SAN FRANCISCO — Josh Bell formed a fist with his left hand and knocked on the large ice bag taped to his left side. "I trust it now," he said, grinning moments after the Pirates celebrated a 4-0 win over over the Giants for their major-league-leading 13th shutout of the season at AT&T Park Saturday night.
Any remaining doubt about his strained left oblique disappeared when he turned on a fastball from Ty Blach for a 377-foot, three-run homer in the fourth inning. It was Bell's second home run of the series, both from the right side, and backed Trevor Williams's seven shutout innings. He's relieved to be healthy after missing five games and landing on the disabled list for the first time in his big-league career.
But the two home runs meant so much more to the switch-hitting first baseman. Those two powerful swings illustrated to him that he's finally discovered some level of comfort from the right after a rookie season that left him far from satisfied.
"It’s trust," Bell told DKPittsburghSports.com. "I have to trust when I get off my swing that I can change the game. I have to trust that when he makes a mistake that I’m going to hammer it. That trust goes a long way. It’s a long season if you’re not trusting yourself. You’re lost."
Bell was lost not long ago. He was batting only .254 with three home runs and 31 RBIs through May 31, leading Clint Hurdle to remove him from the cleanup spot. His swings were ugly. His plate discipline was uglier. Hurdle moved Bell lower in the order to get the 25-year-old to see more pitches while swinging at fewer.
Pitchers across the league had feared Bell. He was a National League Rookie of the Year finalist last season after hitting 26 home runs with a team-high 90 RBIs. As a result, they were throwing him few pitches in the strike zone, and he'd miss the few mistakes they made. As a result, he was struggling at both sides of the plate. Hurdle pulled Bell aside in early June and offered him one piece of advice: make pitchers throw strikes.
Bell drew seven walks in a three-game span after getting bumped down in the order June 9. The confidence soon followed, Bell said, and he regained that trust, particularly in his pregame routine. The 25-year-old was never quite sure how to balance hitting right- and left-handed. He batted .242 with a .758 OPS against lefties last season, compared to a .259 average and .813 OPS. Splitting pregame reps between the two rarely worked. So, he decided to switch his routine based on the starter that day, and more at-bats from the right side has led to a remarkable improvement.
Batting from the right side, Bell said, suddenly feels more natural to him than the left-handed swing that produced 18 home runs last season.
"It’s hit or miss," he said. "I’ll feel really good lefty and be lost righty, flip around the next week and I feel really good lefty but can’t get a ball in the air righty. One of these days I’ll figure out, really lock in and write notes to myself trying to stay there. I haven’t done it yet."
Bell's batted .366 against left-handed pitching since June 12, including five hits in the first three games of this series. And his splits are now reversed from last season:
"To have two swings to worry about, I already drive myself crazy about one," Corey Dickerson said. "To be able to go up there and make adjustments the way he does, on both sides of the plate and be as consistent as he has been, be as young as he is, is pretty impressive. He’s still growing, he’s becoming a better player. Everyone’s just been waiting for it, for him to get comfortable and just let it happen."
Gregory Polanco, sitting at his locker stall, motioned over to Bell and said: "We need that big guy. He’s doing his thing."
That's what Bell did Thursday:
That's Bell turning on an inside cutter, hitting the ball 396 feet in the fourth inning of a 10-5 win. "Do you think anyone else can swing like that and pull your hands like that and hit the ball?" Hurdle asked reporters. "It shows that he’s healthy, that’s for sure. Crazy."
His second home run showed so much more. With two on and one out in the fourth inning Saturday night, Bach missed with his fastball over the plate, and Bell drilled it 377 feet for a three-run homer:
While Bell struggled earlier this season, he would often dwell on one pitch after a poor at-bat. He rolled over on Blach's changeup for an inning-ending double play in the second, yet he didn't overhaul his approach the second time he came to the plate.
Instead, he laid off the first changeup and capitalized on a mistake in a way he didn't earlier this season. "You try to stick with it, with one pitch in a certain spot," Bell said. "Good hitters will take that bad swing, flush it and get back to their approach. For me, I was dancing all over the place trying to steal knocks away instead of trying to drive the baseball."
