Francisco Cervelli had to learn how to play baseball again. A number of injuries, including a broken left hamate bone, over the past two seasons caused the Pirates' 32-year-old catcher to develop bad habits both at the plate and when catching.
So, in addition to a new offseason workout regimen to improve his flexibility, he hired a catching coach who helped him change his stance behind the plate. Then, following the advice of Sean Rodriguez, he changed his batting stance. The exhaustive plan transformed Cervelli from a liability at the plate to a catalyst for the Pirates' offense over the past month.
Cervelli, starting his 21st game, hit a solo home run and drove in the go-ahead run Saturday night, lifting the Pirates to a 6-2 victory over the Cardinals at PNC Park. He has four home runs this month after hitting only five in 81 games in 2017, and his fifth multi-RBI game since the start of the season lifted the club back into first place in the Central Division.
"Amazing," Cervelli said afterward. "I’ve been working my whole life for things like this. This year, I’m healthy. That’s the most important thing. And we’re winning."
TAP ABOVE FOR BOXSCORE, STANDINGS, VIDEOThe Pirates, now 16-11 and on a four-game winning streak, scored five runs after the fifth inning and seven different players had at least one hit. They're now 1/2 game ahead of the Cardinals (15-11), Brewers and Cubs, and they'll go for a series sweep Sunday afternoon.
Cervelli leads all major league catchers with at least 70 at-bats in RBIs (20) and .OPS (.967). He's batting .307 and three of his four home runs were three-run shots. He matched a career high with six RBIs in the first game of the doubleheader against the Tigers on Wednesday and is batting .380 over his last 10 games.
It took him until July 9th last season to hit his fourth home run — he also had only 31 RBIs in 81 games in 2017 — and he only hit one in 101 games the previous season. Cervelli's improved athleticism, particularly at the plate, was on display in spring training, when he batted .405 with a 1.326 OPS in 37 at-bats by using his new stance.
Cervelli is now standing up straighter at the plate and is utilizing a slight leg kick to produce more bat speed. Jack Flaherty, the Cardinals' rookie starting pitcher, threw Cervelli a slider on an 0-2 count in the second inning, and Cervelli turned on the pitch for a 373-foot solo home run:
"Tonight he got a ball and he put a good swing on it," Clint Hurdle said. "We weren’t able to see much of that last year. You’ve seen a whole bunch of it through the month of April. And it’s not just to left field. Last night he hit two balls to right field. He’s hitting the ball all over the ballpark. He’s been a tough out."
The home run gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead, but the Cardinals answered in the third when Tommy Pham hit an RBI double off Trevor Williams. Williams, making his sixth start, allowed only two hits through five innings; however, he made one bad pitch in the sixth that cost him. Jose Martinez, the Cardinals' first baseman, doubled with one out and he scored when Marcell Ozuna singled to left on the ninth pitch of his at-bat, giving the Cardinals the 2-1 lead.
For the third time in three days, the Pirates' offense completed a comeback. Adam Frazier and Gregory Polanco drew back-to-back leadoff walks, and Frazier scored on an RBI single by Josh Bell. Then, with Bell on third, Cervelli watched as two pitches from reliever Dominic Leone cut out of the zone.
Ahead 2-0, Cervelli drove a cutter over the plate to deep center field and although it was caught at the warning track, it allowed Bell to tag and score to give the Pirates another lead. Cervelli is averaging 4.11 pitches per plate appearance — the 11th-highest mark in the National League — and he's walked nine times.
"I’ve always been disciplined at the plate, seeing pitches," Cervelli explained. "Now I feel more free. Sometimes I have my plans, and I look for one pitch. I stick with that. When you come with your brain you can do a lot of things with your hands. When your brain is too fast it’s not going to happen. Like one hitting coach told me, I’m trying to catch like Venezuela and hit like Italian. I have to be as soft as possible at the plate."
His first-pitch strikes are down, and his hard-contact rate is up. Also, Cervelli is swinging at fewer pitches outside the zone. He leads all major league catchers with a 1.2 fWAR, and his ground ball to fly ball ratio is nearly half of what it was last season.
None of it would be possible without health. Cervelli, who underwent surgery on the hamate bone in June 2016, was still experiencing pain in the hand throughout last season. It hindered his ability to catch pitches low in the zone, and it made him uncomfortable swinging a bat.
With the pain gone, Cervelli's pitch framing has improved, and Pirates pitchers had a 4.13 ERA with Cervelli behind the plate entering Saturday's game. Williams pitched the Pirates through the sixth inning, and three relievers — Michael Feliz, George Kontos and Edgar Santana — each pitched a scoreless inning to secure the win.
