DENVER — As Felipe Vazquez tied his shoes and readied for the team charter to San Francisco, he still couldn't comprehend how he didn't allow the tying run in the eighth inning Wednesday.
"It came out hard," he said with a chuckle shortly after the Pirates celebrated a 4-3, series-clinching win over the Rockies at Coors Field. "I was like, 'Ah, it's going to go through ... and then I saw him."
When the hardest-hit ball of the day left Chris Iannetta's bat, Vazquez turned around and watched as Adam Frazier dove to his left to stop it from reaching the outfield, popped up and threw to Josh Bell to strand the tying run at third base. It wasn't the most improbable part of the three-hour, 22-minute series finale, either.
Chris Archer, bed-ridden because of an illness less than 24 hours earlier, pitched through the fifth inning after he nearly missed the start; the Rockies stranded 12 on base, including two in four of the final six innings; Bell, activated from the disabled list before first pitch, saved a run in the fourth with a fine defensive play; and four relievers preserved the lead, including Vazquez's four-out save.
In the end, the Pirates improved to 59-56, 7 1/2 games back in the Central Division and four in the Wild Card, and their manager was beaming after watching it all unfold.
TAP ABOVE FOR BOXSCORE, STANDINGS, VIDEO"Everybody picks up everybody else," Hurdle said. "They’ve been very unselfish. Some days we play better than others, but the intent, the focus and the preparation is always there. There's a fight. ... Sometimes you’ve just got to tread water to get hot again."
They had 21 hits in the final two games of the series, nine different players drove in at least one run after the two-hit shutout in the series opener and their starters allowed just five earned runs over 21 innings over the three games. Yet, Hurdle and his staff were scrambling for a contingency plan less than 24 hours before the finale in the mile-high altitude.
Archer, one week after being acquired by the Pirates at the non-waiver trade deadline, had symptoms similar to "food poisoning." He stopped at the ballpark briefly Tuesday afternoon to see the team's trainers before going back to the team hotel. It wasn't until Wednesday morning that the Pirates determined he could pitch against an offense that's scored the third-most runs in the National League.
Archer wasn't all that effective on the mound, either. Although slightly more efficient than his Pirates debut last Friday, he allowed a two-run homer to David Dahl in a 30-pitch fourth inning after he shook off Francisco Cervelli's call behind the plate, opting instead to throw a changeup.
"I should have listened to him, but that’s a part of it," Archer lamented afterwards. Trevor Story then doubled with one out and Gerardo Parra drew a walk, causing Cervelli to walk out to the mound, where he quickly directed his newest starter how to pitch to the next two batters.
First, Archer struck out Ryan McMahon with a wipeout slider low and away, and Bell bailed Archer out two pitches later by snagging this ball from Tony Wolters:
"Today was a step in the right direction for me," Archer said. "Team picked me up, played some great D. Scored enough runs to win, which is all that matters." The offense spotted him an early lead when Gregory Polanco doubled to score Starling Marte in the first, and it added another run in the third when Bell grounded out following the first of Frazier's two doubles.
Archer, with the help of another mound visit, escaped a two-on, two-out jam in the fifth by getting Nolan Arenado to hit a tapper back to the mound. However, he was removed for a pinch-hitter after throwing 98 pitches, 22 of which were fouled off by Rockies hitters. Afterwards, he said the illness drained him of some energy and the altitude sapped some break in his pitches.
Edgar Santana stranded two in the sixth after he gave up a two-out double and walked a batter, and Keone Kela, the Pirates' other deadline acquisition, struck out two in a scoreless seventh after Cervelli threw out Charlie Blackmon at second base. "Everybody is on the same page," Cervelli said. "Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It's good for us right now."
Kyle Crick, backed by a two-run lead thanks to Corey Dickerson's sacrifice fly, made a mess of the eighth with a hit-by-pitch and single to start the inning. The right-hander got a pop fly to second for the first out but yielded a single to McMahon to make the score 4-3. He struck out Ian Desmond before Hurdle turned to Vazquez, who hadn't pitched in four days.
Vazquez's second pitch, a changeup, had little movement and missed the strike zone arm-side by about a foot. "I don’t like pitching here because the breaking balls don’t do anything," he said. So, he threw back-to-back 100-mph fastballs, and the second left Iannetta's bat at 106.8 mph.
