Photo provided by Matt LynchPITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Spencer Horwitz knows how good he’s done against Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Nick Martinez in his career.Entering play on Friday night, Horwitz was a perfect 7 for 7 off Martinez with two doubles, a home run, four RBI and a pair of walks.While he knows he sees Martinez well, the reason is not as obvious to Horwitz.“That’s a tough question,” Horwitz said when asked why the matchup is such a favorable one. “I’d say just something about his delivery. I guess I just pick it up really well.”Whatever the exact reason is, Horwitz continued his dominance over Martinez in the Pirates’ 5-1 win over the Rays at PNC Park.

Horwitz went 3 for 3 with a double against the Rays starter — now a perfect 10 for 10 against him — and drove in Pittsburgh’s first run of the game. Knowing how past meetings with Martinez have gone, Horwitz felt good going into the game.“It’s definitely an extra boost of confidence,” Horwitz explained. “Whenever you can see a guy more than once, it makes the at-bat way easier.

Now that I’m getting a little order, this is my second time, and this is my third season, I’m just seeing those guys and have that familiarity of what they want to do.”In his fourth trip to the plate, Horwitz drew a walk against Yoendrys Gómez and scored a run and scored on Brandon Lowe’s double off the wall in right-center field.It was the latest quality performance for Horwitz, who has heated up after a sluggish start to the season.“It’s kind of just settling in. What are we, 20 games in? This year was my first Opening Day and I was so jacked up for that and so jacked up for this season that I think I was trying to do too much,” he explained.

“Then it’s just gradually as the season’s started to progress, I’ve settled into myself.”Horwitz was hitting just .111 with a .311 through a small sample of six games to begin the season. But in 12 games since, the 28-year-old is batting .355 with two doubles, a home run and more walks (seven) than strikeouts (four).“Yeah, it’s great,” Horwitz said of his recent performance. “Great for me, great for the team.

Just keep going. That’s what it’s been for me my whole career. It’s ebbs and flows, but trust the work is gonna work and today it showed up.”Last year, Horwitz was the only player on the Pirates who was better than league-average.

In his first year with Pittsburgh, Horwitz’s 118 OPS+ was tops on the roster. Bryan Reynolds was second with a 99 OPS+.This year, however, the lineup around Horwitz is much improved. The Pirates offense has gotten off to a hot start with a couple offseason additions performing well and improved showings from Reynolds and Oneil Cruz.“I think it eases the pressure on a lot of guys,” Horwitz said of the improved lineup.

“I went from hitting second, third, or fourth and now I’m hitting seventh. I don’t think that’s a knock on me, I think that’s a complement to the other guys we brought in because they’re doing it day in and day out … We have lots of depth.”No matter where he’s hitting in this year’s lineup, the Pirates will be counting on continued production from Horwitz — even if he doesn’t get to face Martinez again.