KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Pirates concluded May with their 20th loss of the month, falling to the Royals at Kauffman Stadium Monday, 7-3.
Before the game, though, they finally got a morale and personnel win: Ke’Bryan Hayes was fielding ground balls at third base.
Young Hayes is in the building pic.twitter.com/JRwWDck6Tj
— Alex Stumpf (@AlexJStumpf) May 31, 2021
It wasn’t the longest infield session, and he didn’t swing during batting practice, but his return is imminent.
“[I’ve been] counting down the days since he got hurt for him to be back,” Jacob Stallings joked.
That’s going to be soon. Hayes is staying with the club rather than driving out to Omaha, Neb. for one more rehab contest.
"The plan is to activate him when he is eligible," Derek Shelton said.
So mark your calendars for June 3.
It’s been a long-time coming. After homering in the regular season debut, Hayes injured his left wrist swinging in the second game of the season. He was placed on the 10-day injured list the next day, with the Pirates believing at the time that he would be back after the minimum amount of time had passed.
Then it turned out the injury was a bit more serious and would take more time to heal. A setback in his first rehab assignment shut him down again, and he took things slower the second time.
It was the best long-term option for him, but in the short-term, the Pirates were left without the preseason rookie of the year frontrunner who was supposed to man the hot corner.
“We came into the year knowing he was going to be a big part of our year on both sides of the ball,” Shelton said. “For him to only play one game, it's been challenging for us. So we're excited to get him back."
And it’s not just Hayes. The Pirates’ extensive injury list is expected to become less crowded soon. Chad Kuhl made his return Monday, going four innings and allowing three runs, but pitched better as the game went on. He threw 75 pitches, and felt like he had more in the tank.
“I felt great,” Kuhl said. “My third and fourth [innings] were pretty good. I felt like I had 100 pitches tonight physically. Just planning out for the long run, making sure that I maintain health through the rest of the year.”
On offense, before the game, Shelton said Colin Moran and Phillip Evans were expected to start their rehab in the next day or two. Postgame, he said the timetable for their return is the next seven to 10 days. Moran led the team in homers last year (10), and Evans leads the team in average exit velocity (92 mph), so they bring some potential pop to a lineup that is last in baseball in homers (37) and slugging percentage (.349).
Those returns will cause some playing time questions in the near future.
It’s safe to assume Kuhl will join Mitch Keller, Tyler Anderson and JT Brubaker -- once he comes off the bereavement list -- as the main pitchers in the rotation. What happens to the fifth spot? Do they go back to Trevor Cahill once he returns from his calf injury? Keep rolling with Wil Crowe? Give Chase De Jong another start? The Pirates close the first half of the season with 20 consecutive games before the All-Star break, so it would seem to be an ideal scenario to sprinkle in some spot starts, but with the number of off-days coming up, that's not an option at the moment.
Hitting wise, all three players of the spring training shortstop competition -- Kevin Newman, Erik González and Cole Tucker -- are currently with the team, and all three started Monday. They went a combined 2-for-11 with a Newman double. It has not been an encouraging year for any of them.
But rather than having to start two or three of them a night, Shelton at least will have options on how to use his hitters.
“When you lose three guys that are crucial to your club in terms of at-bats and playing time, it does challenge your depth,” Shelton said. “We will definitely get deeper, we will definitely be in a better spot to rest people. It's gonna be important for us as we move forward."
That’s the main theme after a month of May where the Pirates went just 8-20, sputtering after an encouraging first four weeks of the season.
“Just move forward into June," Shelton said.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Kuhl's night lasted just four innings because he was on a shortened pitch count. His first trip through the order was shaky, but he found a rhythm as the game went on. After allowing three runs to score during the Royals' first trip through the lineup, he held them to a 2-for-10 clip the rest of the way.
He allowed three earned runs over four innings on six hits, a hit batter and two wild pitches. He struck out five.
"I had some pretty good feel," Kuhl said. "Their numbers against sliders and their chase and their swing and miss is pretty high compared to the rest of the league on breaking balls. So we went breaking heavy tonight."
Of the 75 pitches Kuhl threw, 43 were sliders, and he turned to it more and more as the game progressed. It was the first time in his career he threw his slider at least 50% of the time.
He needed to rely on it, too, because the Royals went 4-for-4 on the sinkers that were put in play. Despite not getting the results he wanted with his fastball and not throwing a changeup on the night, the feel for his first outing back was positive because of the effectiveness of his slider.
"I thought his stuff was sharp," Stallings said. "The slider was good, curveball was pretty good. The fastball command got us a few times. Other than that, he had a couple balls just kind of find holes and sneak through the infield."
• The Royals love to steal and try to create runs on the base paths, but ran themselves into a couple outs Monday. The first came in the third inning, when Edward Olivares hit a line drive comebacker that Kuhl snared. Adalberto Mondesi was off to try to steal third, and was easily doubled off.
The other ended the seventh when Andrew Beinintendi tried to catch Stallings sleeping. While it wasn't his best throw to second, Tucker made a terrific pick and tag:
That's as good a play as you'll see from a shortstop in that situation.
• Luis Oviedo made his first appearance since May 22 in the eighth. He allowed two runs on a pair of his and a walk in his inning.
Oviedo has had a couple extended stretches between game appearances this year, the most notable being from April 15 to May 2. He, Oscar Marin and bullpen coach Justin Meccage work between those outings, but going that long without competition can create challenges, mainly keeping him sharp.
Shelton liked what he saw Monday, despite that layoff, mentioning that he almost got out of the inning earlier had a potential double-play ball not hit the plate. Since it did, it bounced higher and took longer to get to González, who couldn't get it around the horn in time.
"I thought his stuff looked sharp," Shelton said. "His velo was good. He ended up giving up the double after that, but the fact that he came in the game, threw strikes, we have to remember this kid is a 21-year-old Rule 5 pick. It would have been different if he came in and scattered the ball. He didn't. He came in, threw strikes, went after guys. This kid's got no fear. He's going to be really good. Really good. We just continue to take strides forward with him."
• Factoid of the night: Monday was the 33rd time the Pirates scored three or fewer runs in a game. That's the most in baseball, just ahead of the Yankees at 31.
THE ESSENTIALS
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
Adam Frazier, DH
Kevin Newman,2B
Bryan Reynolds, CF
Jacob Stallings, C
Gregory Polanco, RF
Will Craig, 1B
Ka'ai Tom, LF
Erik Gonzalez, 3B
Cole Tucker, SS
And for Mike Matheny's Royals, with Mike Minor on the mound:
Whit Merrifield, 2B
Carlos Santana, 1B
Andrew Benintendi, LF
Salvador Perez, C
Adalberto Mondesi, SS
Edward Olivares, RF
Hunter Dozier, DH
Kelvin Gutierrez, 3B
Michael A. Talylor, CF
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates and Royals will conclude this abbreviated series Tuesday at 8:10 p.m. Wil Crowe (0-3, 5.67) will try to get that elusive first win, squaring off against Brady Singer (2-4, 4.91). I've got you covered from Kansas City.
THE CONTENT
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