Josh Bell's soul-searching occurred in an empty batting cage at PNC Park with a nearby television showing his teammates playing a game without him. Bell, responding to a challenge and benching from Clint Hurdle, took swing after swing off a tee to try to solve a problem that's followed him since spring training broke.
"Kind of unwind and reflect on some of the bad that's been happening," Bell, who was benched the previous two games, said following the Pirates' 5-3 win over the Marlins to open a three-game series Friday night.
That time alone allowed Bell to stop worrying about results. Instead, he focused on how he lost the swing that made him a National League Rookie of the Year finalist only one year ago. Hours alone in the cage and film room made Bell hopeful, but he didn't discover a possible solution until Josh Harrison joined him.
Bell, equipped with a back-to-the-basics approach, hit a two-run, opposite-field homer off Miami starter Dan Straily in the second inning to back Chris Archer.
"[Clint] put it on me to figure it out," Bell told DKPittsburghSports.com. "Figure out what I wanted to stick with. Figure out what can keep me in the lineup, what can keep us in the hunt. I’m definitely going to continue to work for it and through the offseason. Keep grinding."
Bell, who turned 26 last month, lost that effortless, powerful swing he used to hit 26 home runs with 90 RBIs last season. His front shoulder and hips began to fly open, causing him to take violent, off-balance, ugly swings. That disrupted his timing, causing him to hit weak ground balls to the right side whenever he was slightly late on a pitch in the zone.
When Hurdle planned the benching, Bell was mired in an 0-for-15 slump and had hit only eight home runs in 127 games. His recent struggles had coincided with those of the Pirate offense, which scored the fewest runs in the majors in August. So, Bell returned to where he's often found peace — alone in the cage.
Harrison, now serving in a bench role, was stepping into the cage Wednesday night to prepare to pinch-hit when he became a sounding board. Harrison helped Bell pinpoint the cause of his timing issue after watching the first baseman take a few swings off the tee.
Bell wasn't getting behind the ball in time because of all those unnecessary movements. The two chatted for roughly four innings of the Pirates' win over the Reds on that Wednesday night, until Bell came up with an exercise to see if a more basic approach would allow him to make solid contact on inside pitches.
Bell positioned the tee on the middle of the plate and took a few swings. He stopped, moved it a few inches closer to his body and took several more swings. Again, he moved the tee and continued until it was only 6 inches from his waist.
"I just tried to keep my hands inside the ball," Bell explained. "That’s my initial move. That’s the most important thing. In regards to the stance, it’s what I’ve done in Triple-A and what I’ve gone back to in the past. At times, I’ve gotten too big and too long with my stride."
That work played out brilliantly in his first at-bat against Straily. Bell fell behind 0-2 before working the count full when Straily tried to bait him into swinging at a pitch outside the zone. Then, he drove a fastball 403 feet.
"That at-bat was really clean," Hurdle said. "I thought the two pitches in the zone he got his swing off on time. He spit on the balls that were outside the zone and to hit a ball to the notch like that from a left-handed hitter, you don’t see that very often."
Bell said: "Hindsight is 20-20. It was one of those swings where I wish I would have started doing that months ago, but the hard work paid off."
The home run, which followed Corey Dickerson's one-out double, was Bell's first since Aug. 11, and he's now third on the team with 56 RBIs. His season slash line of .255/.345/.397 has fallen short of his own expectations; however, he's made progress in some areas. His whiff rate and ground-ball rate are both down from last season, while his hard contact and walk rates are up.
The results aren't there, though. That's all that matters to Bell. The Pirates, now 70-71 and eight games back in the wild-card race, rank 10th in the majors in batting average, but they're 19th in runs, 24th in home runs and 19th in OPS, despite receiving more from Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco, who was removed in the sixth inning because of knee and shoulder injuries sustained on an ugly slide into second base.
"We still have some time here," Bell said. "It's tough to look up and see that I'm not at double-digit homers, or my average and OPS aren't what I want. I'm not where I want to be. I know that. But I'm not reflecting on the season yet. That will come when it's all over."
