The replay vindicated Dustin Fowler. Upon further review, his right foot got under Eric Sogard’s glove and hit the bag before the second baseman got him with the tag.
Regardless of the safe or out call, Fowler had just brought home the first Pirates' run of the game, which would eventually result in a 7-1 win over the Cubs at PNC Park Sunday.
Overall, Fowler had a decent game. He had the hustle double, scored a run, was hit by a pitch, drove a fly ball 374 feet to the warning track and made an above-average over-the-shoulder grab in the field. Not a bad day for the center fielder.
It was the first time the Pirates showed any sign of life out of that position this season.
So far, Derek Shelton has alternated starts in center between Fowler and Anthony Alford. Both are in the same boat: Former top 100 prospects who the Pirates picked up after their previous teams designated them for assignment. It really is anyone’s job to be won, and neither has done much to prove they are the guy.
Of the two, Fowler has performed better. That’s because it’s hard to do worse than Alford thus far. Fowler is slashing .222/.286/.278 with two RBIs over his 21 plate appearances. Alford has walked three times, but in his 15 at-bats, he is hitless and has struck out 12 times.
For Alford, it’s a complete one-eighty to how he performed in spring training, where he flashed a reworked swing and the tools that made him one of the Blue Jays’ top prospects for years. Since then, though, his timing has been off, most evident in Saturday’s 0-for-4 performance where he wore the golden sombrero -- four strikeouts.
“He looks a little bit more tentative than he did in spring training,” Shelton said before the game. “When you’re tentative, your timing really seems to go back and forth. I think we have to clean that up a little bit.”
Shelton said hitting coach Rick Eckstein had a conversation about Alford Sunday, and that Eckstein has some points outlined to go over with the struggling hitter. Perhaps it's a sign of hope, because right now, Alford looks lost at the plate.
For Fowler, he got a late start in camp after being acquired from the Athletics in late February, but he has made some gaffes, like misreading a fly ball and failing to tag up at third on opening day. He has made some hard contact, but most of it has been pull side and right into the shift.
As a duo, the two are 4-for-33 with only one extra-base hit, Fowler’s fringe double. With the Pirates hanging on to Gregory Polanco in right field — for now — the two center fielders' poor early performance may end up costing them that opportunity.
It may happen in the next couple days.
Ben Cherington said on his radio show Sunday that Ke’Bryan Hayes was going to have his left wrist examined. How that checkup goes will determine how to proceed with his rehab and when the Pirates activate him off the injured list.
Whether it’s 10 days or a bit longer, the prognosis on Hayes is promising. That means Phillip Evans -- who has taken Hayes' spot in the everyday lineup, mostly at third base -- would be without a steady job. The Pirates don’t want to take his hot bat out of the lineup, and while he can fill-in at several positions, he’s going to need everyday reps.
Perhaps in left field, and moving Bryan Reynolds out to center? Reynolds has long been in favor of playing his natural position, and Shelton hinted that we could see him out there at some point.
“We’ll walk through all of those things when we get there,” Shelton said. “We’re going to have to try and figure out what the best lineup is for that time.”
If that happens, both Fowler and Alford are in a tight spot. Not just because they would be without a starting job, but because the Pirates might not want to carry two outfielders on a four-man bench, even if Evans could still bounce around.
There’s still time for one, or even both, to show something, and small sample sizes have to be taken into consideration this early in a season. But Shelton and Cherington have made clear that this is going to be a meritocracy, and that players are going to have to earn their playing time. Right now, Evans has done that, and it could shake up the outfield as a result.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Trevor Williams' PNC Park homecoming Sunday did not go as planned, getting tagged for five runs over 3 1/3 innings.
The deciding runs actually came off the bat of his former rotation partner, JT Brubaker, who lined a base hit down the first base line to score a pair in the second inning.
Before Saturday's game, the two caught up and joked about what pitches they wanted to see to keep things light. (Brubaker didn't get what he asked for on the base hit.)
"Once the lights come on, everybody's in competition mode," Brubaker said. "It was good to face Trev."
Brubaker drove in a third run the following inning on a ground out. Colin Moran added the final run against Williams with a base knock in the fourth.
