Francisco Cervelli can accomplish his best work when standing in front of a grill. That's where the Pirates' 32-year-old catcher found himself on Labor Day, cooking homemade arepas after one of his pitchers called asking for help.
Joe Musgrove, scheduled to make his 17th start of the season less than 24 hours later, had lost power at his apartment and Cervelli insisted he spend the night. After the Venezuelan cuisine was prepared, Musgrove sat with his teammate and explained how he didn't feel well during his last two starts.
Cervelli, following advice he received during his 16 years of professional ball, kept quiet and listened. He then imparted some delicate words of wisdom that Musgrove used to craft one of his finest starts to date. With the Pirates' first series victory in nearly a month on the line, Musgrove struck out eight with no walks in a 7-3 win over the Reds Thursday night, in front of 8,855 fans — the smallest crowd at PNC Park this season.
It wasn't the result Musgrove expected. He was late to warm up on the mound because he lost track of time pumping pitch after pitch in the bullpen to try to find that elusive feeling. The 25-year-old starter then warned Cervelli during the walk to the dugout, only for the veteran to offer the same sales pitch he's used to guide this pitching staff during its late-summer blossom.
“That it’s good today," Cervelli said of his message to Musgrove. "He’s got a lot of power. I cannot tell a pitcher that they don’t have something. You have to sell the best car you have. You cannot sell the cheapest one. If they go to the mound with that mentality, they don’t have it. The hitter’s the enemy and themselves. You have to make them believe that, no matter what, they are good that night.”
Musgrove, a few weeks away from completing his first full season in a big-league rotation, allowed only five hits in 6 1/3 innings, three in a two-run seventh inning, and threw 67 of his 92 pitches for strikes. One year removed from throwing out of the bullpen during the Astros' World Series run, he's pitched through the sixth inning in seven of his last eight starts.
On the surface, Musgrove didn't seem unnerved after his previous two starts, where he was bombed for nine total runs in only 10 innings. Under the surface, though, was a young pitcher unsure of himself. Musgrove's delivery felt out of whack. He tended to stubbornly stick to his game plan, even if hitters were sitting on his fastball. Upon hearing his pitcher's self-evaluation, Cervelli gave a multi-pronged plan, much like he does with his other starters.
He explained to Musgrove how to better disguise his pitches, and the importance of being unpredictable. Rather than sticking with the fastball this time, Cervelli called for Musgrove to throw more off-speed pitches from the outset, including three changeups and this slider to strike out Scooter Gennett to end the first inning:
"I can’t say enough about Cervelli tonight," Musgrove said. "Coming out of the bullpen I told him, I said, 'Man, I’m going to follow your lead tonight.' I really didn’t feel very good at all coming out of the bullpen. I learned a lot from him tonight on how to disguise pitches. That’s the earliest in the game I’ve gone to my changeup. ... We went to the changeup really early and as the game had gone on I felt like they were starting to sit on the changeup a little more and trying to stay back a little longer, and I was able to blow some fastballs by them and kind of get them off the changeup and then expand with the slider a little bit. I learned a lot from Cervelli tonight, and he deserves a lot of credit for tonight’s outing."
Musgrove allowed a two-out single in the first on a changeup to the outside corner, only to retire 17 of the next 18 batters he faced, seven by strikeout. That changeup produced six of his 17 swinging strikes, while waiting to throw fastballs led to more off-balance swings.
That recipe induced weak contact — five ground-ball outs and one ball in play with an exit velocity over 83 mph before the seventh inning — and only one extra-base hit. The shutout was spoiled in the sixth when Gennett hit a hanging changeup over the Clemente Wall for a solo home run, and Musgrove left after allowing back-to-back singles, one of which scored with Richard Rodriguez on the mound.
It was only his second win since July 24, but more important, it gave him the confidence he lost during his first season back in a big-league rotation. And the man on the other end of this masterpiece couldn't stop smiling while recalling their conversation one night earlier.
The rotation's 3.24 ERA since the All-Star break is the fifth-lowest in the National League, while it's allowed the third-fewest runs. Chris Archer credited a "colorful" conversation with Cervelli — and their new-found trust — with helping him complete his best start with the Pirates. Similar anecdotes have been offered by this staff all season. Cervelli is a voice of reason during turbulent times, and his passion for that job is why he's expressed a desire to continue catching, even after a few bouts with post-concussion symptoms this season.
"That’s my job, and that’s what I’ve learned since I started 16 years ago," Cervelli said. "My first thing and the most important thing is the pitchers – the relationship with them. When you’re able to put any signs and they just trust and they throw, that’s everything for us – or for me. The game will go faster. The less they think is better. That’s my opinion.”
