DENVER — Joe Musgrove joked to Clint Hurdle that he and the other three starters in the Pirates' dugout were going to cut the cord on the bullpen phone. Hurdle gave them permission. He had no plans to stop Jameson Taillon.
When it was all over, after 27 outs and 107 pitches, Taillon accomplished what few have in the mile-high altitude of Coors Field. Backed by 10 runs from his offense, Taillon pitched the first nine-inning complete game at the ballpark since Clayton Kershaw accomplished the feat in July 2, 2013, as the Pirates halted their losing streak at three with a 10-2 win over the Rockies Tuesday night.
Taillon became the first pitcher to allow 10 hits in a complete game here since John Danks on May 31, 2015, and when it was all over, Hurdle, the Rockies' manager from 2002-09, was there to remind Taillon just how rare of an accomplishment it was.
"It’s special and that’s what I told Jamo when he comes off," Hurdle said. "That’s very strong stuff. That doesn’t happen very often."
It occurred when the Pirates, now 58-56, were in desperate need of such a well-rounded performance. They had scored only one run in their previous 23 innings and lost seven of their previous 11 games. The victory has them within eight games in the Central Division and five back in the Wild Card race.
Although it's a steep climb to contention, their starting pitchers the past two nights, Taillon and Joe Musgrove, offered hope for a turnaround. Following the blueprint executed by Musgrove for seven innings Monday night, Taillon attacked the Rockies (60-53) from front to finish.
Yet, he was the first to point out such a strategy would be far more difficult had his offense not spotted him a lead. The rout began on the fifth pitch thrown by Rockies starter Chad Bettis, a 91-mph fastball high and over the plate, that Starling Marte tattooed:
That ball landed among the pine trees and shrubs beyond the wall, an estimated 463 feet from home plate, and snapped Marte's 0-for-14 skid. He also scored following his single in the fifth and is now batting .463 in 16 career games at Coors Field. "It’s sweet and crucial when the bats are functioning well and everyone’s getting good cuts," Marte said afterwards through team interpreter Mike Gonzalez.
Josh Harrison's sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the fourth made it 2-0, and Jordy Mercer followed with a 443-foot, three-run homer to dead center off Bettis:
The Pirates added five more runs in the fifth, including an RBI single by Gregory Polanco and a run-scoring double from Francisco Cervelli. And Harrison punctuated the inning with a two-run, 421-foot homer to right-center off lefty reliever Jake McGee.
Bettis was tagged for nine runs in 4 2/3 innings, throwing 70 pitches to the 24 batters he faced. Eight different Pirates had at least one hit, while six different players drove in at least one run.
The lead, Taillon said, allowed him to attack the Rockies with his four- and two-seam fastballs. He had 11 ground-ball outs, including a double play in the fifth and seventh innings, and he was at only 81 pitches through seven.
"I had a really good two-seam which helps and I had good fastball command all night," Taillon explained afterwards. "They were being aggressive, which I kind of knew if you throw strikes they’re going to swing. I picked a good night to have good fastball command. My curveball wasn’t what it usually is, or what I’m used to, at least."
He still threw the curveball, his best breaking pitch, to Charlie Blackmon, a three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger winner, for a knee-buckling swinging strike three in the third, and again to David Dahl in the ninth for the first out:
Taillon threw only 14 curveballs, producing four swinging strikes, and relied instead on his slider, a pitch he didn't add to his arsenal until late May. The pitch produced only six called strikes, however, it kept the Rockies from squaring up his fastball. They went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position, failing to capitalize after leading off the second, third, seventh, eight and ninth innings with hits.
Their two runs came in the fifth on three consecutive hits, capped by Carlos Gonzalez's two-run double.
"You spread out their hits, some big double-play balls, some big pitches with runners on," Taillon said. "That’s kind of the key to starting pitching. If you want to go deep in games you can’t let them piggyback their hits together. You have to make them spread them out over time."
And he made pitches when he had to. Hurdle had Richard Rodriguez warming following back-to-back singles in the seventh, only for Taillon to get three straight outs, including a 5-4-3 double play. He then retired three in a row on 11 pitches in the eighth to earn a shot at the ninth.
