Pirates Stat of the Day: August 2021

MLB.com is keeping track of a Stat of the Day for the Pirates this season, highlighting a unique, interesting or fun nugget from each game.

• Pirates Stat of the Day, July 2021

Aug. 31: Prospect on RBI tear
Nick Gonzales, the Pirates' No. 4 prospect and the No. 66 prospect in baseball, has been on an absolute streak of power at High-A Greensboro to end the month of August. Among the most eye-popping stats: The second baseman has driven in 15 runs in his past two games, fueled by five home runs in that span.

Aug. 29: Pirates 4, Cardinals 3 -- A career first for Tsutsugo
Yoshi Tsutsugo hit a walk-off three-run home run to down the Cardinals in the series finale. It's not only the first career walk-off homer for the Japanese slugger, but it was also his first career walk-off RBI.

Aug. 28: Cardinals 13, Pirates 0 -- Bucs stymied by Waino
The Pirates once again could not solve Adam Wainwright on Saturday, and he lowered his ERA against Pittsburgh to 0.30 in four starts this season. The only pitcher since 1912 with a lower ERA against the Pirates in a season (minimum four starts) is Don Cardwell of the Cubs in 1961 (0.24).

Aug. 27: Cardinals 4, Pirates 3 -- Alford gives Bucs life with SB
Anthony Alford swiped second base at a clutch time off the strong arm of Yadier Molina in the ninth inning to put the tying run in scoring position. The left fielder's sprint speed was clocked at 29.8 feet per second -- just shy of the elite 30 feet per second sprint speed, which Alford has reached three times this season.

Aug. 26: Pirates 11, Cardinals 7 -- For Bucs, eight is great
The Pirates reached base eight consecutive times to begin the seventh inning, and they became the first team in the Majors this season to plate eight runs without recording an out.

Aug. 25: D-backs 5, Pirates 2 -- Wilson gets 'em swinging
Bryse Wilson fired five scoreless innings, and his pitches played as crisply as ever. The right-hander drew a career-high 15 swings and misses against Arizona's batters on just 74 pitches, with nine coming on his four-seamer.

"I think it’s a lot about the sequencing and then the command as well," Wilson said of inducing whiffs. "I think they both play hand in hand."

Aug. 24: Pirates 4, D-backs 2 -- Alford's sky-high homer
Anthony Alford hit his first home run of the season in the fourth inning, and it was a unique one, measuring at a Statcast-projected 369 feet on a 46-degree launch angle. It's only the 10th home run this season hit with a launch angle of 46 degrees or greater, and it's the fifth longest in that sample.

Aug. 23: Pirates 6, D-backs 5 -- Yoshi launches one
Yoshi Tsutsugo hit a pinch-hit homer leading off the the seventh inning and sparked a three-run rally to tie the series opener. It was the third home run for Tsutsugo in his last four games, which is the most he's had in a stretch of four games of fewer in his MLB career.

Aug. 22: Cardinals 3, Pirates 0 -- Waiting for sweep
The Pirates fell to the Cardinals in Sunday's finale at Busch Stadium after taking the first two games of the series. Pittsburgh is now 0-for-9 in sweep-clinching opportunities this season, making it the lone team in MLB without a sweep.

Aug. 21: Pirates 5, Cardinals 4 -- Bednar's first save
The hometown kid had his day with the Pirates on Saturday, as Mars, Pa., native David Bednar notched his first Major League save with a scoreless ninth against the Cardinals. "It was definitely cool, going to [Pirates] games growing up and seeing all those guys that came through there," said Bednar of the moment. "To get the first one out of the way is pretty cool, pretty special.”

Aug. 20: Pirates 4, Cardinals 0 -- Mitch's heater
Mitch Keller had one of the best starts of his season on Friday in St. Louis, and it was led by great fastball command. Mixing it with his slider, Keller was able to generate 10 whiffs on his heater -- the most swings and misses on the pitch in his career -- to key five scoreless innings.

Aug. 18: Dodgers 9, Pirates 0 -- 16 straight losses vs. LA
As the Pirates fell to the Dodgers, it marked the 16th consecutive game that Pittsburgh had lost to Los Angeles. It is the third-longest streak by any team against any single opponent in AL/NL history, trailing only the 2008 Brewers (17) and the 1964 Cardinals (17). Pittsburgh has been outscored 111-46 during the losing streak.

Aug. 17: Dodgers 4, Pirates 3 -- Another lefty?
When David Price took the mound against the Pirates, that marked the sixth game in a row that Pittsburgh opposed a left-handed starting pitcher. That is the Pirates' longest such streak since Aug. 13-20, 1932.

Aug. 16: Dodgers 2, Pirates 1 -- Tough opponent
The Pirates have dropped 14 straight games to the Dodgers with their last win coming on June 6, 2018. The 14-game losing streak to Los Angeles tops the 13-game losing streak against the Dodgers in 1952 for the longest in franchise history.