Jacob Stallings went 2-for-3 with a double and a walk Sunday, though he really didn't enjoy facing his old battery mate.
"He got me down 0-2 and I had to refocus and get back in my approach and just try to battle some at-bats," Stallings said. "[He's] one of my really good friends in the game and just in life. It was weird, for sure."
Wilmer Difo tagged on two runs with a pinch-hit home run in the seventh.
• Anybody want to help me figure out what home plate umpire Greg Gibson said Sunday?
Here's the situation: Brubaker hit two batters in the game, the second being Kris Bryant on the first pitch of the fourth inning. The Cubs' bench took exception to that, and there was some barking. Gibson ended up tossing pitching and catching coach Mike Borzello, screaming "get outta here!" so loudly that it echoes through the stadium.
Coincidentally, part of what Gibson screams back was caught on AT&T SportsNet's broadcast. Here's the hot mic:
HOT MIC EJECTION IN PITTSBURGH
— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) April 11, 2021
pic.twitter.com/Xl3BPDlVw2
I've got: "Get outta here! We don’t need you around! Get out! You’re supposed to be a coach, not…”
Anyone have really good hearing or can read lips?
• The play of the game may have come as a result of the first hit batter.
With two runners on in the top of the third, Brubaker hit Willson Contreras, again on the first pitch of the at-bat. He got Anthony Rizzo to bounce to first on the next at-bat, getting a potential double-play to end the inning. However, shortstop Kevin Newman made an errant throw, which allowed a run to score and bring the Cubs back to within a run.
After a review, the run was taken off the board and a double-play was called because they determined that Contreras was running towards Newman and not the bag.
"It was a good, aggressive slide," Shelton said. "I just don’t think he touched the bag, and because of it, they called him out on interference, which was extremely important for us."
With that and the overturned call on the Fowler double, the Pirates went 2-for-2 on video replays on the day, which is why Shelton called Kevin Roach, the video coordinator, the game's MVP. Those two calls resulted in two runs and two outs in the Pirates' favor.
• Brubaker was in a groove Sunday, allowing just one run on a Javier Báez solo shot over 5 1/3 innings. He allowed just four hits and one walk while striking out four.
After two years of working on his four-seamer, Brubaker had that and the sinker working Sunday, using each pitch as much as the other and filling up the strike zone -- four-seamers high, sinkers low.
"He threw the ball in the zone, which was important," Shelton said. "His last start, he was around the zone a little bit, and I know we’ve continued to talk about it and just trust in his stuff, staying on the plate. I thought he did a much better job of that today."
The Pirates hadn't gotten much length out of their starters during their opening road trip, but Tyler Anderson, Mitch Keller and Brubaker all went at least five innings this series, and combined to walk just two.
"[It] means a lot, really," Brubaker said. "Getting outs in the zone, that's been the goal for our entire staff. Let's attack hitters and get outs in the zone. I think that as long as we can continue that mentality, that's what it's gonna look like for series', multiple series."
• Reynolds went 4-for-5 Sunday, raising his season slash line to .324/.378/.471.
Evans had four hard-hit balls (95+ mph exit velocity) and went 2-for-5, lowering his season OPS to 1.202.
• Factoid of the night: Brubaker is the first Pirates pitcher to drive in three runs in a game since Tyler Glasnow on May 2, 2017.
THE ESSENTIALS
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
Adam Frazier, 2B
Phillip Evans, 3B
Bryan Reynolds, LF
Colin Moran, 1B
Kevin Newman, SS
Gregory Polanco, RF
Jacob Stallings, C
Dustin Fowler, CF
JT Brubaker, P
And for David Ross' Cubs:
Ian Happ, CF
Willson Contreras, C
Anthony Rizzo, 1B
Kris Bryant, 3B
Joc Pederson, LF
Javier Báez, SS
Jason Heyward, RF
Eric Sogard, 2B
Trevor Williams, P
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates will welcome the Padres to PNC Park for a four-game series starting Monday. Trevor Cahill (0-1, 15.75) will take the bump against Yu Darvish (0-0, 4.22). First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
THE CONTENT
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