CHICAGO -- If the Pirates’ rebuild should ever work out, however long that may take, fans can probably point to Sunday’s lineup just to see how far they’ve come. Of course, in a true twist of fate, the list of names which likely inspired little confidence, scratched and clawed their way to the Buccos’ best offensive output in a while.
Without five of the eight hitters in their opening day lineup, the Pirates jumped all over Kyle Hendricks in a 6-5 win against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. It had been two full weeks since the Pirates last scored six runs, and the victory snapped a three-game losing streak.
In the first, the Pirates’ strung together four runs on as many hits and two errors. It was the most scoring the Pirates had seen in a single-inning since Apr. 10 against the Zach Davies and same Cubs team.
It was almost impossible to predict. A group of career- long bench players, waiver claims and aged veterans swinging commemorative pink bats and landing bloops and soft grounders to the spots on the field that would allow runners to score.
The word “unlikely” barely scratches the surface.
Derek Shelton and Ben Cherington spent their morning figuring out ways to replace Bryan Reynolds, who was out of the lineup for the second consecutive day with “lower body soreness.” And Colin Moran, who hit the 10-day injured list before first pitch after suffering a left groin strain the day prior. And Gregory Polanco, who’s been out with undisclosed, likely COVID-19 related issues. And Ke’Bryan Hayes, whose now at-least-60-day absence has left a crater at the hot corner the Pirates must continue to fill.
It’s a whole new world than it was just more than a month ago when this Pirates’ season started on this same field. But Sunday’s win made for a really great day for a team that could really, truly use a break.
“From the beginning of today, we were supporting each other, encouraging each other and really reminding each other that we were here to get that W," Wilmer Difo said through translator Mike Gonzalez. "We wanted to walk away with a win. We want to have a happy flight.”
Sure, Hendricks is a shell of his former self -- the four earned runs he allowed Sunday inflated his ERA to 6.23. But it’s important to note that, while there were unlikely contributors, the members of the lineup that were expected to come through, also joined the charge.
Adam Frazier started the game with the only ball hit in the opening inning with an exit velocity that could eclipse the soft-throwing Hendricks’ average fastball speed. His protection in the lineup: Kevin Newman and Ka’ai Tom.
It already seemed like the sky had fallen for an offense that had barely shown up in the nine games since the team poked its head above .500. With the injury situation reaching a boiling point Sunday, it seemed like the perfect time for Hendricks to right the ship. But this group wouldn’t let him.
Difo, the career backup infielder-turned-starting center fielder tripled on a three-hit, three-RBI day. Difo, the MLB leader in pinch hits, had been hitless in his previous 15 at-bats as a starter. Of course he would buck that trend with a two-run, bloop single in the opening inning against Hendricks? Right?
"I’m going to be honest with you -- I haven’t seen that movement from him before," Difo said of Hendricks that at-bat. "I was just very glad that I was able to get a good at-bat and be able to help the team get those four runs in there."
While this ball wasn’t scorched, his third-inning triple bashed off the right-field ivy with authority. The full-sprint carousel in which Erik Gonzalez went first to home with Difo trailing him was hypnotizing enough to make one forget that it was Gonzalez and Difo batting fifth and sixth in the order that day, where they will likely stick for the immediate future.
And then there was the issue of replacing Moran, who wasn’t just any card out of the deck. He was the team leader in batting (.297), slugging percentage (.468), OPS (.821) and RBIs (19).
How does his replacement -- a 35-year-old Todd Frazier, who couldn’t hit his age in his first 31 at-bats with the Pirates -- respond?
Of course, by moving Difo to third in the first inning with a 70.3 mph single to the part of the infield where a second baseman stood for a century. Frazier singled again in the third, a multi-hit effort after starting 1-for-31.
And then, of course, when Polanco’s replacement Troy Stokes Jr. took his first MLB at-bat, he’d also hit a slow roller that would lead to a throwing error, and a fourth run would score.