Bell isn't sure where he lost his swing, perhaps in batting practice. But his singular focus is to limit his movements when readying for the pitch. Prior to the home run, he held his hands low and kept his elbows down, then raised his hands before the ball was delivered to the plate. Yet, one swing didn't erase the uneasiness that's followed Bell for much of the season.
Any sign of progress has been met with another challenge.
"Hopefully it continues to work ...We’ll see," he said before leaving the home clubhouse.
1. Archer slips up again.
Archer made one terrible pitch, a hanging slider to Lewis Brinson that resulted in a two-out, three-run homer in the top of the sixth inning for a one-run lead.
Otherwise, Archer showed more encouraging signs, though it was against a deficient lineup. He struck out six, including three in the first inning, and pitched well with runners on base up until the sixth, when J.T. Realmuto doubled and Brian Anderson walked. Archer struck out Miguel Rojas with an inside fastball, only to throw that slider to Brinson.
Still, Archer gave the Pirates six innings, keeping them within striking distance for a win. He threw 55 of his 91 pitches for strikes, including 20 looking. The Marlins, now 56-85, fouled off only 11 of those pitches, which helped Archer pitch through the sixth for a second consecutive start. But the 29-year-old continued to struggle with getting quick outs and his command was erratic, including three walks.
"The fastball command kind of ran in some sequences," Hurdle said. "He ended up with three walks. He walked the eighth guy and walked the pitcher one time, which is never anybody’s game plan going in. The slider got him out of some jams. ... I still think he’s tracking good in some areas."
2. Kramer looks like he belongs.
It's unlikely Kevin Kramer will make the opening day roster next season, no matter how well he performs in this final month or down in Florida next spring. The Pirates' roster is dotted with lefties, plus Bell is a switch-hitter. Neal Huntington and Hurdle may opt for a right-handed bench bat to balance the lineup when camp breaks.
Kramer belongs, though. He showed that in his first major league start here Friday night. First, he delivered a line drive single to right on an elevated changeup in the third inning for his first hit. The 24-year-old delivered another impressive at-bat in the fifth, though he lined out to right on an eight-pitch at-bat to strand two in scoring position.
But his finest work came in the seventh when he turned on a 101 mph fastball from Tayron Guerrero for a single up the middle, scoring Jordy Mercer for his first career RBI and tying the score, 3-3, with two outs.
"Kevin had a good game," Hurdle said. "Very solid performance at the plate. In control of his swing. Good looks. Aggressive in the zone swinging the bat. A big swing to tie it up and to get his first major-league hit out of the way early. Yeah, I felt he handled himself well all over."
Jordan Luplow gave them the lead with a two-run homer only four pitches later.
Kramer's going to get plenty of playing time over the final month, as the Pirates evaluate for next season. They have to be intrigued by the power since this team doesn't have much. Kramer can provide some pop — 15 home runs with 35 doubles at Triple-A this season — and he's a capable defender at second base.
His three at-bats Friday, particularly the one against Guerrero, showed all the work in Triple-A can translate to the major leagues:
3. Luplow's turn to earn a job.
The Pirates did not announce the severity of Polanco's injuries, though they expect to reveal more information sometime Saturday afternoon. Either way, it appears they're likely going to be without Polanco for the rest of this season, which will push Jordan Luplow into a starting role.
Luplow, 24, was the club's third-round pick in 2014 and was batting .195 in 128 major league at-bats entering the day, but he's a candidate to be the club's fourth outfielder entering next season. He can play both corner spots, while providing above-average arm strength. More important, he's cheap and right-handed, which is potentially a nice complement for Dickerson and Polanco.
Luplow pinch ran for Polanco following the injury and hit that opposite-field homer on a 100-mph fastball by Guerrero. The Pirates' minor league player of the year in 2017, Luplow batted .287 with eight home runs and 49 RBIs in 88 games for Triple-A Indianapolis this season. Neither Hurdle nor Huntington care about that production, though.
They'll be more concerned with how Luplow performs in situations such as this.
"All the pinch-hit at-bats I had before that, always being ready," Luplow said of what prepared him for the at-bat. "Being ready to hit the ball. Trying to take advantage of the opportunities I get and try to win some ballgames."
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Pirates vs. Marlins, PNC Park, Sept. 7, 2018. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS