MILWAUKEE — As Starling Marte rounded first base at Miller Park in the fifth inning, Kimera Bartee yelled, "You're going four!" Marte sprinted toward second, rounded the base and third-base coach Joey Cora was already waving him home.
Once he reached third, Marte looked back and saw the Brewers had no chance of throwing him out, so he slowed down and crossed home plate for his first career inside-the-park homer. The well-struck ball off the wall in left-center field drove in two runs in the fifth inning, helping the Pirates snap a four-game losing streak with a 6-4 win Friday night.
It was Marte's fourth home run of the season and it backed Nick Kingham in his second major-league start; however, the feat also demonstrated why speed like Marte's can contradict the analytics being used by teams across the league.
"Wow, I enjoyed watching that," Bartee, the Pirates' first-base coach, told DKPittsburghSports.com afterward. "To see him glide around the bases was amazing. That brings me back to a time when I could run."
TAP ABOVE FOR BOXSCORE, STANDINGS, VIDEOPlayers are often discouraged from running. After all, analytics determine stealing bases and taking an extra base are not worth the risk.
As a result, stolen bases have steadily dropped in baseball over the past 20 years. Only three players stole 40 or more bases last season, compared to eight in 2007 and 11 in 1997.
"It's risk versus reward," Bartee explained. "With analytics now, speed hasn't completely vanished but it’s not as much of a priority anymore. ... It’s kind of diminished a little bit. It’s still something you want to have, but it's not nearly as much of a priority as it was 10 or 15 years ago."
Although Marte didn't steal a base for what proved to be the game's most decisive play, his aggression on the bases ensured the Pirates scored two runs on his hit. With Gregory Polanco on first base and the Pirates leading 3-1, Marte struck a 93-mph fastball from Junior Guerra off the top of the wall in left-center field — 407 feet from home plate — and the ball caromed sharply past Brewers center fielder Lorenzo Cain and into right-center.
"My entire life I’ve been waiting for something like this, especially when I started playing in the minor leagues," Marte said through team interpreter Mike Gonzalez. "It’s something I’ve dreamt about."
Cain's throw from right-center did not reach the cut-off man, second baseman Eric Sogard, until Marte was roughly six feet away from home plate. It was the first inside-the-park homer for the Pirates with men on base since Freddy Sanchez hit one against the Astros in July 2008, and it proved to be necessary.
Kingham, making his first start since throwing 6 2/3 perfect innings against the Cardinals on Sunday, allowed three runs, including a two-run homer to Domingo Santana, in the sixth inning to cut the Pirates' lead to one run. The Pirates' bullpen then pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings, including 1 2/3 by Felipe Vázquez, to close out the win.
Marte has played in all 33 of the Pirates' games and is batting .281/.357/.445 with a team-high 22 runs and 13 RBIs. He's walked 15 times after walking only 20 times in 77 games last season. Marte, now 29, is seeing a career-best 3.29 pitches per plate appearance. Clint Hurdle has lauded Marte's improved plate discipline and maturity at the plate. But what Marte brings on the base paths is unusual as teams prioritize power over speed.
"It’s very uncommon," Hurdle said of Marte's speed. "He might be the third-fastest player I’ve seen play. Willie Wilson, Vince Coleman. I’m sorry, they’re faster. ... Guys were stealing 60, 70 bases or more than that. I've seen speed, but Marte’s speed in today’s game is uncommon. The combination of the power. ... It’s good to see him be as consistent as he has been."
He's stolen eight bases in 11 attempts after stealing only 21 in his suspension-shortened season in 2017, and he stole at least 30 in four consecutive seasons prior to that. Also, his sprint speed is the 25th-fastest in the majors, according to Statcast. His extra-bases taken percentage of 79 leads the team and has helped the Pirates rank among the best in the majors in stretching a single into a double.
"I think he’s a more mature baserunner now," Bartee explained. "He’s not just getting on base running wild. He’s looking to take his chances, he’s understanding the situation in the game, looking when to run, when to turn on the jets. When to be conservative based on the scoreboard. He’s starting to learn how to read the scoreboard and base his aggressiveness on the value of his run for our game."
He knew to be aggressive Friday night. For one, the Pirates were in need of a game-changing play. The offense scuffled during a four-game sweep against the Nationals, and the Brewers' bullpen is among the best in the National League. Insurance runs were needed after the Pirates stranded the bases loaded in the first inning.
So, Marte kept running. In addition to his inside-the-park homer, Corey Dickerson hit a two-run homer in the third inning and David Freese hit a solo home run in the ninth. Those big plays helped the Pirates overcome an 0-for-7 performance with runners in scoring position.
The Pirates, now 18-15 and 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Cardinals, are 9-2 against Central Division opponents with two games remaining in the series. Their offense still ranks among the best in the NL, and Marte has often been the catalyst — both at the plate and on the bases.
