The Pirates' depth took a hit when Josh Harrison broke a bone in his left hand, forcing them to recall Max Moroff to serve as a backup infielder and thrusting Adam Frazier back into a starting role. That depth was put to the test Wednesday afternoon at PNC Park when Clint Hurdle chose to rest four regulars; however, his reserves helped snap the offense's drought.
Sean Rodriguez hit a two-run homer, David Freese added a two-run double in the fifth inning to back Chad Kuhl, and the Pirates defeated the Rockies, 10-2, to avoid a series sweep and the team's first three-game losing streak of the season.
The Pirates, now 12-6 and still atop the Central Division standings, had nine players contribute to the 13-hit effort, and Kuhl allowed one run in six innings, but it was the performance of the reserves that sparked optimism with the club leaving Pittsburgh for the other side of the Commonwealth.
"We were kind of thinking about you have your every day guys getting a breather, and you want to take pride in stepping up and making it kind of seem like a seamless transition," Freese said afterward. "We’ve shown that getting in there. Today was a day where we kind of showed up and kept it going. Helped get a W."
TAP ABOVE FOR BOXSCORE, STANDINGSThe Pirates' scoreless innings streak stretched to 15 innings before they overcame a 1-0 deficit in the fourth inning against Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland. First, Freese, starting only his fifth game of the season, worked a two-out, six-pitch walk in the fourth inning. Three pitches later, Rodriguez deposited this hanging changeup over the wall in left field:
Elias Diaz, filling in for Francisco Cervelli behind the plate, then singled to center and scored on a double by Moroff — the result of a well-executed hit and run, giving the Pirates a 3-0 lead.
"I think it’s healthy for the team," Hurdle said of his bench's effort. "It’s healthy for the individuals. ... You incorporate all the information you’ve got. You give a couple guys that have been playing just about every inning some time down. Other guys come in and perform really, really well. Swing the bat in key situations. Played solid defense. It was a really good day for our team."
Rodriguez, starting in left field in place of Corey Dickerson, went 1 for 2 with two walks. Freese, getting another start with a lefty on the mound, added one hit in four at-bats. Diaz went 1 for 2, and Moroff went 1 for 4. Frazier, who began the season as a bench player, had three hits with two runs and an RBI single in the sixth inning to score Colin Moran.
Even Enny Romero, a left-handed reliever acquired off waivers last week, doubled in the eighth inning for his first big-league hit and scored on a sacrifice fly. That was enough for Kuhl, who allowed four hits and had four strikeouts.
Following the acquisitions of Moran and Dickerson, Neal Huntington spoke of the impact both additions would have on the Pirates' bench. After all, Freese, Frazier and Rodriguez could be used as reserves, addressing one of the club's bigger weaknesses last year. When injuries struck and Starling Marte was suspended, Hurdle had to turn to a variety of bench players, including John Jaso, Gift Ngoepe, Phil Gosselin, Alen Hanson and Danny Ortiz, among others.
Not one of those players is still with the organization. Now, the Pirates are investing a combined $10 million of their $83 million opening-day payroll on Rodriguez and Freese. Those two have appeared in a combined 64 postseason games, 51 by Freese, and have played in a total of 1,969 regular-season games.
Freese was the World Series MVP in 2011 and was a Gold Glove finalist last season. Meanwhile, Rodriguez is only two seasons removed from hitting 18 home runs with 56 RBIs as a bench player for the Pirates. This isn't an unfamiliar role for Rodriguez. He's performed admirably as a utilityman before.
Freese, on the other hand, has started most of his 1,003 games. His two-run double in the fifth was a microcosm of what he brings to the Pirates' bench, though. The 34-year-old laid off of an off-speed pitch before fouling off four inside fastballs. Then, on the 10th pitch of the at-bat, he found his pitch:
"He’s been able to do this throughout his career, and today, that’s a snapshot of, I think, David as a hitter," Hurdle said. "He gets in there, he plants, anchors in, fights and battles. He’s got a pretty good eye."
Freese has a career slash line of .284/.375/.416 with runners in scoring position, but he's 0 for 5 as a pinch-hitter this season. He, Rodriguez, Diaz and Frazier have a combined 15 RBIs in 101 at-bats this season. To compare, Chris Stewart, Ngoepe, Ortiz, Gosselin and Hanson had a combined 13 RBIs in 303 at-bats last year.
"It’s all contagious," Josh Bell said of the reserves' work Wednesday. Bell added two hits and drove in three runs, including a two-run double in the eighth inning. Jordy Mercer also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. The Pirates had batted only .206 with 37 strikeouts to 10 walks in their previous five games, but the effort — including five hits in 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position — has them ranked among the best offenses in baseball.
"You want to salvage the series and move on," Freese said. "Those are important. Like Colorado over there, they win two and they’re thinking, ‘Let’s grab that extra one.’ We have to counter and take it away from them. … Today was a big one."