Bell's batted .342 with 13 RBIs and 10 walks in his last 19 games. That's raised his season slash line to .268/.348/.416, and he's hit eight home runs with 54 RBIs in 108 games. His mastery of Blach helped improve the Pirates' record to 61-57, cutting their deficit to seven games in the Central Division and four games in the Wild Card race. Their 21-10 record since July 7 is the best in the National League, and it's no coincidence their ascent has coincided with Bell regaining his own trust at the plate.
"I struggled a little last year and worked myself out of it," Bell said. "There’s ebbs and flows. ... It’s finding that one thing that will put me at the next level."
1. Williams thrives up in the zone.
Williams is on another remarkable run. He's allowed only two earned runs over his last 29 innings and has been on the mound for seven of the Pirates' 13 shutouts. The 26-year-old also leads the rotation in wins (10) and ranks third in strikeouts. He allowed only five hits, none for extra bases, Saturday night and produced 10 ground-ball outs, while holding left-handed hitters to a combined 1 for 11.
All while having a fastball that averaged only 92 mph. The difference is how he's using his fastball. Williams peppered the bottom of the strike zone with his sinker before using his four-seam fastball high in the zone. Although he doesn't have overwhelming velocity, both pitches had late movement that led to 10 outs on three pitches or less.
"He has used his fastball as well as anybody on our staff this season," Hurdle said. "The secondary pitches kind of come and go. ... But it was premium two-seam fastball tonight. It seemed like there was life on his pitches. There was good finish to his two-seamer and maybe a little extra finish to the four-seamer."
Williams needed only nine pitches to get through the seventh inning by getting a pair of ground-ball outs. His strikeout of Andrew McCutchen in the first, one of only two for Williams in the start, showed exactly how effective his fastball high in the zone can be:
Williams had two on with two outs in the third before throwing a high fastball to Evan Longoria for a fly out, and his sinker to Brandon Crawford became an inning-ending double play in the sixth. "It’s a confidence thing," Williams said. "Every time you go out there you have to trick yourself into thinking you’re the best pitcher on the planet that day."
Despite allowing 13 runs Friday night, the Pirates rank third in the majors with a 3.28 ERA since July 7. Keone Kela and Felipe Vazquez each pitched a scoreless inning to complete the shutout.
2. Credit to the infield defense.
The Pirates' infield defense has been inconsistent all season, yet it's fared well with Williams on the mound. His propensity to induce weak contact forces all involved to be ready for a ground ball, and they seem to thrive when playing on edge. Josh Harrison started a pair of double plays, including one in the sixth that began with his spectacular glove flip to Jordy Mercer.
"When Trevor’s on the mound you know there’s a chance you’re going to have to make a play for him," Hurdle said.
Bell's looked more comfortable at first base as of late, and he's made every play required of him. Luck was also on the Pirates' side. Austin Slater hit a line drive that went off David Freese's cleat and caromed right to Mercer, who threw to first for an out. But there's also skill involved, particularly with the outfield.
Polanco has fared well in right field in both games he's started here and chased down a line drive hit by Slater to the gap. Starling Marte also saved Kela by catching a ball Steven Duggar hit 381 feet to center in the eighth. The Pirates played outstanding defense during their 11-game winning streak last month and made six errors during their 4-5 home stand last week. Sometimes baseball is simple.
3. Cervelli leaves again.
The Pirates might need to step in and stop Cervelli from catching. The 32-year-old was struck by a foul ball square in the face mask in the first inning and was removed from the game as a "precaution" after striking out in the top of the fourth. Hurdle said Cervelli wanted to remain in the game. However, they chose to remove him:
He's been placed on the seven-day concussion disabled list twice this season — there was a reoccurrence of post-concussion symptoms after only five days — and four times in the past 16 months. Cervelli's been spectacular behind the plate this season, throwing out 14 runners attempting to steal and doing a fine job framing pitches.
It's bad luck, but it doesn't change the fact he's now had at least five reported concussions since 2007. He was struck by a foul ball on the left side of his mask June 9 and returned to the lineup four days later, only to land on the concussion disabled list June 22. Cervelli was activated from the disabled list July 8, only to go back on the DL six days later after taking several foul balls off the mask.
Elias Diaz is equipped to take over as the full-time starter. The 27-year-old has batted .292 with 27 RBIs in 49 starts this season and .327 in his last 15 games. More important, he's learned to be firm with the pitching staff and his game-calling has improved. Cervelli's under contract through next season, the club's highest-paid player at $11.5 million. He can still contribute, as illustrated by his .317 average in the past 10 games, but his role will likely need to change.