SAN DIEGO -- Runs batted in has become a polarizing statistic in recent years.
Old-school baseball people believe driving in runs remains the biggest key to offensive success and some players have a better knack for coming through in the clutch than others. Those from the new school feel there is no such thing as a clutch hitter and RBIs are solely a function of opportunity.
Whatever side of the argument you fall on, it can’t detract from the way Josh Bell is piling up the RBIs – in addition to home runs.
The switch-hitting first baseman hit two more homers Saturday night and drove in four runs to lead the Pirates to a 7-2 victory over the Padres at Petco Park. Bell now leads the major leagues with 43 RBIs, one more than the Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger and the Astros' George Springer, and is a big reason why the Pirates are three games over .500 at 23-20.
The focus this season has been on Bell’s ability to hit the long ball. He raised his home run total to 14 through 43 games after going deep just 12 times in 148 games last season.
Yet Bell is also averaging an RBI a game. He has more than twice as many RBIs as anyone else on the club as Starling Marte is second with 17.
It reminds Clint Hurdle of the 1980 season when he was teammates with Hall of Famer George Brett with the Royals. Brett was limited to 117 games that season because of injury but knocked in 118 runs.
“It blew my mind,” Hurdle said. “It blew everybody’s mind.”
Not that Hurdle is expecting Bell to drive in 162 runs this season or even break the franchise record of 131 by Paul Waner, which has stood since 1927. Yet the manager can’t help but marvel at his cleanup hitter’s performance a little more than a quarter of the way into the season as Bell is hitting .333/.402/.704.
“You can’t take the 43 away,” Hurdle said. “We’ll see where it ends up. You can’t take them away, though. You can’t take his start away. I just think the confidence is in a good, cemented place. There’s going to be some challenges at some point during the season, but he’s in a good place.”
Bell is obviously pleased with how he is hitting and told me leading the league in RBIs is meaningful to him:
The most impressive part of Bell’s performance Saturday was that he hit both home runs from the right side of the plate. Both were off Padres rookie left-hander Nick Margevicius.
One of the criticisms leveled against Bell is that his left-handed swing is much better than his right-handed swing. Yet Bell has averaged one home run every 26.9 plate appearances from the right side during his four-year career and one every 28.4 from the left side.
There is little doubt, though, that Bell is swinging better than ever from the right side.
Proof of that came in the second inning when he hit the first of back-to-back solo home runs, Bryan Reynolds following with a blast to left field. The homers gave the Pirates a 2-0 lead.
More proof of that came an inning later. Bell hit a three-run shot that increased the advantage to 5-0 and gave the Pirates some much-needed cushion on a night when they used a reliever as an opener to pitch the first two innings of a game for the first time.
“I worked a ton on my right-handed swing in the offseason and am continuing to do that with (hitting coaches Rick) Eckstein and (Jacob) Cruz now that we’re into the season, especially when I know there’s a left-hander that’s going to start,” Bell said. “I just try to work on both sides every day. I feel like I did the majority of my work in the offseason. Now, it’s a matter of trying to maintain both swings.”
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THE GOOD
The Pirates are 1-0 in games started by an opener, a concept hatched by the Rays last season when they won a surprising 90 games.
Rookie Montana DuRapau opened by pitching two scoreless innings while striking out four. It was his first start since short-season ball in 2014.
"I think he was feeling it," Hurdle said. "I think he was enjoying it."
Steven Brault followed in what the Rays have termed the "primary pitcher" role. He allowed both runs in 3 2/3 innings, working around four walks.
"It was fun," Brault said. "It was different. It was unique. But it worked. We won."
Michael Feliz (1 1/3), Kyle Crick (1/3) Francisco Liriano (one) and Geoff Hartlieb (one) combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings to finish it off.
Making his major-league debut a day after being called up from Class AAA Indianapolis, Hartlieb retired the top of the Padres' order. He struck out Ian Kinsler, then got Franmil Reyes to ground out and Manny Machado to foul out.
Hartlieb was understandably thrilled to have such an impressive first outing. I asked him about it:
THE BAD
The struggles of the Pirates' third basemen continued as Colin Moran went 0-for-5. He hit into a double play and left six runners on base.
Moran is hitting .232/.306/.364 in 40 games. Jung Ho Kang, currently on the injured list, has a .133/.204/.300.
No wonder Hurdle is giving starts to journeyman Jake Elmore and rookie Kevin Newman at the hot corner. He has to try something.
THE OTHER SIDE
It was a rough night for Margevicius as the 22-year-old was tagged for four home runs.
In all, he allowed six runs and eight hits in four-plus innings. Margevicius was pulled after Gregory Polanco led off the fifth with a homer to make it 6-1.
Margevicius is 0-3 with a 6.64 in his last four starts after beginning his career 2-2 with a 3.60 ERA in five starts.
"I've been falling behind in counts," Margevicius told reporters. "Definitely part of the last game and this game. Falling behind has not been good for me."
THE DATA
• Bell had the third multi-homer game of his career. All have come in the last two weeks, the others being May 4 against the Athletics at PNC Park and Tuesday against the Diamondbacks in Phoenix.
• The Pirates hit a season-high four home runs. That was the most by the Pirates since they also had four last July 22 against the Reds at Cincinnati.
• The back-to-back home runs were the first for the Pirates this year.
• Elias Diaz tied his career high with three hits. He also had a three-hit game last July 20 against the Reds at Cincinnati.
• The five-run margin of victory matched the Pirates' largest of the season. They also won 5-0 over the Reds on March 31 at Cincinnati.
THE INJURIES
• Trevor Williams, right-hander, is on the 10-day IL with a right side strain.
• Jung Ho Kang, third baseman, is on the 10-day IL with a strained left side.
• Corey Dickerson, outfielder, is on the 10-day IL with a strained right shoulder.
• Keone Kela, right-hander, is on the 10-day IL with right shoulder inflammation.
• Lonnie Chisenhall, outfielder, is on the 10-day IL with a broken right hand. He is on a rehab assignment with Class AAA Indianapolis.
• Jameson Taillon, right-hander, is on the 60-day IL with a strained right forearm flexor tendon.
• Erik Gonzalez, shortstop, is on the 60-day IL with a fractured right clavicle.
• Nick Burdi, relief pitcher, is on the 60-day IL with right elbow/biceps pain caused by a nerve problem.
THE SCHEDULE
The four-game series concludes at 4:10 Eastern time Sunday with Joe Musgrove (2-4, 3.59) starting against rookie Cal Quantrill (0-1, 3.60). Musgrove is a native of nearby El Cajon, Calif. I will be on the coverage as the 11-game road trip, the Pirates' longest of the season, concludes.
THE COVERAGE
All of our expanded baseball coverage, including Mound Visit by Jason Rollison, Indy Watch by Matt Welch and Altoona Watch by Jarrod Prugar, can be found on our team page.