Aug. 15: Brewers 2, Pirates 1 -- Peters' new approach
Dillon Peters traversed 4 2/3 innings with two runs allowed (one earned) by turning to his changeup heavily. His 40% usage (30 of 75 pitches) of that offering on Sunday was the most in a single start in his MLB career.

Aug. 14: Pirates 14, Brewers 4 (Game 1); Brewers 6, Pirates 0 (Game 2) -- Newman's four doubles
Kevin Newman hit four doubles in four at-bats against the Brewers in Game 1 of Saturday's seven-inning doubleheader. That ties an AL/NL record for the most doubles in a game, which is also held by former Pirates Adam Frazier (May 1, 2019) and Hall of Famer Paul Waner (May 20, 1932).

Aug. 12: Cardinals 7, Pirates 6 -- Polanco finally nabbed
Gregory Polanco tried to move into scoring position in the second inning with pitcher JT Brubaker batting, but he was thrown out by Andrew Knizner. Polanco's streak of 13 stolen bases without being caught to begin a season is the Pirates' longest since 2014, when Andrew McCutchen stole 15 bases without being nabbed.

Aug. 11: Cardinals 4, Pirates 0 -- Alford's five-star catch
Anthony Alford went all out to make a diving catch of a well-struck ball by Harrison Bader in the fifth inning. The laid-out grab had a 20% catch probability, making it a five-star catch, per Statcast.

Aug. 10: Cardinals 4, Pirates 1 -- Brault starting strong
Steven Brault's pitch count has been and will be limited after he missed the first four months of the season, but he's been able to make a good impression in his first two starts. The left-hander has thrown a combined nine innings with three runs allowed; it is the first time he's begun a campaign with nine or more innings and three or fewer runs allowed over his first two starts.

Aug. 8: Reds 3, Pirates 2 -- Wilson pounds zone
Bryse Wilson gave the Pirates the best start in their four-game series vs. the Reds, firing six innings with three runs allowed. Wilson said he's at his best when his command is sharp, and on Sunday, it was. He struck out seven batters and did not issue an unintentional walk, marking the first time in his MLB career he's had at least seven K's without an unintentional base on balls.

Aug. 7: Reds 11, Pirates 3 -- Reynolds goes for three
Bryan Reynolds drove in a run with a triple in the third inning, and he's been on a tear of three-baggers in recent days. After going 99 games without a triple to begin the season, the Pirates' center fielder has hit three in his past nine games.

Aug. 6: Reds 10, Pirates 0 -- Brubaker bruised by Reds
For the second night in a row, the Pirates' starting pitcher got off to a rocky start vs. the Reds. On Friday night, it was JT Brubaker, who was hit for nine runs in the first two innings of his five-inning start. Brubaker became the first Pirates pitcher to give up nine or more runs in the first two innings of a start since Chad Kuhl allowed nine in 1 2/3 innings vs. the Cubs on April 24, 2017.

Aug. 5: Reds 7, Pirates 4 -- Robbery for Reynolds
Bryan Reynolds made yet another highlight-reel grab in the fifth inning on Thursday vs. the Reds. Tyler Naquin lifted a ball that appeared on its way out for a homer to right-center field, but the Pirates' center fielder used the 6.5 seconds of hang time to his advantage. After sizing it up, Reynolds leaped and snagged the ball, which had a 53% hit probability, per Statcast.

Aug. 4: Brewers 4, Pirates 2 -- Bucs tag Peralta for 6 hits
Milwaukee's Freddy Peralta has a serious case for National League Cy Young Award consideration, but Pittsburgh forced him into arguably his shakiest (by his standards) start of the season. When Bryan Reynolds led off the top of the sixth with a triple, that marked the Pirates' sixth hit of the game. In his 20 previous appearances this year, Peralta had not allowed more than five hits to a single opponent, giving Pittsburgh the highest single-game hit total against Peralta in 2021.

Aug. 3: Pirates 8, Brewers 5 (10) -- Polanco swipes two bags
The highlights of Gregory Polanco's night will be his game-saving catch or his go-ahead base hit, but lost in the shuffle is the fact that, after walking in his first two plate appearances, he successfully stole second base both times. Those two stolen bases brought him to a perfect 13-for-13 in steal attempts this season. That's the most stolen bases he's had in a season before his first caught stealing throughout his eight-year big league career.

Aug. 2: Brewers 6, Pirates 2 -- The more the merrier
For a team that's dealt with its fair share of roster turnover due to injuries, trades and callups, it's no wonder Pittsburgh is closing in on the franchise record for the highest number of players used in a single season. Both Bryse Wilson and Shea Spitzbarth made their debuts in the loss to the Brewers, becoming the 51st and 52nd players used by the Pirates, respectively, in 2021. The record currently stands at 55, set by the club in 2016.

Aug. 1: Phillies 15, Pirates 4 -- Hoy parks his 1st hit
Hoy Park, who was acquired from the Yankees for Clay Holmes ahead of the Trade Deadline, collected his first Major League hit. In the seventh inning, the shortstop drove a breaking ball from Kyle Gibson down the right-field line for a double, then shared the moment with Didi Gregorius -- his former organization-mate with the Yankees -- at second base.