The Pirates have 16 wins before the end of April for only the second time in franchise history. Cervelli's team-high 20 RBIs are the most by a Pirates catcher in one month since Jason Kendall accomplished the feat in 1999, and it took an offseason filled with a number of new exercises, including a form of martial arts, instruction from a catching coach, and advice from a teammate.
"I started at the beginning; I learned how to play baseball again. ... So far it’s been good."
1. Williams consistent through six starts.
Williams doesn't have the velocity of many starting pitchers; however, his command is consistent and he usually finds a way to escape trouble. He has a 2.29 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and opponents are batting only .192 against him. The 26-year-old has now pitched through the sixth inning in five of his six starts.
Like Ivan Nova, Williams has the ability to get hitters out even if one of his most important pitches isn't effective. He wasn't able to throw his slider for strikes early against the Cardinals, which forced him to rely on his sinker and changeup. He needed 21 pitches for a clean first inning, and it caught up to him in the third with Pham's double off the Clemente Wall.
Martinez's double came at the end of a six-pitch at-bat and Ozuna hit a sinker low in the zone for the go-ahead RBI single. Williams retired eight hitters in three pitches or less and threw 64 of his 104 pitches for strikes.
"It’s knowing what you have today," Williams said of his consistency. "It was a little bit of an abnormality today with the slider not being there for me. Other than that, it was really knowing what’s going to work in any given day and adjusting to the hitters. It’s been working for us this year and we’ll continue do that."
He retired the side in order in three of the first four innings, and he now ranks fifth in ERA among National League pitchers with at least 30 innings. Williams got only five swinging strikes against the Cardinals and wasn't able to induce ground balls without his slider — he benefited from five fly outs — but he limited damage and kept the Pirates within striking distance.
"This guy at a young age, he recognizes what kind of pitcher he is," Cervelli said. "He’s not a power guy, but he throws fastballs. He gets people out with fastballs. He doesn’t go away from what he has. This guy is consistent in hitting the glove and making people swing the bat early."
2. Bell delivers but struggles continue.
Bell, hours before taking batting practice with his teammates Saturday afternoon, was hitting off a pitching machine with hitting coach Jeff Branson standing nearby. On several occasions, Bell would take a few swings before leaving the batter's box to talk with Branson.
The two were still talking about Bell's hitting mechanics an hour later when players were getting ready to take ground balls. The 25-year-old first baseman is trying to find a solution to what has ailed him at the plate. Entering Saturday, he had batted .143/.182/.214 over his previous 11 games with 11 strikeouts to two walks.
His swinging strike rate was up to 9.3 percent, and he is making less contact in the zone. Bell has 16 RBIs but he's batting .240 with a .641 OPS and one home run. His 25 strikeouts are the second-most on the team, and he's batting just .157 with two strikes.
He delivered against the Cardinals in the sixth, pulling a two-seam fastball to right-center to tie the score:
But he struck out with the bases loaded in the seventh inning when a four-seamer hit the handle of his bat and was caught by Yadier Molina. Bell went through a similar slump last season, when he batted .198 in May. His goal entering the season, though, was to have those cold streaks be much shorter.
He's spoken repeatedly of wanting to drive in 100 runs, and he'll need to fix the problem for this offense to fulfill its potential in 2018. After all, Hurdle has no plans of moving Bell out of the cleanup spot, and Corey Dickerson will cool down at some point, right?
"Bell’s going through a little bit of slump right now, but he’s still sitting on 16 RBIs and the month hasn’t closed," Hurdle said. "The home runs, I think they’ll come when they’re thrown and they’ve come in bunches at times, but he’s still going up battling."
3. Lineup needs Frazier to start producing.
Adam Frazier, batting leadoff with Josh Harrison on the disabled list, hasn't met expectations so far this season. He entered Saturday with a .222/.246/.548 slash line and 13 strikeouts to two walks. To be fair, his average has been negatively impacted by his struggles as a bench player. He is 0 for 8 as a pinch-hitter and 1 for 5 when entering the game as a sub. But he's batting just .144 in his 33 plate appearances as a second baseman and is only 1 for 9 leading off the game.
His .246 on-base percentage and his ground ball to fly ball ratio has doubled from last season. Frazier is also worth negative 0.4 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs. He has shown progress as of late, though. He singled twice against the Cardinals Saturday, although the Pirates were unable to capitalize, and he led off the sixth inning with a walk.
He's now hit safely in eight of his last 12 starts, including his two hits against the Tigers on Thursday, and is swinging at fewer pitches outside the strike zone than last season. Also, he's batting .321/.345/.464 when leading off an inning. That trend must continue.
"He gives us a nice edge up there and an ability to see pitches," Hurdle said. "Frazier can play the game up top. He’s got history doing it, he’s got experience doing it."