"I’m enjoying the most out of this," Marte said. "To be honest with you, going into this season that’s the mentality I came in with. I just wanted to enjoy this as much as I can. This is the career that I chose. This is the career I enjoy. This is what my passion is and what I love the most. Why not enjoy it to the fullest?"
1. Kingham earns another start.
It wasn't a storybook start like his debut. Kingham allowed four earned runs on six hits and lasted only 5 1/3 innings; however, he proved he belongs in a major-league rotation. The 26-year-old right-hander struck out seven batters, including Cain twice, and threw 55 of his 92 pitches for strikes.
He was dominant against the Cardinals by relying on fastball command and his slider — a pitch he didn't begin throwing until late March — but he wanted to be unpredictable against the Brewers. So, Kingham threw 12 changeups and eight curveballs. Although he produced only 10 swinging strikes, he succeeded because of fastball location.
His four-seam fastball was called for a strike 18 times, which allowed him to get ahead in the count, although he had six three-ball counts and was at 81 pitches through five innings.
"Mixing pitches," Kingham said of his strategy. "I knew they probably watched film on me. They knew I liked to throw the slider and I didn’t fall into it. They knew that was my pitch, so I figured I'd try to come at them with something different. … Threw a lot of two-seam to try to get the ball on the ground. I kind of went at them with everything I had tonight."
Kingham has not been informed if he'll make his next turn in the Pirates rotation. The three-run sixth began when Christian Yelich doubled down the left-field line on a check swing, and Travis Shaw doubled in the fourth because the Pirates shifted their outfield alignment.
Kingham made only two critical mistakes all night. Manny Piña hit an elevated four-seamer for a solo home run in the second inning and Kingham hung a slider on Santana's two-run homer in the sixth. He only allowed four baserunners through five innings, including three hits, and has 16 strikeouts to one walk through two starts for the Pirates.
The performance had Hurdle beaming afterwards.
"I thought the stuff was as good as he’s probably ever pitched," Hurdle said. "The pitch efficiency was down a little bit. … There was some soft contact. I thought he pitched well. Sometimes you look at that line and that’s one of the times I’d say he pitched better than his line."
2. Missing dynamic leadoff hitter.
The Brewers, maybe more so than any team in the NL, are an example of how a dynamic leadoff hitter can make a good offense potentially great. They signed Cain to a five-year, $80 million contract, and he's scored 18 times this season. On the other hand, the Pirates have received little production from atop their order.
Josh Harrison had a .263/.328/.351 slash line prior to breaking a bone in his left hand, and he had a .295 on-base percentage in that spot last season. Adam Frazier, the team's most-used leadoff hitter in 2017, hasn't fared much better, batting .235 with a .278 on-base percentage there this season.
Frazier went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts before being lifted for a defensive replacement. Entering Friday, the Pirates were batting just .195/.264/.364 in the first inning of games this season. With Polanco, the primary No. 2 hitter, also struggling, the Pirates are failing to take advantage of the talent in the middle of the order.
It's far easier to pitch around Josh Bell if there's no one on base. It may be time for Hurdle to reconfigure his lineup, although there's no simple solution. Marte has struggled as a leadoff hitter in the past and moving anyone could disrupt the success of a player such as Dickerson, who has spoken openly of wanting continuity.
3. Hurdle's gamble pays off.
Vázquez had not pitched in exactly one week, yet Hurdle chose to bring him in with one out and a runner on first in the eighth inning. George Kontos, the Pirates' setup man, had just allowed a single and threw 21 pitches Thursday afternoon. With Vázquez on plenty of rest, Hurdle gambled on his closer.
It paid off. Vázquez walked the first batter he faced, only to get two consecutive outs. He then allowed a leadoff single in the ninth before getting a double play and striking out Yelich to end the game.
He needed only 20 pitches to record the five outs and it was the third save of at least five outs in his career — his first save overall since April 14 against the Marlins in Miami.
He now has a 3.46 ERA with 15 strikeouts to six walks in 12 innings this season. What's most impressive? He didn't throw a bullpen during his six days off, opting instead to throw 15 pitches in his throwing program throughout the week.
"I was going to tweet today, ‘When was the last time I pitched?’" Vázquez joked. "It’s been like a week or something. ... I got my touch and feel. It was nothing. I don’t like to throw bullpens or stuff like that."
In addition to Vázquez, Edgar Santana got two outs in the sixth inning once Kingham was pulled and Michael Feliz pitched a scoreless seventh inning with three strikeouts, although he gave up a single and walked a batter. The bullpen has been shaky for much of the season, but a five-out save from Vázquez bodes well.
"It’s about trying to put players in the best position they can have success," Hurdle said of his decision. "I’ve been doing this for a while and I haven’t managed a perfect game. You do what you believe in."