Nick

Gonzales

He took Kyle Backhus deep in the ninth inning to extend a 5-1 lead, on a breaking ball that he just nudged over the left-field fence in Citizen’s Bank Park. Gonzales just keeps hitting -- he’s batting .322 in his last 30 games -- and while he isn’t generating a ton of speed, he’s got four homers over that span to go along with 22 runs scored and 16 RBI. Gonzales remains a fringe starter in most leagues, but if he’s going to hit this well going forward there are going to be fantasy teams he can help.

Gonzales didn’t have a very good night in the field at third base, but he did single three times off Zack Wheeler to help make up for it. He’s batting an even .300 on the year and doing it mostly with singles; just 15 of his 90 hits have gone for extra bases and his isolated slugging percentage is .073, down from a career mark of .118.

After nearly four weeks away due to a forearm strain, Griffin starting at shortstop and leading off in Friday’s game against the Reds. His return means that Nick Gonzales and Jared Triolo will go back to fighting for time at third. Gonzales figures to get most of the starts, but he is sitting in favor of Triolo tonight.

The homer off Michael Lorenzen was just Gonzales’s third of the season, but his .293/.342/.374 line is solid, and even without a lot of power, he has 35 RBI in 73 games. In fact, he has more RBI and runs scored (40) in 292 plate appearances this year than he did in 408 plate appearances last year (30 RBI, 39 runs scored).

One fire lately, two more knocks here extended Gonzales’ hitting streak to eight games with multiple hits in four of those. His fourth inning double helped catalyze the only real rally the Pirates had in this game and he’s now up to a .315 batting average and .759 OPS on the season as an everyday player for the Pirates.

The homer was his first of the year, a two-run shot off Zebby Matthews that put Pittsburgh up 4-0 in the third. Gonzales has been operating as the team’s primary third baseman, having started 14 of their past 15 games. He’s hit as high as fourth this week, but Ryan O’Hearn’s return dropped him to fifth on Sunday. For fantasy purposes, he’s mostly provided empty batting average given his unique .303/.356/.364 slash line.

Gonzales was back at third base after leaving Thursday’s series finale against the Cubs early with left knee discomfort. It doesn’t appear to be a concern moving forward.

Gonzales made an early exit from Thursday’s series finale due to discomfort stemming from a ball that he fouled off his knee earlier this week that was still bothering him. It doesn’t sound like a significant concern, but he’ll likely undergo imaging to rule out any structural damage. There should be an update on his status ahead of Friday’s series opener against the Twins.

Cruz takes a seat with Toronto lefty Patrick Corbin toeing the rubber. It’ll be intriguing prospect Jhostynxon Garcia getting a chance in center field with Nick Gonzales moving up to the leadoff spot. Cruz is hitting .303 (20-for-66) with four homers against lefties this season. However, he’s been struggling a bit of late, hitting just .242 (15-for-62) with one homer and 26 strikeouts over his last 15 games.

Cruz has made some strides against left-handed pitching this season, but the Pirates are going to give Nick Gonzales a look atop the lineup against Cardinals southpaw Matthew Liberatore on Tuesday night.