1. Kuhl with another weird outing.
As the game unfolded, it appeared Kuhl's mistakes would eventually lead to a few runs for the Rockies, but the 25-year-old right-hander found a way to emerge almost unscathed. Most of the Rockies' hard contact was hit right to a Pirates defender. Marte made two catches at the warning track, and Rodriguez made another.
Kuhl threw 58 of his 98 pitches for strikes, falling behind often. He forced the Rockies to strand six on base, including two runners in the second, fourth and fifth innings. Chris Iannetta's 432-foot solo home run into the Pirates' bullpen was Kuhl's only extra-base hit allowed, and he limited the impact of the middle of the Rockies' order.
He walked four batters, including two in a row with two outs in the fourth inning, and hit Charlie Blackmon with a pitch with two outs in the fifth. Kuhl's ERA is at 4.57 and he's 2-1 this season, but he has walked three or more hitters in two of his last three starts. This is the first time he has completed the sixth inning, though, and he used his slider to accomplish the feat, as he explained afterward:
Kuhl retired the side in order in the sixth, striking out Blackmon with a backdoor slider to end his outing.
"There's room for growth with the pitch efficiency," Hurdle said.
2. The best solution for middle relief is ... long starts.
The Pirates have yet to have a starter fail to complete the fifth inning, and they're averaging 5.8 innings pitched per game started — the fourth-highest mark in the majors. They've only bequeathed 19 runners to their relievers this season, which is tied for the fifth-lowest mark.
That last number is important for the Pirates' middle-relief struggles. The starters are doing their part in not putting those inexperienced bullpen arms in difficult situations. That said, the club's bullpen has shown some signs of progress as of late. Edgar Santana threw two scoreless innings Tuesday, and Kyle Crick added a scoreless inning with two strikeouts Wednesday.
Hurdle is showing trust in the starters, as they've averaged 92 pitches per game started, despite some issues with walks. That will need to continue.
"That makes seasons go a lot quicker, in all honesty," Freese said of starters pitching deeper. "Pitching is the most important thing for a club, when it comes to battling for the division. You obviously have to score runs, but when you can get the ball one through five and they give you strong innings, it's going to benefit everybody."
3. Bell possibly heating up after scuffling a bit.
Bell, who was five for his last 28 entering the game, has scuffled a bit early this season, batting .278 with 17 strikeouts to seven walks. Entering Wednesday, he was worth negative-0.8 wins above replacement, and his strikeout rate is up nearly four percent from last season.
Additionally, he was struggling against left-handers before his double in the eighth, but he also has seen only 36.7 percent of pitches inside the zone, compared to 42.8 percent last season. That number, Bell explained, is a product of him being overaggressive early in counts, and opposing pitchers have caught on.
"I feel like I kind of earned that," he said. "If I’m going to be so first-pitch ready the first couple of weeks, they’re going to dance around [the strike zone]. I have to take my walks or at least have longer at-bats. I’m going to try to do that."
Bell's double came on an eight-pitch at-bat where he didn't swing at the first pitch, and Hurdle explained the mild struggles as the result of Bell learning it's OK to take a called first strike if it's a pitch he can't do damage on.
4. Romero shows promise on the mound. Oh, and he can hit.
Romero, 27, allowed one run in two innings in his Pirates debut, striking out three and allowing three hits in his first outing since April 3. He used his four-seam fastball, slider, cutter and curveball to keep the Rockies off-balance, but he did have some command issues in the eighth inning.
He allowed a one-out double to Gerardo Parra, who scored on a fielder's choice. Then, Romero used his curveball to get two strikeouts in the ninth inning. Romero's delivery can speed up on him, much like Felipe Vázquez, and Ray Searage has been trying to help him address the issue over the past three days.
"I think he made a nice contribution today to get two innings out of him," Hurdle said. "He hadn’t pitched in two weeks, so to be able to do that, under 30 pitches in two innings, I thought was really good."
Oh, and his one-out double in the eighth inning had an exit velocity of 100.7 mph.
Romero expressed confidence in his ability to hit because he plays in a Sunday softball league in the Dominican Republic during the offseason. His teammates sure enjoyed it. "I'm not surprised because I can hit,” he said.
5. Polanco's swing a cause for concern.
Polanco's swing suddenly has reverted back to being too long. He's always going to have a bit of length to his swing. After all, he's 6-foot-5. But getting too long slows his swing and leaves him susceptible to inside pitches. That, Hurdle said, is why Polanco has struggled since leaving Chicago, caught in a 1-for-19 slump with five strikeouts.
It should be a concern that he has started to have the problem so soon after his hot start. A short swing helped him lead the league with 15 RBIs, but the Pirates will have to draw up some sort of plan, perhaps a different pregame routine in the cage, to stop this from becoming a recurring problem.
"I don't think any differently," Hurdle said when asked if Polanco has been pitched to differently. "He's going to see secondary pitches in offensive counts. He's been seeing them for years. There are some guys with top velocity that are going to work him tight and some guys are going to work him away. ... It goes back to counterpunching for him and getting back to that shortest stroke a 6-6 man can have, and we've seen it. Right now, there's a little bit too much length in it."