"I’ve watched, I don’t know, 1,300, 1,400 ballgames here," Hurdle said. "You don’t see a lot of complete games."
Taillon added: "When you run back out for the ninth it’s a cool feeling. ... You always hear closing out games is tough. Weird stuff happens in the ninth, so I kind of told myself right there it’s a zero-zero game, let’s go out and close this inning."
Again, the Rockies had two on with one out, leading Hurdle to get Felipe Vazquez and Dovydas Neverauskas warming in the bullpen. Neither was needed. Chris Iannetta hit a pop fly to first on a slider, and Tony Wolters flied out to left to end the game.
Taillon's posted a 2.34 ERA with four wins in his past five starts, and he has a 3.05 ERA over his past 13 starts. It was his second complete game of the season. Dating back to July 8, the Pirates lead the National League with a 3.09 ERA, and they're batting .271 as a team during that span. Still, they're in fourth place in the division and have to jump five teams in the Wild Card.
"All it takes is one good game and a game like this maybe can start it," Taillon said.
1. Credit to the defense.
With the Pirates' infield defense struggling, Neal Huntington acquired shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria from the Rays Monday, and the 30-year-old joined the team shortly before first pitch. Whether it's a coincidence or not, his arrival preceded one of the club's better defensive games of the season.
Harrison and Mercer were both outstanding, making athletic plays to track down ground balls. Even Colin Moran made a nice pick and throw on a grounder to end the sixth and showed no hesitation to start a double in the seventh. Corey Dickerson traced down three balls in left, including a sharp liner for the final out, and Marte chased down three fly balls in center. Even Taillon fielded a pair of ground balls that had an exit velocity over 100 mph.
"We played good defense tonight, too, with the double plays," Hurdle said. "Marte in center field running balls down. It was fun to watch." It was the type of well-rounded performance the Pirates had during their winning streak.
TAP ABOVE FOR BOXSCORE, STANDINGS, VIDEO2. Who sits with Bell back?
Josh Bell, placed on the disabled list July 28, told DKPittsburghSports.com he's expected to be activated before first pitch Wednesday after suffering a left oblique strain. Remember, Bell was a catalyst during the Pirates' winning streak, batting .329 with an .884 OPS in 22 games last month.
David Freese has provided a punch in Bell's absence, batting .339 with three home runs and 14 RBIs in his last 18 games, including .400 during the club's nine-game homestand. The 35-year-old has also batted .285 with 27 RBIs in 45 starts this season. Meanwhile, Moran is mired in a 7-for-37 slump and hasn't had an extra-base hit since July 9. He also hasn't homered since July 1 at San Diego.
So, who sits when Bell returns? It's important to remember that Hurdle would prefer not to overuse Freese, given the veteran's past injuries, but there's no way he sits behind Moran, right? That's not a knock against Moran. He's still 25 years old and a rookie. He's also shown gradual improvement defensively, although his range is limited.
With Hurdle preferring a more defensively sound infield, Freese, a Gold Glove finalist last season, will get the bulk of starts moving forward. Moran has six hits in 15 at-bats as a pinch-hitter, which also makes him a valuable part of the Pirates' offense.
3. Finding a spot for Frazier.
Adam Frazier hasn't started the past two games, despite the jolt he provided to the Pirates' struggling offense last week. Frazier has batted .406, 13 hits in 32 at-bats, including seven doubles, a homer and six RBIs, since being promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis July 25.
Simply put, he's performed like he did with the Pirates last season, which is much needed for an offense that's been without Bell. Yet, Harrison started the first two games of this series, including Tuesday with Bettis, a right-hander, on the mound. Harrison entered Tuesday with a .190 average over his previous 13 games, striking out 11 times in 42 at-bats. Well, Hurdle's decision paid off, and Frazier is back on the bench.
In addition to Harrison's big night, Hechavarria is expected to play both middle infield positions. Frazier's only chance at playing time is as a backup in left and center, but he struggled in a full-time bench role earlier this season and the lack of playing time could negatively impact his development, particularly on defense. So, Hurdle now faces the challenge of keeping Frazier involved. Polanco and Dickerson each took a foul ball off the foot, which could keep them out of the lineup Wednesday. Or perhaps Harrison will get the day off before the club leaves for San Francisco.