The Cardinals' five-run lead through five innings did not quiet the Pirates' dugout at PNC Park. It only intensified the conversations. Hitters were talking about what pitches they were seeing at the plate and offering each other advice. At the end of each inning, they agreed to rally around one goal.
"'Hey, chip away; it’s 5-0, but hey, we can,'" Clint Hurdle recalled later. First, they chipped away with two runs in the sixth, including a solo home run by Gregory Polanco. Then, they exploded for three in the ninth, tying the score with a two-run double by Jordy Mercer. Finally, they completed the comeback, as Starling Marte singled to center to score David Freese in the 11th inning, giving the Pirates a 6-5 win over the Cardinals Friday night to open the three-game series.
The Pirates, now 15-11 and 1/2 game behind the Cardinals and Brewers for first place, have seven comeback wins, including four in the final at-bat. This latest thriller in front of an announced crowd of 15,748 fans was their third consecutive win, and it embodied the identity this team has tried to establish in 2018.
"We keep fighting," Mercer said. "We know what type of team we are. We’re never out of it. I think our lineup is really deep. That’s the cool thing about it. We can start a rally from anywhere."
TAP ABOVE FOR BOXSCORE, STANDINGS, VIDEOThe Pirates did fail to capitalize on a few opportunities. With no outs, Mercer was stranded at third base in the ninth and the Pirates left two on in the 10th. The momentum of the game shifted when they failed to score a run in the second inning after loading the bases with one out.
Steven Brault, making his fifth start, then gave up three runs in the third, including a solo home run by Jedd Gyorko, and one more in both the fourth and fifth innings. The Pirates were down 5-0 when he was removed with two outs in the fifth after he gave up five hits and walked three.
"It was a big momentum shift for me in the bottom of the second," Hurdle said. "We got a chance to do something, we didn’t, they turn around and score three in the top. Now the game feels more distant than it is, but it’s not. The feelings aren’t facts. That’s one thing we kept talking about through today’s game."
Miles Mikolas, the Cardinals' starter, retired nine of 10 batters between the third and fifth innings. This Pirates rally began with Polanco. After striking out in his previous at-bat, Polanco swung and missed at a changeup for a first strike. Mikolas threw him a second in the same location, but Polanco hit this one 427 feet to right-center for a solo home run.
Marte and Josh Bell reached on back-to-back singles and Corey Dickerson's fly out to left allowed Marte to tag from third to cut the deficit to three runs. "As soon as we scored, I think two runs, you could just feel the vibe pick up," Dickerson said. "It just felt like something was going to happen. ... We felt like we were going to do something."
It didn't happen yet, though. Mikolas retired the side in order in the seventh and Bud Norris made the Pirates strand a runner on first in the eighth. The deficit stayed at three runs with the help of Tyler Glasnow, who pitched three scoreless innings with four strikeouts, and Richard Rodriguez pitched a clean ninth inning.
Dickerson led off the bottom of the ninth against Cardinals closer Greg Holland and hit a first-pitch fastball to right for a double. Francisco Cervelli followed with a single to right, and Dickerson scored when Cardinals first baseman Jose Martinez was unable to field a ground ball from Colin Moran, cutting the deficit to two.
With Cervelli on third and Chad Kuhl, who entered as a pinch-runner for Moran at first, Mercer hit the seventh pitch of his at-bat, a slider, over Tommy Pham's head in center for a double and error with still no outs:
"Once we scratched and clawed, we could feel that momentum," Mercer said. "The dugout was starting to amp up a little bit. … We just kept rolling. It kind of just erupted."
They had to wait to complete the comeback. Max Moroff's fly ball to center was too shallow for Mercer to tag and both Polanco and Marte struck out to end the ninth.
Still, the message remained the same.
"When you get further down and further behind, guys are having to come out of the bullpen, you try to just be more simple at the plate," Dickerson said. "You have to know you have to pass it to a few guys to get something going. That’s what we talked about was keeping it simple up there. The more simple the better."
That's what Marte did. Jordan Hicks, a 21-year-old right-hander with a 101 mph sinker, walked Freese with one out in the 11th. Then, with two outs and two strikes, Marte did this:
He didn't see a pitch in the strike zone during the at-bat; however, he extended the barrel of his bat out for the team's second consecutive walk-off win. "It was unbelievable to watch," Dickerson said. "That was electric stuff. ... With that simple approach we kind of expected him to put something in play. We always do."
The Pirates are batting .281 as a team with runners in scoring position — the fifth-highest mark in the majors — and have the league's third-highest batting average in the ninth inning or later. They've won three 1-0 games in the first month of the season for the first time in franchise history and are ranked among the top offenses in the league in several categories.
