Corey Dickerson stepped into the batter's box at PNC Park on Thursday afternoon, choked up a few inches on the handle of his bat, and dug in his cleats to face the Tigers' Alex Wilson. He stood patiently, watching a first-pitch two-seam fastball high and inside get called for a strike. Then, when his pitch came, he swung.
The ball sailed high in the air and Dickerson watched as it headed toward the Clemente Wall, walking slowly up the first-base line until he saw it land in the outstretched hands of a fan for a 374-foot walk-off solo home run in the ninth inning to give the Pirates a 1-0 victory and another series win, having taken two of three from Detroit.
Dickerson, a menace for opposing pitchers since joining the Pirates, helped improve the team's record to 14-11 after Ivan Nova pitched eight shutout innings. The victory helped them remain 2 1/2 games behind the first-place Cardinals, who will be in Pittsburgh for a three-game series this weekend, but more important, the at-bat was a microcosm of all that Dickerson has brought to this club since arriving two months ago.
"It’s a shot in the arm," Clint Hurdle said, beaming afterward. "We’ve been scuffling. We win a series and you get the dean on your staff to step up. Corey is going up there like [Joey] Votto every once in a while now with that two-strike approach, and there’s almost more bat on the bottom than there is on the top. He sits there, rides the ball out and he’s been swinging the bat aggressively."
TAP ABOVE FOR BOXSCORE, STANDINGSDickerson is now batting .314/.348/.500 with two home runs, eight doubles and 13 RBIs in 22 games. It's a small sample size; however, how he's achieved those numbers bodes well for future success. The 28-year-old is averaging a career-low 3.29 pitches per plate appearance, and his first-pitch strike percentage is 67 percent — a six-percent increase from last season.
Pitchers have attempted to take advantage of Dickerson's aggressive approach, but he's shown the ability to adjust quickly. Although he's seen fewer pitches inside the strike zone this season, Dickerson has made contact on 87 percent of pitches in the zone — an 11-percent increase from last season — and his swinging strike percentage is down.
Opponents have tried throwing him a variety of pitches — he struggled against fastballs the past two seasons — but Dickerson's explicit goal is to take advantage of mistakes in areas where he can do damage, no matter what is thrown. That is a characteristic the Pirates lacked during their offensive drought last week.
"That's me," Dickerson said earlier this week. "I'm going to be aggressive. There are times when I'll be more patient, depending on the pitcher, but for the most part I'm going to swing when I see my pitch."
His first at-bat against the Tigers (10-13) was another example of that approach. He swung and missed at a first-pitch changeup from Michael Fulmer, who struck out nine in six shutout innings, before watching another changeup get called for ball one. Then, Dickerson saw a two-seamer over the plate and drove the pitch down the left field line, although it was caught by Victor Reyes.
Last week, hitting coach Jeff Branson told DKPittsburghSports.com that his hitters were putting too much pressure on themselves, which hindered their ability to make quick adjustments. He wanted more composure at the plate. Dickerson has shown he has that in spades.
Although he struck out 286 times in 2017 and 2016 combined, he's shown an innate ability to hit with two strikes or when behind in the count. Dickerson is batting .281/.324/.500 in a two-strike count and his .355 average when behind in the count is the fourth-highest mark in the majors among hitters with at least 30 at-bats.
To compare, Colin Moran is batting .222 in such situations. Dickerson often chokes up on his bat as part of that approach to create better leverage, and he did so against Wilson with the score tied in the ninth inning. The first-pitch strike caused Dickerson to wait and he swung at this slider for the decisive hit:
It was his second heroic moment in less than a month. Dickerson's decision to bunt in the ninth inning against the Marlins on April 14 scored Starling Marte to help the Pirates win. He wanted to do the same in front of an announced crowd of 12,049 Thursday after what Nova was able to accomplish on the mound.
"Score a run any way possible," he said after the home run. "Fulmer is a really good pitcher. Nova pitched unbelievable today. He got out of a lot of jams. He’s a smart pitcher. Calm pitcher. Great composure. Definitely wanted to feed off that and we wanted to get a run over for him. He pitched a heck of a ballgame."
Nova allowed only six hits and struck out five batters, forcing the Tigers to strand three runners on third base. Felipe Vázquez escaped trouble in the ninth inning after he loaded the bases with no outs, getting a pop fly and pair of groundouts to keep the score tied in the ninth inning.
The Pirates managed only six hits and were 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position — Adam Frazier was their only player with two hits — but they were able to capitalize on a mistake to win a second consecutive game for the first time since April 15 and 16 in Miami.