The Pirates added two more runs in the third on a Difo triple -- part of a three-hit afternoon for him -- and a Matt Duffy error. That would be just enough to get the job done, though the lineup did show more life, finishing with 11 hits.
Who couldn’t have seen that coming?
“We had some guys who stepped up today… It was nice to see our lineup, up and down, contribute," Shelton said.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• After taking two hard luck losses to the Cubs in his first two starts of the season, Tyler Anderson gave his best outing as a Pirate to date and got the win, going eight innings of two run ball. He allowed four hits and a walk and struck out six.
"Probably the best command we've seen him have," Shelton said. "When he needed to go to secondary stuff, especially the changeup, he did it to keep them off-balance. But the execution of the fastball in the upper quadrants of the zone was elite today."
Normally, Anderson wouldn't want to go up in the zone as often when pitching in Wrigley Field, but with the wind blowing in, he and catcher Jacob Stallings got more aggressive high.
"Today was a day where we could kind of get away with that a little bit more and force guys to put the ball in play in the air because the field was playing a lot bigger," Anderson said.
• It was an adventure to get the final three outs in the ninth. Shelton turned to Kyle Crick to start the inning, but pulled him after hitting Anthony Rizzo, walking Kris Bryant and giving up a loud fly out to Nick Martini.
Richard Rodriguez entered with the tying run on deck, and had his streak of 29 consecutive batters retired with a Joc Pederson base hit and Ildemaro Vargas double, letting three runs score while putting the tying run in scoring position.
He did escape the jam by getting Javier Baez to roll out to second, securing his sixth save of the season.
Shelton didn't second guess his decision to pull Anderson after eight innings.
"Total confidence in those two guys at the end of the game," he said.
• It was a very special mother's day for Lawanya Stokes, who got to see her son, Troy, make his major league debut.
She and her husband, Troy Stokes Sr., were able to catch a flight from Baltimore to make it to Chicago after being told Sunday morning that Troy was making the majors.
"I remember in spring, on her birthday, I hit a homer, and when they told me yesterday that I was going up for the taxi squad, I was like, ‘OK, well it’s Mother’s Day tomorrow. That would be pretty cool if I debuted. It would be a pretty sweet gift for my mom,' " Stokes said.
Don't worry. He's still planning to get a gift for mom.
For Stokes, he finally made his big league debut after spending most of last year on the Tigers' injured list with a broken hamate bone. He's bounced around the last few years, from the Brewers to the Tigers to the Pirates, and after being outrighted off the roster earlier this year, he's excited to finally get a chance in the majors.
"I’m happy to be here, and it’s all worth it," Stokes said. "I’m looking forward to showing what I can do, not just defensively, but offensively. Just get the ball rolling here. I’m excited about today, of course, but going forward, helping the team win and doing whatever I can."
• Cherington said on his radio program on 93.7 The Fan that Polanco should be back on the roster "soon," saying that his injured list stint is "not a 10 day situation, necessarily."
Be sure to check out our earlier file for all of the Pirates' transaction news from the day.
THE ESSENTIALS
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
Adam Frazier, 2B
Kevin Newman, SS
Ka'ai Tom, LF
Jacob Stallings, C
Erik González, 3B
Wilmer Difo, CF
Todd Frazier, 1B
Troy Stokes, Jr., RF
Tyler Anderson, P
And for Ross' Cubs:
Matt Duffy, 3B
Willson Contreras, C
Anthony Rizzo, 1B
Kris Bryant, LF
David Bote, 2B
Jason Heyward, RF
Jake Marisnick, CF
Ildemaro Vargas, SS
Kyle Hendricks, P
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates are heading back to Pittsburgh to take on the Reds. Mitch Keller (2-3, 6.29) will try to get that elusive second consecutive good start. The Reds will counter with Jeff Hoffman (2-3, 4.39). First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
THE CONTENT
Visit our team page for everything.