Pirates' recent offensive turnaround coincides with Gonzales' production

Then, after grounding into a fielder's choice in the third and walking and scoring a run in the fifth, Gonzales delivered in another clutch situation with a two-run double on a fastball in the zone from reliever Darius Vines: 

Gonzales reached base four times, including in the eighth when he was hit by a Jesse Chavez sinker. With his four-RBI showing, he topped his previous career high of two in a game and once again showed his ability to produce in clutch situations, as he's now hitting .357 with 10 RBIs with runners in scoring position. 

In a 14-game sample with the big-league club this second time around, he's hitting .300 with two homers and 13 RBIs. Those are the exact totals he compiled in those two categories through 35 games in his first major-league stint last season.

“He’s done a really good job adding value," Shelton said of Gonzales, who has driven in two or more runs in four different games over the last two weeks. "It’s a credit to the kid. He worked on something when he went down and we’re really seeing the fruits of it. He’s been, through this stretch, probably one of, if not our most consistent run producers.”

Of the 75 runs the Pirates have scored over the course of the aforementioned two-week period, Gonzales has accounted for 17% of that production. 

He doesn't believe there is anything different he's doing in coming through in those specific run-scoring situations. He, as he's done on more than a few occasions recently, credits his success to the adjustments he made during the offseason and the work he continued during an impressive run through the minors earlier this season. 

Still, it's clear that Gonzales has shown more confidence throughout this latest two-week stretch, especially when presented with opportunities to serve as a run producer and spark an offensive output like the one that produced 14 hits in the Pirates' series opener against the Braves. 

"I get a little more amped up, a little more motivated to get those runs in and help the team," Gonzales said. "Obviously the first game I was up, getting an opportunity in the first game with the bases loaded, that gives me confidence that the coaching staff believes in me and I was able to do that." 

After experiencing some growing pains during his initial stint in Pittsburgh, a heightened sense of comfort has helped Gonzales evolve from a top prospect trying to find his way at the highest level to a player worthy of being entrusted with responsibilities that come with hitting in the middle of a big-league lineup. 

That evolution, which has of course included necessary mechanical adjustments to his swing, has been on full display over a period in which Gonzales' major-league return has helped spark a notably significant offensive turnaround. 

"When you first come up you're getting your feet wet and there's a lot of new stuff that you don't really know, but at the end of the day it is baseball and you're playing the same game," Gonzales said. "It's obviously the highest level, so for me that was a big thing in coming back up. Got my feet wet, tested it out, seeing what I need to adjust and work on it. Those adjustments that I can make now, I'm able to do it. I'm able to have faith in it and believe in it."