Crick, Vazquez formidable in bullpen

What Clint Hurdle declared the most important at-bat of the game was Trevor Williams' last on Wednesday afternoon. Williams, holding a two-run lead with two on and two outs, challenged Bryce Harper with a 91-mph fastball high and over the plate.

Harper, a former National League MVP, swung and missed for strike three. Williams, having thrown only 81 pitches, was removed for a pinch-hitter, as Hurdle handed the Pirates' fate over to his relievers. This bullpen, though, isn't as volatile as it was a month ago, as Kyle Crick and Felipe Vazquez powerfully illustrated again.

Crick, acquired from the Giants in the Andrew McCutchen trade, retired the side in the eighth, and Vazquez struck out the side in the ninth, as the Pirates beat the Nationals, 2-0, at PNC Park to clinch a series win. The two have each thrown 12 consecutive scoreless outings, providing at least some semblance of hope for an underperforming roster.

"It feels good to have the manager’s confidence," Crick told DKPittsburghSports.com. "It’s all what you do from there with it. You can prove him right every time you go out there with that aggressive mindset and going after people. It’s kind of what we’re trying to do."

The group remains unpredictable at times, as Steven Brault showed one night earlier. Yet, the four relievers Hurdle entrusted with this lead have emerged as capable options in certain situations. Richard Rodriguez, a minor-league free agent signing this offseason, struck out one in a scoreless sixth.

The 28-year-old has a 2.50 ERA, 46 strikeouts and only eight walks in 36 innings since being recalled from Triple-A on April 13. Edgar Santana, who Hurdle prefers to use with runners on base, threw a scoreless seventh, striking out Juan Soto with a drop-off-the-table slider to strand a runner on first.

Although Santana, 26, allowed the go-ahead double Saturday, he owns a 0.98 WHIP with 38 strikeouts to four walks in 40 2/3 innings. He's made seven consecutive scoreless appearances, while owning a 0.92 ERA against right-handed batters. Yet, he had a 4.59 ERA over his previous 19 outings. Still, Hurdle had no reservations to turn to those four so early in the game.

"It's high," Hurdle said when asked of his confidence in them. "It's high."

Although Williams was likely capable of throwing another inning, he labored through the first five, throwing 28 pitches in the first and 17 in the fourth. The Nationals (46-46) had seven baserunners through five innings, including three walks. The 26-year-old improved his fastball command enough to recover from a long first inning that included back-to-back walks.

But he pitched himself into a jam in the fifth, when Adam Eaton hit a two-strike single with one out and Anthony Rendon hit another. Williams then struck out Harper to end the inning. With both long relievers unavailable, Hurdle still turned to the bullpen.

The two men in the back are the primary reason for that confidence. George Kontos, claimed off waivers from the Giants last August, was named the Pirates' setup man at spring training's onset, despite having never pitched in a high-leverage role. Kontos was released in late May after being demoted and is currently with the Indians' Triple-A affiliate.

Meanwhile, Dovydas Neverauskas and Josh Smoker made the opening day roster over Crick. That didn't sit well with the 25-year-old. He was recalled, along with Rodriguez, in April and asserted himself as the top option to pitch in front of Vazquez. Crick's pitched in the eighth inning 19 times this season, including nine times with the score tied or the Pirates leading by fewer than four runs.

"It’s still something I think about for sure, not making opening day," Crick added. "It’s one of those things where this team obviously hadn’t seen me pitch ever. I kind of had to do it in a Pirates uniform to gain that trust. You go the whole offseason thinking if a team traded for you they’re probably going to put you on the team. It was kind of a wakeup call."

He has a 2.12 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, a .195 opponents' batting average and 35 strikeouts in 34 innings. Following Santana's scoreless seventh, Crick retired Rendon, Harper and Matt Adams in order in the eighth on 12 pitches, nine of which were strikes. Crick, a first-round draft pick in 2011, has been scored on just three times in his last 26 appearances.

"I’m trying to prove to people this is where I belong," Crick continued.

The performance of those three wouldn't matter, though, if Vazquez was still tipping his pitches and failing to throw strikes. He blew four out of five save opportunities from May 20 to May 31, allowing seven earned runs on 12 hits in 3 2/3 innings. His velocity was also down from a year ago.

To stop tipping his pitches, Vazquez changed how he gets set on the mound. Now, he's holding his glove low on the outside of his left hip and grips the ball behind his back before beginning his delivery. The 27-year-old was previously getting set with his glove in front of his body and tipping his fastball by moving his hands higher before beginning his delivery.