Dickerson went 1 for 4, including a pop fly to the catcher to strand a runner in the fourth inning, but he's now hit safely in 15 of his last 18 games and is batting .389 with runners in scoring position.
"He’s aggressive and he’s going to make something happen," Hurdle said. "To turn on that ball late, I love the man in the box, and I love the way he’s brought his game to the outfield and everything else he’s done. … Good looking series moving forward for us against a really good team."
1. Nova's savvy on the mound again.
Nova had success in his last outing by mixing speeds and changing the hitters' eye level with high four-seam fastballs. He chose to attack the Tigers differently. They have a veteran lineup featuring Miguel Cabrera and are among the hottest offenses in the majors over the past eight days, but they also can lack discipline at times.
The Tigers were averaging only 3.77 pitches per plate appearance, the third-lowest mark in the majors. So, Nova chose to pitch to contact. Such a strategy can backfire if command becomes an issue. It wasn't for Nova, though. He threw 63 of his 93 pitches for strikes and needed only 74 pitches to get through seven innings by pounding the bottom of the strike zone with sinkers.
"Nova was Nova today," Francisco Cervelli said. “When you see guys swinging and you see he's pitching in the eighth with 70-something pitches, that's Nova. Make people swing. Keep the ball down. Be able to control corners and read hitters. That's him. He's getting better and better. He's back."
Nova has now pitched through the sixth inning in four consecutive starts, striking out 23 batters with zero walks during that span. He threw 53 two-seam fastballs against the Tigers, and it proved to be the right formula. He allowed a leadoff triple in the first on a hanging curveball to Leonys Martin but responded by getting three consecutive groundouts, including one against Cabrera, an 11-time all-star and two-time MVP.
The Tigers had another runner reach third in the third inning, only for Nova to get another one of his 13 ground-ball outs. Nova knows the Tigers' lineup well. He struggled being efficient against them in the season opener, walking three batters and throwing 10 of his first 14 pitches for balls. He's now 2-1 with a 1.03 WHIP and performing like the ace of this rotation.
Twice he got Cabrera to ground out with a runner on third and one out.
"With a lineup like they have, sometimes it’s tough to stay efficient," he said. "They have a great group of hitters. Back in the first inning with the aggression they have, the sinker was working really, really good. Since the first inning I knew and we kept throwing it. Made sure we didn’t get too may pitches over the plate."
2. Hurdle had a fair argument in the eighth.
Hurdle was ejected following the bottom of the eighth inning after arguing with second-base umpire Mike Winters, and he had a fair argument. He was not pleased that Frazier was called out at third base when trying to avoid a tag on a ground ball hit to Tigers third baseman Niko Goodrum.
Winters did not call Frazier out until Starling Marte was ruled safe at first base:
"I didn’t like the call," Hurdle said. "What confuses me is maybe you got to him. Maybe you’ve got to look to see if the guy is out or safe at first before you make the call at third. I don’t know, but the angle, he said he’s all over it, and I just don’t think he’s all over it. He’s the ump. He made the call, call stuck."
The ruling was Frazier stepped out of the baseline, but Josh Harrison has been ruled safe on several plays where he appeared to run further from the baseline than Frazier did. Frazier stepped to his right to avoid the tag, while Harrison has dove out of the way of a tag or slid around a player to get to a base.
"The other hard part for us is we’ve seen Josh Harrison get out of some things that if you watch some replays of that, he’s not out of the baseline, and you watch the replay of that and he’s out of the baseline?" Hurdle said. "I think it goes back to interpretation. That’s the hard part."
3. Rodriguez is worth every penny.
Sean Rodriguez, re-acquired from the Braves last August, is among the Pirates' top-10 highest-paid players, but it was a worthwhile investment. He's batting only .179 in 39 at-bats; however, the 33-year-old is an above-average defender at almost every position he plays for the Pirates.
Hurdle told reporters Wednesday that Rodriguez is among the best at converting a double play at second base, comparing his ability to Neil Walker. Rodriguez made an over-the-shoulder catch in the seventh inning of last night's doubleheader, robbing Jose Iglesias of extra bases.
Then, Rodriguez, starting at shortstop on his birthday, made another spectacular play Thursday, diving in foul territory in shallow left to catch a ball hit by Victor Reyes. He also made a savvy stop in the ninth with the bases loaded and two outs, sliding to his left to stop a ball heading toward center field and throwing out the runner at second.
He and Moran both played strong defense to assist Nova in his mission to create weak contact with a sinker.
"Tremendous, man," Nova said. "I told them between innings, man, ‘Stay active because I’m pitching for contact. I saw they’re hitting the ball right to you guys so you have to stay active.' They did pretty well. Especially without fly balls, anything can happen."