CHICAGO — A ball went off Ivan Nova's foot for an infield single, Corey Dickerson lost a fly ball in the lights of Guaranteed Rate Field, and a possible third strike was called ball four in a 51-pitch first inning where the White Sox scored four runs.
That's when the conversations began. Players spoke of having good at-bats, taking it one-pitch-at-a-time rather than trying to mount a comeback in one inning. It only took one inning for them to come back, though. Then, the Pirates took the lead with a three-run fifth inning and the bullpen gave up just one run over the final seven innings to hold off the White Sox for a 10-6 win Tuesday night.
The Pirates, now 20-16 and one game back of first place in the Central Division, executed the come-from-behind victory with the same basic offensive philosophy that has them among the National League leaders in several offensive categories. And the way they executed this latest memorable comeback illustrates how they've had success over the past six weeks.
"We don’t need to be in a hurry," Clint Hurdle said. "One of the things I’ve heard before and we talked about here is if you’re behind, let’s see how long it takes. Slow the game down. When we’re behind, we don’t have to be in a hurry. See what you can do with your at-bat. We’d like to be a little bit quicker when we’re on the field, but once we’re in the dugout, slow things down. Make them make pitches."
TAP ABOVE FOR BOXSCORE, STANDINGS, VIDEOThe White Sox's six pitchers combined to throw 187 pitches over nine innings, and the Pirates averaged 4.25 pitches per plate appearance. For perspective, the Diamondbacks lead the majors with an average of 4.01 pitches per plate appearance and the Pirates have seen 3.93 this season.
All but one of their starting lineup had at least one hit and five had two or more. Corey Dickerson went 4 for 5, while Starling Marte went 3 for 5. Gregory Polanco and Colin Moran had two hits apiece. Seven players had at least one RBI and the other two starters both scored.
They combined for four walks to six strikeouts and forced White Sox starter Lucas Giolito to throw 98 pitches in four innings. As a result, the Pirates were able to face a bullpen that entered the game with a .277 opponents' batting average.
"Just swing at good pitches, especially when they jump out to an early lead," Moran explained. "You try not to score four in that next inning. Obviously it would be nice to, but you try to score one run, get things going and get the momentum going."
That seemed to be a daunting task after the first inning, though. Nova allowed four runs on four hits and he walked two batters. The White Sox took a 1-0 lead on the second at-bat of the game when Yolmer Sanchez tripled on a ball Dickerson lost in the lights. They added two more runs on a home run by Welington Castillo when Nova threw a two-seam fastball over the middle of the plate.
"I didn't do my job," Nova said bluntly.
The Pirates responded with four runs in the second inning. First, Dickerson doubled and Francisco Cervelli reached on a hit-by-pitch. Jose Osuna, recalled earlier in the day, hit an RBI single before Jordy Mercer, Polanco and Marte each drove in a run apiece to tie it.
The White Sox scored another run in the second with an RBI by Jose Abreu and Nova was pulled after only two innings in what was his worst start since joining the Pirates in 2016. However, the Pirates' hitters continued to talk about slowing the game down. After all, it was only a one-run deficit at that point.
But what exactly does that entail?
"You have to kind of take the aggressiveness out," Dickerson explained. "Try to make him work. Try to see some pitches. Unfortunately, when you’re down 4-0, you feel like it’s a big uphill climb. Since it was so early in the game it didn’t feel like it was untouchable or a hard thing to come back from. The way we were swinging it in Milwaukee, I thought we were in a good place. You try to slow it down and take it one at a time."
The Pirates stranded a runner in both the third and fourth innings. Meanwhile, Tyler Glasnow pitched two scoreless innings to keep the deficit at one run. They then discovered how long it would take to regain the lead. Josh Bell and Cervelli both singled off reliever Chris Volstad in the fifth before Moran delivered a one-out, two-run double to make it 6-5, Pirates:
Mercer then added an RBI single to score Moran. The Pirates rank second in the NL in runs, hits, batting average and OPS. Additionally, they've struck out the second-fewest times, have the second-highest OPS with runners on base and lead in batting average when trailing.
They scored three more runs, including two RBIs from Dickerson and an RBI triple from Bell in the sixth. The Pirates now have nine comeback wins in 33 games, compared to 40 in 162 games last season. Additionally, they've come back from a five-run deficit this season when their largest comeback in 2017 was four runs.