The adjustment reignited what he lost. Vazquez struck out the side on 15 pitches, freezing Trae Turner with a slider on the outer edge for the first out. Then, Vazquez got Wilmer Difo to swing at a 99-mph fastball high and over the plate. It only took four more pitches, capped by this slider, to secure his 20th save of the season:

"I’m just throwing it over the plate," Vazquez said. "They’re swinging at it, so I’m happy with that. I’ve been locating the fastball first and when you’re ahead you can do whatever you want. It was not a good first two months. I've got it back now."

Vazquez has thrown 12 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings, striking out 25 of the past 47 batters he's faced. He now owns a 3.20 ERA with 55 strikeouts to 17 walks in 39 1/3 innings.

The Pirates, backed by Starling Marte's two-run homer in the third, improved to 43-49 and have won three of their past five series. They're 12 games back with five games remaining against the first-place Brewers before the All-Star break. It's likely too late to change Neal Huntington's trade deadline plans; however, for all that's gone wrong, the back end of the bullpen offers hope for the future.

"These guys throwing in the leverage situations, they have confidence," Crick said. "You have to have it to be out there for sure."

1. Don't undersell that pitch by Williams.

Williams didn't think his pitch to Harper was gutsy. No, Williams was supremely confident this offering to a six-time All-Star would produce a swing-and-miss for strike three:

"Biggest at-bat of the game," Hurdle said.

That's confidence, folks. Williams has it in spades, despite not possessing overwhelming stuff. That comes from his personality, and an ability to analyze each at-bat, as evident with his explanation of that sequence above. "We were around the zone enough for him to bite at certain pitches, and we felt confident that if that pitch was executed we were going to get him out," he said.

Bold statement to make after he walked Harper the first two times, and he hasn't been effective for the past two months. Williams had a 5.98 ERA and .809 opponents' OPS in his previous 12 starts. He allowed five earned runs in a career-low 2 1/3 innings of a 17-5 loss to the Phillies last Friday.

He returned to form against the Nationals, allowing four hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Williams retired nine of the 10 batters after those back-to-back walks in the first. He threw 59 percent of his pitches for strikes and retired nine batters on three pitches or less. Yet, none of it would have mattered had he not thrown one past Harper with two on.

"You see it, every time he comes up to the plate he gets everyone's best stuff," Williams said. "He's kind of that player who makes you play up. There's usually one guy in the lineup where you wake up in the morning and say, 'He's not going to beat me today.'"

2. Marte thriving after off-days.

Marte didn't want to sit for two days in Los Angeles last week. He didn't have much of a choice, though. With only two hits in his previous 17 at-bats, Marte was benched for the first two games against the Dodgers, and he spent that time hitting off a pitching machine, while working on how he used his hips and hands during at-bats.

"I'm seeing the fruit of it," Marte said.

That's one way to describe it. That home run — Marte's 11th this season — came on a 2-1 fastball low in the zone after Jordy Mercer doubled down the left-field line. It was the fourth consecutive fastball thrown by lefty Gio Gonzalez, and it landed 414 feet from home plate. Marte has gone 12 for 26 with two doubles, two home runs and six RBIs in his past seven games. He's also on a seven-game hitting streak, raising his season slash line to .282/.334/468 with 40 RBIs in 80 games.

"He was able to iron some things out in his swing," Hurdle said. "Fresh eyes. Hit the reset button. Flush some stuff in the background that’s been going on. That ball was pounded today."

3. Luplow over Meadows ... why?

Jordan Luplow deserves credit for what he accomplished with Triple-A Indianapolis. The 24-year-old batted .422 with 16 RBIs in his last 20 games there, including 11 hits and 13 RBIs in his last 20 at-bats. He was the Pirates' minor league player of the year in 2017 and a candidate to be their starting left fielder this season.

However, he's not ranked among their top 10 prospects by Baseball America and MLB.com has him 21st in the organization. Simply put, he's not a prospect. Hurdle described the decision to call up Luplow as a reward for his diligence at Triple-A and his success against lefties, including a .911 OPS in 72 at-bats this season.

It's still bizarre to start him in left field over Austin Meadows, who’s now had only 10 plate appearances in the past six games, starting only one of those games. Meadows has batted .308 against major-league left-handers and has still hit safely in 26 of his 34 starts with the Pirates.

This isn't time off to make some adjustment, either. Hurdle thought Luplow gave them a better chance to win. Luplow hit a hard line drive to left-center in the second inning; however, he went 0 for 3, as the Pirates finished with only seven hits and left five on base.

"To get him involved," Hurdle said of his reasoning. "The reports on the way he was swinging against left-handed [pitching]. Overall, the numbers from Austin have been good, but the numbers for the last month — you can look at a lot of different numbers. … Luplow’s been engaged. He was doing some damage against some left-handers, so I wanted Luplow in the lineup today. See what he can do out there."

MATT SUNDAY GALLERY