PITTSBURGH _ When Trevor Williams pitched to a 5.38 ERA last season, one of his biggest frustrations was failing to consistently repeat his delivery. Too often, something would get out of whack, and the result was usually Williams' pitches getting whacked. In 26 starts, Williams gave up 27 homers _ a dozen more than the previous year while also making five fewer starts.
While they didn't necessarily come on mistake pitches, three more homers _ and four total _ helped the Reds beat Williams and the Pirates, 6-2, on Saturday at PNC Park in a start that saw the right-hander clearly focused on altering his delivery and searching for answers.
Williams ditched his previous windup, the old-school one where he'd raise his hands over his hand, and he worked exclusively out of the stretch. The goal seemed to be simplicity and repeatability.
Earlier in the day, pitching coach Oscar Marin said he and Williams had been working on a few adjustments but declined to say much more than that.
Williams didn't make a ton of mistakes, but it was enough as Cincinnati relied on one of the National League's best power hitters in third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who powered the Reds' offense with three home runs.
For Suarez, it was the first three-homer game of his career. It's the first time someone hit three in one game against the Pirates since Paul DeJong of the Cardinals did it at PNC Park on July 24, 2019.
Three more home runs allowed by Williams (1-6) brought his season total to 10, one behind teammate Derek Holland, while Williams saw his ERA rise to 5.80. Three more have allowed 10 homers, two have allowed 11, one has given up 12, and Gerrit Cole has coughed up an MLB-high 13.
It's been a tough season for Williams, and it appears that frustration boiled over in the sixth inning, when manager Derek Shelton seemingly tried to remove Williams from the game following a two-out walk to left fielder Shogo Akiyama.
But as Holland started to leave the bullpen, Williams may have talked his way into more work, his emotions evident as he pulled away from a discussion with Shelton.
Williams would retire the next hitter, shortstop Jose Garcia, to finish his night at 111 pitches, 68 for strikes. The 28-year-old worked six innings and allowed five earned runs on five hits with three walks and six strikeouts.
In the eighth inning, Holland gave up the third home run of the night to Suarez, who now has 12 on the season and nine in his past 18 plate appearances.
Williams' night started in fine fashion, as he recorded the first five outs on just 20 pitches. But on a ball that Reds center fielder Brian Goodwin bounced to first base, Josh Bell threw wildly toward Williams.
It was the second error for Bell in as many games, his fourth this season in 22 starts at first base and the MLB-high 37th for the Pirates in 2020. Over their past seven games, the Pirates have made a total of 12 errors.
A Williams strikeout of Garcia helped the Pirates escape trouble, but it was momentary. The Reds scored four runs in the third inning via two home runs.
Catcher Tucker Barnhart had the first, on an outside sinker, but the more notable event might've been what happened to Anthony Alford.
The Pirates center fielder slammed hard against the outfield wall, his right arm jamming into the padding at an awkward angle. Immediately after Barnhart's homer landed, Alford grabbed his right elbow.
Head athletic trainer Bryan Housand walked out to check on Alford, and the recent acquisition slowly walked back to the dugout, exiting the game. The Pirates later announced that Alford had fractured his right elbow.
That's obviously a tough pill to swallow for Alford, who was slated to receive plenty of playing time here the rest of the way. He had homered Wednesday and smacked a triple in Game 2 of Friday's doubleheader while also displaying some serious speed.
Now, that's on hold. In four games, Alford hit .250 (3 for 12) with a home run, a triple and four RBIs.
The Reds' second home run of the inning came from Suarez, who crushed a low-and-inside sinker from Williams for a 4-0 Cincinnati lead.
The Pirates put together a rally in the third inning but only scored one run. Gregory Polanco came to bat with the bases loaded and hit a ball to the gap in right-center. Goodwin made a terrific running grab to limit the damage.
In the next inning, Jacob Stallings turned on a 2-0 sinker and sent it screaming toward the left-field bleachers to make it a 4-2 game.
Leading off the sixth, Suarez took a four-seamer from Williams into the right-field seats.