Frazier, preparing for the ball to come to him, did the rest for the final out:
"Fantastic," Hurdle boasted afterwards. Frazier went 3 for 5 with two doubles and is now batting .444 with eight doubles in 12 games since being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis July 25. "I just reacted, dove and luckily it stuck in my glove," Frazier said. "Guess I saved the game for us. ... I wouldn’t mind this being every week, to be honest."
Vazquez earned his 26th save of the season when he got Dahl to fly out to enter to clinch the victory. Despite a 4-5 homestand, the Pirates' 19-8 record since July 8 is the best in the NL and they've won 17 of their last 24 games. Their starters have produced a 3.10 ERA since July 8, the pitching staff allowed a total of seven runs this series in the most challenging park in the majors and the new-look bullpen worked exactly as it was constructed.
"We play to the last out, no matter what. … You can see that, win or lose, we’re playing to the very end," Archer said.
1. Stability for Archer.
Archer had four different catchers in his last four starts for the Rays, so Hurdle wanted to give him continuity by putting Cervelli behind the plate for the series finale. The final line wasn't spectacular. The 29-year-old allowed two runs on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
His changeup that Dahl hit 438 feet was thrown right down the middle of the plate. Archer threw more sliders than fastballs and labored through another start. Although Archer's a two-time All-Star, he's a work in progress. Hurdle said Archer lacks some confidence in his fastball since he's so used to facing ultra-talented lineups in the American League East at his former home ballpark, tiny Tropicana Field.
That showed Wednesday when Archer would throw first-pitch sliders, rather than challenge hitters with his 97-mph fastball. "He made some improvements," Hurdle said. "This guy's figuring some things out. ... I don’t know if I’ve had a pitcher ever throw to five different catchers in his last five starts, four of them in Tampa. Cervelli made five. … He’s gritty. The fastball, I think he’s gaining confidence in the fastball."
There were also some outstanding sequences to escape those jams, including to McMahon in the fourth and against Arenado in the fifth, when he threw a slider low and away following an inside fastball. But Archer is searching for answers on the mound, including how to better execute his changeup and putting away hitters.
"Laid it all out for the guys and they picked me up," Archer said following his first win since May 17.
2. Another runner gunned down at the plate.
If you arrive to the ballpark early enough, you may witness third-base coach Joey Cora practicing how he waves runners around to score. That practice was even featured on an ESPN broadcast last month. The technique doesn't matter if you wave guys when you shouldn't.
With one out in the fourth and Cervelli on first base, Frazier sliced a ball to the gap in left-center field that was fielded cleanly by Parra. Cora still sent Cervelli, who was out by a mile:
Rather than second and third with one out, Bell came to the plate with a runner on third and two outs. He proceeded to ground out to end the inning. If Bell couldn't cash in, Adeiny Hechavarria was in the on-deck circle. Cora's decision made little sense considering how well Marquez was pitching at the time, including an immaculate, nine-pitch, three-strikeout fourth inning.
The Pirates have recorded 17 outs at home plate this season, tied for the most in the National League. Sure, sending a player like Marte makes sense, but not with Cervelli or most players on this roster.
3. Hechavarria, bench show worth.
The Pirates needed to upgrade their bench. Jose Osuna, Sean Rodriguez and Jordan Luplow were all batting under the Mendoza line entering Wednesday. Neal Huntington did a fine job acquiring Hechavarria, a two-time Gold Glove finalist, for next to nothing. Not only are the Rays paying for most of the 30-year-old's salary, but the Pirates only had to give up a minor-league reliever.
And the move paid off less than 24 hours after the shortstop arrived in Denver. Hechavarria, starting at shortstop with Jordy Mercer getting a day off, reached safely in three of his four plate appearances. He doubled to lead off the second, reached on an intentional walk and again on an error in the eighth. The infielder is now batting .346 in his last nine games.
"The defense is unbelievable," Archer, a teammate of Hechavarria's in Tampa, said. "We have good defenders all across the board. Having him in there doesn’t hurt us, I can tell you that. You guys are going to see some special plays. Watching him over the course of the year, his bat has come a long ways, too."
With Bell back, either Colin Moran or David Freese will also be on the bench, and Cervelli's return has bumped Elias Diaz into a backup role.
That gives the Pirates one of the deeper benches in the National League, as long as everyone stays healthy. If Hechavarria can pack a punch at the plate, Hurdle can be creative with how he utilizes Frazier, Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison. Plus, the pinch-hit options are far better now than they were a few days ago.