Reynolds drives in three, Keller strong as Pirates beat Rays 6-3

Bryan Reynolds kept coming through in the biggest spots, and Mitch Keller gave the Pirates exactly the kind of length that can stabilize a young season. Pittsburgh beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-3 at PNC Park, with Reynolds driving in three runs and Keller working seven strong innings to help the Pirates avoid another drain on the bullpen.

The win was built in layers. Reynolds opened the scoring in the first with a fielder’s choice that brought home Jake Mangum, who had led off with a double. After Tampa Bay pulled even, Pittsburgh answered in the fifth with a three-run rally that turned the game. Nick Gonzales tied it with a single that scored Joey Bart, then Reynolds followed with a two-run single to left field that pushed the Pirates ahead 4-2. That sequence set the tone for the rest of the afternoon, as Pittsburgh kept finding contact in the right moment instead of relying on one swing to carry the lineup.

Keller was the other reason the Pirates left with more than just a win. He allowed two runs and five hits, struck out five and completed seven innings for the first time since July 2. That mattered even more because Pittsburgh had gone 13 innings the night before, leaving the bullpen in need of a breather. Keller’s outing kept the game from turning into a relay race of arms, and it gave the Pirates a cleaner path through the final innings.

Pittsburgh added to the cushion with back-to-back home runs from pinch-hitter Spencer Horwitz in the sixth and Nick Yorke in the eighth, extending the lead to 6-2. Tampa Bay got one back in the ninth on Junior Caminero’s homer off Wilber Dotel, who was making his major league debut, but the Rays never recovered from the fifth-inning surge. Shane McClanahan took the loss, allowing four runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings with five strikeouts and no walks.

The result pushed the Pirates to 13-9 and kept them in first place in the National League Central. They took two of three from Tampa Bay, ended their homestand at 4-3 and snapped the Rays’ six-game winning streak. More important for Pittsburgh’s bigger picture, the game showed a route to consistency: Reynolds driving in runs, Keller covering innings and the lineup producing enough balanced pressure to cash in when opportunities appear.