They had seven hits in 19 at-bats from the sixth through the ninth inning and received 6 1/3 scoreless innings from their bullpen.
"The guys are going to keep playing," Hurdle said. "They’re going to keep fighting. They’re going to keep taking their swings. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t."
1. Brault's time in the rotation could be running out.
Brault struggled with command again. He retired six consecutive batters to begin the game, only to allow a home run to Gyorko to lead off the third. The Cardinals scored two more runs that inning, and six balls in play against Brault had an exit velocity over 100 mph. Only 10 of his 24 pitches in the third inning were strikes, and he failed to pitch through the sixth inning for the fourth time in five starts.
"It wasn't his best stuff tonight," Hurdle said. "He didn't let the game get completely away, but it wasn't his best stuff."
Brault was pulled after 4 2/3 innings, throwing 47 of his 82 pitches for strikes, and he now has a 5.06 ERA with 12 strikeouts to 11 walks as a starter. Opponents also have a .341 on-base percentage against him. Joe Musgrove, who pitched a simulated game Wednesday and has been on the disabled list since April 2, will likely take Brault's spot in the rotation after completing a rehab assignment.
However, he hasn't started more than 15 games in one season since being drafted 46th overall by the Blue Jays in 2011. Musgrove has also struggled as a starter in the major leagues, posting a 5.37 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in 25 career starts. On the other hand, he had a 0.81 WHIP with 39 strikeouts to six walks in 35 2/3 innings as a reliever with the Astros.
Nick Kingham, a 26-year-old right-hander, is expected to make his major-league debut — nearly eight years after he was drafted — for the Pirates in a spot start Sunday. He has a 1.99 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in four starts at Triple-A. None of the other four starters in Indianapolis are among the club's MLB.com top-15 prospects, and Mitch Keller, the Pirates' top prospect, has started only 11 total games at Double-A Altoona since being promoted there late last season.
Simply put, the Pirates don't have many options if Brault or Musgrove can't take hold of the fifth spot in the rotation, and Brault's explanation for his struggles this time did sound a bit concerning.
"I’m not a guy who’s going to spot up every pitch," he said. "That’s just not what I do, but I need to be able to have command. For me, I have better command when I’m just rearing back and letting it go. So, if I take my foot off the gas a little bit and kind of get relaxed then I have some trouble with that. It just needs to be more consistent."
2. Hurdle showing patience with Polanco.
Fans are calling for Polanco to either sit or get moved out of the two-hole, but the Pirates don't have viable alternatives. Polanco was leading the league in RBIs only two weeks ago and was batting .308 with runners on base entering the game. Additionally, Hurdle didn't want to move Polanco out of that spot since Marte and Dickerson have been outstanding in the three- and five-hole, respectively.
Polanco's problem is the long swing. He's fixed it in the past, so the Pirates have confidence he'll do so again. Mikolas took advantage of that weakness in the first inning by pounding the inside part of the plate with fastballs to get Polanco to ground out. Polanco, though, waited for a pitch to hit in the sixth and responded with his first home run since April 12.
He singled in the eighth inning, but he struck out with a runner on third in the ninth inning despite not seeing a pitch inside the strike zone. Hurdle said there have been times Polanco's swing has improved, but he's still looking for consistency.
"Little bit here and there," Hurdle said. "More work to do. He’s been stuck on five and 15 for a while. That ball was pounded. I liked the single through the left side, and he had another opportunity later and he didn’t get a strike. He didn’t swing at a strike. He’s still working on things."
3. Best Glasnow has looked in the major leagues.
Glasnow was outstanding Friday night, throwing 22 of his 32 pitches for strikes, striking out the side in the eighth inning. He threw a 99-mph fastball to Gyorko that broke from one side of the plate to the other. The cutting action on Glasnow's fastball has proven difficult for hitters to track.
"He incorporated a slider during the outing that played well for him," Hurdle said. "I think he retired six guys on three pitches or less. I don’t know when, the last time that happened. Efficient work. Pitch count was down. Throwing strikes. Really, really good stuff."
Opponents are batting only .207 against him, yet he's struggled with efficiency since beginning the season in the bullpen. He's walked 10 batters in 15 1/3 innings, which has contributed to his 1.43 WHIP. But he may have found a weapon to complement the movement on his fastball.
Glasnow has been working on a slider in the bullpen over the past week, and he chose to finally use it in a game. He told reporters he threw six against the Cardinals, including one at 87 mph to strike out Kolten Wong to end the eighth inning.
"It’s been easier for me to throw for strikes," Glasnow said of the slider. "I’ve been playing with it in my throwing program and on the mound. I think it’s one of those things; it’s a breaking pitch I can throw for strikes easier than a curveball. … It put me in a good spot tonight."