CLEVELAND — As Indians pitching coach Carl Willis and catcher Yan Gomes huddled around Corey Kluber, a reigning Cy Young award winner, a "Let's Go Bucs!" chant drowned out the boos at Progressive Field.
The Pirates, owners of the longest winning streak in Major League Baseball, had just scored their sixth and seventh runs on a Gregory Polanco triple off the top of the 19-foot wall in left field in the fourth inning Monday night. It proved to be the decisive blow to one of the game's best pitchers and a first-place opponent only two years removed from taking the Cubs to Game 7 in the World Series.
Backed by Polanco's big swing and a three-run homer by Josh Harrison, the Pirates waited through three rain delays and beat the Indians, 7-0, in a rain-shortened six-inning game to earn their first 10-game winning streak since 2004. Now 52-49, they're within seven games of the first-place Cubs and are 4 1/2 back in the Wild Card with six to play until the non-waiver trade deadline.
One win in the next two days will give them a fourth consecutive series win and a win on Tuesday would be the franchise's first 11-game streak in 21 years.
"It's just special," Jordy Mercer said. "There's really not a lot of words to describe it. The average fan can say, 'Oh, you've won 10 in a row, that's pretty easy to do.' No, it's not. It's hard to win a series, let alone 10 games in a row. This game is really hard."
TAP ABOVE FOR BOXSCORE, STANDINGS, VIDEOIt hasn't been a smooth ascent, either. During this road trip alone, they began the second half against two of the hotter teams in the league before the break; they've encountered five rain delays, one of which lasted two hours and 55 minutes; Harrison, a two-time All-Star, was out of the lineup for all three games in his hometown of Cincinnati; a stray cat ran onto the field during a game; and most important, the trade deadline is fast approaching.
Their arduous climb from 12 1/2 games out of first place began July 8, and Kluber, a two-time Cy Young winner and three-time All-Star, stood in the way of this latest summit. Also, Trevor Williams, their starter for this series opener, had not pitched in 11 days. Yet, through a four-day All-Star break and a weird four days on the road, the Pirates reaffirmed to their own front office what they expressed confidence in all along.
"I think if you ask anybody in this clubhouse, I don’t think we care about who’s on the mound, who’s on the other side," Harrison said. "We don’t look for validation from anybody except us."
That showed in their first game in Cleveland since 2012. The Pirates had 10 hits, their eighth time in 12 games with 10 or more, and Harrison's homer in the second gives them 21 during that span. Kluber was chased after allowing a season-high seven runs, albeit only four earned, in four innings. He threw 72 pitches, including 31 in a four-run second inning.
For the Pirates, seven of their nine batters had at least one hit, and three had two, including Starling Marte, who stretched his league-leading hitting streak to 16 games — tied for the most in the National League this season. Williams, tagged for five runs in a 17-5 loss to the Phillies only 17 days earlier, earned his first career complete game, throwing six shutout innings with four hits and one walk allowed.
Like a few of their previous wins, this began when they took advantage of an opponent's mistake. Following a one-out single for Colin Moran in the second, Josh Bell hit a grounder to Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis, who bobbled it, so his throw to Francisco Lindor at second for the force was late enough to prevent a possible double play.
David Freese then hit a pop fly to the pitcher's mound, leading Jose Ramirez and Yadier Alonso to both attempt to make the catch. Neither called for the ball, and Alonso ended up dropping it. "We were able to take advantage of some mistakes," Hurdle said. "Again, the ball’s not dropped, I don’t know how that inning goes. You don’t even know how the rest of the game goes. It’s not pointing to one thing, but you don’t know. You have to be opportunistic when doors are open and plays aren’t made."
It went well for the Pirates. Harrison, facing an 0-2 count against Kluber, was thrown a hanging curveball, and it resulted in this 432 three-run homer to left:
Mercer followed with a double, Corey Dickerson drew a walk and Marte, batting .394 with six homers, four doubles and 16 RBIs during his streak, singled to right to drive in another run for a 4-0 lead. Following a 27-minute rain delay in the third inning, Harrison and Mercer hit back-to-back one-out singles in the fourth. Marte singled again to drive in another run for a 5-0 lead.
Kluber's next pitch was thrown right over the plate and Polanco hit it off the wall for this two-run triple:
Polanco, who's batting .281 with nine RBIs over an eight-game hitting streak, now leads the Pirates with 43 extra-base hits and 56 RBIs. Dickerson, meanwhile, led off the game with a single and is now batting .388 with six homers, 10 RBIs and 15 runs this month.
"I don’t want to face the Pirates," Williams said. "I don’t want to face us right now." It's not just the offense, and they're on a run unlike any the city's fans have seen in quite some time:
• Their plus-44 run differential during the 10-game winning streak is the franchise's best in a 10-game span since 1975, and they've allowed three or fewer runs in nine of those.
• The rotation has posted a combined 1.94 ERA over its last 10 games and leads the National League in strikeouts this month.
• An offense that slumped for most of June is suddenly looking as potent as any in the majors. As a team, the Pirates are batting .272 with 75 runs during the steak.
