, .679 opponents’ OPS) was a silver lining. This was also a strong series for the Pirates as a whole, as they swept the Rockies in four games with good pitching, quality offensive production and a little of both from Brault.

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What does it tell us about 2020?
That remains to be seen. Will the new management group pick up where Neal Huntington and Clint Hurdle left off by letting Brault work out as a two-way player? They floated that idea at the end of September, and it was easy to see why when Brault put together games like this.

Will Brault’s midseason run get him a shot in the rotation, or was that work undone by a September skid?

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