Humberto Trejo, a former player development coordinator for the Yankees, taught Cervelli the importance of those relationships when he was a teenager in the Dominican Summer League in 2002. That message was reinforced upon reaching the majors in 2008, where Yankees starter Andy Pettitte told a 23-year-old Cervelli to spend time with his pitchers, even taking them out to dinner regularly, and to be mindful of each personality.
Saying one wrong word on the mound could exacerbate any issues, Pettitte reminded him. Ray Searage, the Pirates' pitching coach, tells Cervelli to be the "old bull who helps the young calf," emphasizing the importance of patience and never revealing one's concerns. That skillset never evaporated during his injury-shortened seasons in 2016 and 2017.
Cervelli, who went 2 for 3 with an RBI Tuesday, has already produced career highs in home runs and RBIs.
He will make $11.5 million in the final year of his contract in 2019, one of the few remaining veterans after a season that went awry since that 11-game winning streak. The Pirates, now 68-71, are nine games out of the wild card race. They've turned their focus to 2019, and the man behind the grill wants to be there to answer his pitchers' calls for help for years to come.
"I’m really excited about next year," Cervelli told DKPittsburghSports.com before leaving the clubhouse Tuesday night. "It’s really disappointing where we are right now. Sometimes I feel embarrassed because the stadium, no one comes. The guys are still playing hard and still playing baseball. For next year, this team is going to be different because the pitching is incredible. I hope I can be part of this for the next three, four years or whatever."
1. Another encouraging rookie.
Pablo Reyes isn't ranked among the Pirates' top 30 prospects by any publication. Yet, he was among the club's final cuts at spring training and had an impressive season at Triple-A, including a .776 OPS in 110 games. That, as well as his versatility, earned the 24-year-old a spot in the majors when rosters expanded Friday, and he showed Tuesday why he could have a chance at a spot on the opening day roster in 2019.
Reyes, making his first career start, went 2 for 4 and played dependable defense at third base. His first career hit was this infield single in the fourth:
He also had an impressive drive off the Clemente Wall for an RBI double in the eighth.
"When I had that first hit, that's when I told myself, 'now I can play baseball,’" Reyes, signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2012, said. He can play every position on the field, aside from catcher, first base and pitcher, and he has the type of speed the Pirates lack.
2. The Pirates will go wherever Marte takes them.
It's no coincidence the Pirates' struggles have coincided with Starling Marte's. He makes them go, as Hurdle put it back in July. That's exactly why Hurdle benched Marte for not running out a ground ball last month, though a similar lack of hustle was displayed again Monday.
The Pirates need to coax every bit of talent out of Marte. Otherwise, this offense will fall short. Marte, leading off again, scored in the third after reaching on a one-out infield single, and he pummeled a pitch 371 feet for a two-run homer in the fourth to break the game open.
Marte had gone hitless in his last two games after hitting safely in eight straight. That was the first home run by a player not named Adam Frazier or Gregory Polanco since Aug. 15, and it was Marte's first since Aug. 7 in Denver. He, Frazier, Polanco and Cervelli went a combined 8 for 15 with five RBIs against the Reds.
Polanco had a two-run double in the third, and Frazier scored on Cervelli's single in the first. The Pirates finished with 12 hits and went 5 for 9 with runners in scoring position, despite Josh Bell, Corey Dickerson and Colin Moran all sitting.
"Everybody in the offense was involved," Hurdle said. "Cervelli and these three guys were definitely a part of it. There’s no doubt. You’re looking for contagions. Hopefully this was a contagion to get us going in a direction we haven’t had a lot of consistency going. When Marte hits a ball that direction, hopefully he’ll hold on to that a little bit because those are good."
3. Frazier shows he's ready.
It's no longer a question what Frazier's role will be next season. He's earned the right to be the Pirates' starting second baseman. The 26-year-old had earned the reputation of being a reliable, advanced hitter until he finally struggled early this season. He was demoted to Triple-A in June and didn't return full-time until July 25 when Dickerson landed on the disabled list.
He's ranked second in batting average — .352 — and ninth in OPS in 34 games since. Frazier's hit 13 doubles with five home runs and 20 RBIs in that span. But it's his defense that will make him an every day player in 2019. Getting to a ground ball seems to no longer be an issue, as illustrated again in the fifth inning Tuesday.
Scott Schebler hit a ball that Frazier caught on one hop, stopped and then fired a throw over to first, resulting in an infield single. His range has improved. So has his athleticism and technique. Minor detail such as that can be cleaned up.
"His first-step quickness has improved," Hurdle said. "He's pitch-ready. There's separation of the bat and ball. It just seems to be in a better place defensively. Whether it's playing more — they played every day in the minor leagues and there was periods of time where he didn't play above average defensively. Sometimes it all gets down to what you need to do if you want to play every day. I think he's got a really good understanding of what he needs to do, the kind of player he needs to be to play more."
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Pirates vs. Reds, PNC Park, Sept. 4, 2018. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS