PHILADELPHIA — The weak fly ball soared in the air towards Gregory Polanco in right field at Citizens Bank Park.
With the Pirates leading by three runs and the Phillies' Daniel Nava on third and Freddy Galvis on first with one out in the seventh inning, Polanco took a few steps towards the ball before making the catch.
Polanco did not think twice about what he would do next.
"I was going home no matter what," Polanco told DKPittsburghSports.com. "Going home all the way."
When his left arm reared back and fired the ball towards home plate, Clint Hurdle yelled, "Second base, second base!"
Josh Bell, the cut-off man at first base, watched the ball fly over his head and towards home plate. Josh Harrison, after seeing Galvis late to tag first base, yelled, "Four, four!"
Kimera Bartee, the Pirates' outfielders' coach, repeated to himself, "Get it down, get it down, get it down."
Polanco did not get the throw down, but it was right on the mark, just left of Francisco Cervelli, who took one step over, caught the ball and tagged Nava for the inning-ending double play in the Pirates' 5-2 win over the Phillies on Wednesday night.
The play showed the immense talent that Bartee has been waiting to appear in a season when Polanco is batting .246 and struggling at times in right field.
"He can be the total package," Bartee, who has worked with Polanco for six years, said. "That showed it. He comes out with a consistent work day and has fire to be the best. When he’s at his best, there aren’t many who can mess with him. I can speak on that."
When Polanco threw long toss in the outfield before the game, he turned to Bartee and told him his arm felt the best it had all season.
Bartee had been waiting for that comment for 67 games.
Between the right hamstring strain that landed him on the disabled list on May 17 and the sprained ankle he suffered on May 29, Polanco had not quite gotten comfortable in the outfield.
He also was shifted from right field to left and back to right over the past season.
"You could just see it in long toss," Bartee said.
The Pirates, now 39-46, needed it to secure the momentum Gerrit Cole gained by throwing five scoreless innings after allowing a two-run homer to Maikel Franco in the first.
Daniel Hudson entered to pitch the seventh and allowed a one-out double off the wall in right-center field. Galvis then lined a single to left. That's when Franco stepped to the plate.
Behind in the count 2-0, Hudson threw an 86-mph slider on the outside corner to Franco, who sent the weak fly ball to left. That's when Polanco unleashed:
"It went right over my head and right to Cervi," Bell said. "The guy who was at first was late tagging anyway, so there was no play at second. He could air it out there. Screw it. I love it. I haven’t gotten that hyped in a baseball game in a long time."
Harrison had a similar reaction. Once he glanced over to see Galvis off the bag, he yelled to get Polanco's attention to make the throw home:
Hurdle did not see Galvis' position at first base, but as the ball soared toward Cervelli he realized that Polanco was about to execute a throw few have the arm, or the confidence, to make. Once Bartee saw Galvis off the bag, he quietly wanted Polanco to attempt the throw.
"I’ve seen it from him," Bartee said. "I’ve seen him do it. I’ve been with him through six or seven years now and I knew he could make that throw."
Polanco did not keep the throw low like Bartee taught him, but Galvis stayed at first and everyone watched as the ball reached Cervelli and the tag was applied.
"I was a straight high school coach — no disrespect to high school coaches — but I’m yelling, 'Second base, second base. Wait a minute. Great play, great play,' " said the manager. "It turned out to be a big play."
Both Bartee and Hurdle said they would have scolded Polanco had the throw been off the mark. He had 10 outfield assists in 2016 and 13 in 2015, but the play is to the cut-off man in that situation.
It was a risk worth taking, Polanco said.
"Not too high," Polanco said with a grin. "That one I let it go. I didn’t mean to throw it that high, but it just went that way. I was very happy because I haven’t thrown anyone out like that lately. I always love to do that. That can help get the confidence back."
Aside from preserving the three-run lead, it was the type of play that Polanco said could fuel him at the plate. He went 1 for 4 on Wednesday with a single to right field in the fourth inning and twice popped up to short.
Since July 1 of last season, Polanco is batting .232 with 18 home runs, 62 RBI, 92 strikeouts and 37 walks in 152 games.
His emergence at the plate would be a much-needed jolt for an offense that ranks 26th in Major League Baseball with a .241 average, but he did not need to put on an impeccable physical display for his teammates to think production at the plate is coming soon.
"It’s not a matter of waiting to see it; we know it’s going to happen," Harrison said. "He can play. ... He’s right where he needs to be. He’s going to be good."
LANCE’S THREE THOUGHTS
• Cole was inconsistent again, but he's getting closer to where both he and Ray Searage hope for him to be.
He struck out eight batters and allowed only two hits after the first inning, but he neded 113 pitches in the outing. Still, his changeup was remarkable at times, like fooling Andres Blanco for the strikeout in the sixth inning:
The right-hander rebounded nicely after allowing seven runs on 10 hits in a loss to the Giants last Friday. In his three starts before that meltdown, Cole was 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA in 20 innings.
His rebound against the Phillies lowered his ERA to 4.43 and he now has 94 strikeouts in 107 2/3 innings this season.
"I thought he was very strong tonight," Hurdle said. "As a matter of fact, some of the sequences tonight were as good as he’s had all season."
Cole did allow his 19th home run this season when he threw a hanging curveball to Franco on a 2-2 count in the first inning, but he then started to command his fastball and that made his breaking pitches — particularly the changeup — that much more effective.
"It's guts," Cole said.
Though the Pirates are just 2-3 over their past five games, this last turn through the rotation has confirmed to pitching coach Ray Searage that the progress he's seen in bullpen sessions is real.
Over the past five games, the Pirates' starting pitchers have a 2.79 ERA with a 1.00 WHIP, allowing nine runs on 23 hits with 24 strikeouts in 29 innings.
"I feel good about where this group is," he told me Tuesday afternoon.
• David Freese’s role is likely to change in less than two weeks, but he’s making a case to stick in the starting lineup after playing poorly in May.
After batting .321 in April, Freese hit only .179 in May. He had somewhat of a rebound by going 20 for 84 in June, and he is again providing quality at-bats. He delivered a one-out double to deep left-center field in the second inning, but was stranded there after Phillies starter Ben Lively got back-to-back outs.
Freese then hit a sacrifice fly to center in the fourth to score Bell from third, drew a lead off walk in the sixth before scoring on Jordy Mercer’s triple and walked again in the eighth.
With Adam Frazier struggling as of late, Freese could stick at third base when Starling Marté is eligible to be reinstated from suspension on July 18.
• With Frazier in a 6-for-35 slump, Hurdle made the right decision to start John Jaso in left field and leave José Osuna on the bench.
Entering Wednesday, Jaso was batting .326 in his previous 33 games and had reached base in 27 of his last 37. Against right-handers, he was batting .253 with six home runs and 20 RBI.
Osuna’s numbers against righties are impressive. He is batting .260 with five home runs and 17 RBI against them, but he has not looked sharp at the plate lately.
He’s in a 5-for-24 slump over his last 10 games. The better long-term decision would be to get Osuna as many at-bats as possible, but the Pirates need to win now.
Jaso went 1 for 4 with a single to lead off the Pirates’ four-run fourth inning, but his error in the sixth inning allowed Odubel Herrera to advance to second on a sharp line drive. Osuna, though, has also struggled out there.
It makes sense to play Jaso now, but that will change if the Pirates fall out of the Central Division race.
ON DECK
Chad Kuhl takes the mound for the final game of the series. Kuhl allowed two runs in six innings against the Giants last Saturday and has a 5.26 ERA with a 2-6 record this season. Jeremy Hellickson starts for the Phillies with first pitch at 6:05 p.m.