They were four games under .500 on this date exactly one year ago; however, a relentless offense has allowed them to contend despite some struggles in the rotation and bullpen.
"We talked about it a lot early this season, the depth of the lineup, competitiveness, hard to strikeout," Dickerson said. "A lot of guys can bunt. A lot of guys can take walks. It’s a good mixture. I think that’s what really helps us. ... It’s a tough lineup. We’re going to scratch, claw and try to get anything we can."
1. Too early to panic about Nova.
Nova's second consecutive bad start was partially the result of some poor luck, as noted above. He took a ball off his cleat to lead off the bottom of the first. Then, Dickerson couldn't track down this fly ball, resulting in a triple for Sanchez:
He threw 46 of his 77 pitches for strikes and didn't give up much hard contact. Nova explained afterward how home-plate umpire Jim Reynolds' strike zone required him to slightly change his strategy; however, he didn't want to use that as an excuse. The home run he allowed was a pitch over the middle of the plate, and he didn't retire a batter on three pitches or less.
Also, he had six three-ball counts. Nova seemed to be rattled once Reynolds called a ball four on a borderline pitch to Nicky Delmonico in the first inning. "I didn’t do my job," Nova said. "That’s the bottom line. It’s nothing on my teammates. I just didn’t do my job. It’s kind of simple to say. It’s hard to think about. You want to give everything you have to the team. …I feel good because my team picked me up."
Nova told reporters he wanted to pitch an additional inning, but Hurdle opted to use Glasnow for 2 1/3 innings, followed by Edgar Santana, Michael Feliz, George Kontos and Felipe Vázquez. Despite some difficult luck, it was Nova's second consecutive bad start.
He allowed five earned runs on 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings against the Nationals last week after throwing at least six innings in four consecutive starts. He now has a 4.84 ERA in eight starts and has allowed 52 hits in 44 2/3 innings. Hurdle doesn't seem concerned, though.
"As far as I’m concerned, we’ll look at some videotape," Hurdle said. "We need to flush this one and move on. We’ll get his feedback tomorrow."
2. Positive steps for Bell, Polanco.
Hurdle expressed confidence last week that both Polanco and Bell would break out of their slumps sooner rather than later. He mentioned how both players were working tirelessly with hitting coach Jeff Branson to find a solution, and the fruits of that labor were on full display against the White Sox.
Polanco, using a compact swing, went 2 for 4 with a double, an RBI and a leadoff walk in the two-run sixth. Bell, meanwhile, went 2 for 4 with an RBI triple — batting right-handed — in the sixth, lining a two-seam fastball down the right-field line to score Polanco. Bell was batting .220 against fastballs entering the game, compared to .279 in his rookie season.
For Bell, the answer is improved pitch selection and timing. He was struggling with both in the past month, batting .183/.266/.282 over his previous 20 games. In addition to his long swing, Polanco had also been struggling with pitch discipline, batting .177 with 20 strikeouts over his previous 21 games and his whiff rate is up eight percent from last season.
Polanco is now 7 for 21 in his last six games. It's a small sample size, sure, and he's often reverted back to old habits. But it's encouraging at the very least. He's making harder contact and the swing appears to be improving.
3. Despite ugly play, Pirates' outfield still one of the best.
Fans will overreact to Dickerson's defensive mishap in the first inning, and he deserves the criticism. It was an ugly play that contributed to Nova's ugly start. However, Dickerson's defense is the least of the Pirates' problems. He's been the best defensive outfielder in the majors this season according to two prominent advanced metrics.
Seriously.
He leads the majors with a 6.2 ultimate-zone rating and has recorded 6 defensive runs saved, according to FanGraphs. Dickerson is also tied for third in outs-above-average (OAA). This after the Pirates were scrutinized for acquiring someone who was perceived as a liability in the outfield. After all, Dickerson was a below-average defender in left field three of the previous four seasons.
"You have to separate the glove and the bat," Hurdle said. "He's really worked hard on his defense and that's not a misplay. That's a ball you lose in the lights. ... He's played good defense, he's made plays."
Oh, and Marte has been an upgrade in center field, as illustrated by his brilliant sliding catch in the eighth inning.
Marte is also tied for third in the majors with 3 OAA, and the Pirates' outfield has the fourth-highest ultimate zone rating among NL teams.