• Their 11 shutouts this season are tied with the Cubs for the most in the majors
Williams was as impressive as the offense. The Indians, now 55-45, were leading the majors with 118 runs and a .292 batting average in July, averaging a league-best 6.94 runs per game this month. Their 9 1/2 game lead in their division was the largest in baseball, and they acquired two relievers from the Padres, including lefty Brad Hand, to assert themselves as one of the best in the AL.
Williams used his two fastballs and sinker – both average 91 mph — and a changeup to silence a lineup that included three All-Stars. He needed only 46 pitches to get through four innings, allowing only a single to Melky Cabrera in the second. The Indians threatened in the fifth with a walk and an infield single, only for Williams to get two quick outs to end the threat.
"Good pitching beats good hitting," Hurdle said. "We had a guy go out and pitch better than their pitcher did today. Kluber’s pitched great games. Tonight wasn’t one of them." With rain falling again in the sixth, the Indians loaded the bases with two singles and a walk.
Following a mound visit by Ray Searage, Williams got ahead 0-2 on Alonso, a lefty, with two changeups. After throwing a slider in the dirt on the fourth pitch, Williams got Alonso to swing and miss at a changeup for strike three:
"You want to out-duel an ace, and when I saw that I was going to get matched up with Kluber, it’s maybe once every three years, once every six years that happens," Williams said. "I woke up today especially excited to come to the yard and showcase what I have and pitch up to his ability."
Williams got Cabrera to ground out to end the threat, and the grounds crew quickly rolled out the tarp for the third and final delay. When the game was finally called and Hurdle was done speaking with reporters, players were eating their postgame meals in the clubhouse, while Felipe Vazquez sat in front of a laptop playing music.
There was no grand celebration. Dickerson and Mercer said it's easy to forget about a winning streak with how casual players have acted both before and after games. None involved seemed surprised they're the hottest team in baseball only 15 days after Neal Huntington was ready to pull the plug.
"It’s another game tomorrow," Mercer said. "That’s it; this one is over. We play so many games. You can’t worry about it and celebrate. No, we have a lot of baseball ahead of us. Let’s take it one game at a time like we’re doing. I think it was a matter of time before this happened, really."
1. Harrison's promising return.
Harrison, among the club's veterans who could have been traded had the Pirates continued to lose, has been terrible for the past six weeks. The 31-year-old batted .179 with a .443 OPS and 21 strikeouts in 28 games from June 12 through July 15. That dropped his season average from .304 to .249.
Entering Monday, Harrison had posted a .631 OPS, which is well below league average, and his weighted runs created plus — a catch-all statistic that measures a hitter's ability to create runs while taking into account the ballpark and an opponent's ERA — was the 29th-worst mark among second basemen in the majors with at least 250 plate appearances.
He's been bad. Not even close to performing up to that $10.25 million price tag and unlikely to draw much interest on the trade market. Harrison, back in the lineup for the first time since injuring his hamstring July 15, needs to make an impact, and he finally did, first with his three-run homer and again with a single in the fourth.
"For one, I needed the days," Harrison said. "All of us needed the All-Star break. Given what I did Sunday, the extra days kind of helped me make sure I was good to go once I got back out there. I was able to take the break and just refresh, come back in and I was glad to be able to get back out there.
2. Outfielders among the best.
The Pirates have one of the most productive outfields in the National League, despite trading Andrew McCutchen, a former NL MVP. Their outfielders — led by Dickerson, Marte and Polanco — entered Monday ranked first in the NL in OPS (.836) and slugging (.500), while ranking second in average (.282) and home runs (53).
They also ranked fourth in the majors in outs above average, a range-based metric of fielding skill that accounts for the number of plays made and the difficulty of them, and their worth 6 1/2 wins above replacement is the seventh-highest in the majors, according to FanGraphs. Polanco's 17 home runs ranked second among NL right fielders behind Bryce Harper, Dickerson's .317 average is first among left fielders and Marte's .819 OPS is third.
3. It's your move, Neal and Bob.
Pirates starters have pitched through the sixth inning in eight of these 10 wins and their entire staff ranks first in the National League with 169 strikeouts this month. They can't possibly continue that pace, especially with two more games against the Indians, who have a 8 1/2 game lead in the AL Central.
With that in mind, the Pirates purchased the contract of reliever Casey Sadler, who made a spot start for the club in April 2015 before undergoing Tommy John surgery, before first pitch Monday night. Sadler, 28, will serve as a middle reliever and provide insurance in the event of a short start.
Sadler wasn't exactly deserving of the promotion. He had a 1.45 WHIP in 67 2/3 innings for Triple-A Indianapolis, walking 26 batters in 24 games. There weren't any other options. The organization is depleted of bullpen depth, and Josh Smoker, one of their few offseason acquisitions, was designated for assignment. It's time for Huntington to go acquire a bullpen arm. Such trades typically don't cost a whole lot and perhaps it's time for them to part with someone like Jose Osuna. Either way, it won't require a premium prospect, or much of a financial commitment.