MIAMI -- It was the bottom of the order that carried the Pirates Saturday night in loanDepot Park. Cole Tucker had three hits in the No. 7 spot, No. 8 hitter Hoy Park picked up a two-run triple and the Pirates took game two of their series against the Marlins, 6-3.
Both players have been beneficiaries of the Pirates looking to give different players opportunities in the final month of the season, but they were coming from different spots. It’s been a grind in the minors this year for Tucker, who has struggled at times. Park, on the other hand, was outstanding in Class AAA, raising his prospect status greatly.
Tucker appears to be turning the corner right now, though. He’s still doing a better job at being selective at the plate, something that picked up this year in Indianapolis, but he’s driving the ball more of late.
That included his 3-for-5 performance Saturday where he also tripled.
So much of the discussion around Tucker this year has been focused on his offensive development. Since returning to the majors in late August, the coaching staff has emphasized his footwork and foundation. To make sure he is more grounded at the plate.
While the best video of him in spring training is from him on the other side of the plate, the footwork is easy to see. The back foot stays in place rather than darting back:
“The work is there. The results are getting there,” Tucker said Friday. “Just trying to piece it together… Trying to be productive and make it happen a little bit here down the stretch.”
Considering Tucker had several well struck batted balls and a hit in Friday’s win, it looks like some of those changes are starting to take, putting him in position for a strong finish.
Park, on the other hand, had been in a 5-56 rut over his previous 22 games entering Saturday after a hot start to his Pirates career. In that span he was briefly optioned back to Class AAA Indianapolis, and he has excelled at that level, slashing .290/.441/.491 with 11 home runs. It’s what made him one of the top minor-league performers league-wide this year and why the Pirates picked him up in the Clay Holmes trade.
But there have been two issues hurting him in his first year in the majors. The first is mental. He was trying to do too much and pressing.
“I couldn’t really feel myself,” Park told me on the field at loanDepot Park. “I was rushed and thinking too much at the plate, and that’s when I began to struggle. I still feel like I’m overthinking at the plate, but I’m trying to keep it simple.”
That’s what makes his triple swing so encouraging: He went with the breaking ball the other way in a left-on-left matchup and put it in the gap:
We love a good TRIP! TRIP! TRIPLE! pic.twitter.com/73bZ9EwCrG
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 18, 2021
He also drew a walk and was robbed of a line drive base hit, so while it was just one hit, it was a good body of at-bats Saturday. He also had a pair of walks Friday.
“It looks like he’s getting back to swinging at the right pitches,” Derek Shelton said.
The other problem is physical, and it’s one that probably can’t be solved before the end of the season. Park has lost 10 pounds since the start of spring training, almost all of it coming over the last two months. It’s not uncommon for players to shed a little weight towards the end of the season, and it’s happened to Park in the past, but he’s never lost this much this fast. And at this stage of the season, losing weight means losing strength.
“I’m trying to eat as much as I can, but it doesn’t work,” Park said.
The good news is that issue can usually be addressed, and that weight can be added back and, ideally, stay on in the future.
Of course every player wants to finish strong, but it seems more important for players like Tucker and Park. For Tucker, it’s to show that the offensive development has taken and he is getting better. For Park, it’s to end his best season as a pro on a good note.
Even with Park down some strength, both seem to be pointed in the right direction.
“I can really tell myself it’s getting better day by day,” Park said after the game Saturday.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• That was one of the more bizarre games of the Pirates' season. The Marlins committed two wild pitches, a passed ball and dropped a routine Kevin Newman pop fly when right fielder Jesus Sánchez and second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. bumped into each other, allowing two runs to score in the fourth.
On the Pirates side, Bryse Wilson made an errant pickoff throw in the first, failed to bring home a run on a safety squeeze shortly before Newman's pop fly and Ke'Bryan Hayes misplayed a pop up with two outs in the ninth, overrunning it and stumbling over the pitcher's mound on the way back.
Honestly, I'd just watch the video highlights embedded below. Words don't do this game justice.
"There were a lot of things that happened in the game," Shelton said. "Our guys kept going, kept persevering and came out with the victory."
• His error aside, Wilson was effective on the mound, going five innings and only paying for a two-run homer on an elevated fastball in the fifth.
He struck out three with four hits and no walks on the night.
His fastball carried him, throwing it 45 times out of his 68 pitches and getting consistently weak contact with it.
"I think the sinker’s probably the best we’ve seen it," Shelton said. "He was really crisp."
"I feel like I just threw my four-seam and two-seam with a lot more conviction," Wilson said. "Velo was up on them. The game plan was come out and attack with two really good fastballs and we're going to pitch off of both of those. I thought we were able to do that and command them well, and it worked out."
"For me, if I'm walking guys, it's probably because something's a little off with the mechanics, which usually plays a part in the action of my pitches as well," Wilson said. "So when that's all of that's synched up and things are going good, velocity's up, life on the fastball is up, the changeup and breaking balls are much better and well located, and that's the biggest thing for me. If I can get to a point where I can command consistently, then it's gonna be a good day."
• Wilson was limited to just five innings because of a hamstring cramp he felt after hitting the first base bag hard trying to leg out an infield single in the fifth inning. He went out to pitch that fifth inning, but felt something wasn't quite right after each pitch.
When he returned to the dugout, he told the coaches and was removed out of caution.
"Right now, I'm feeling good," Wilson said. "Got some treatment. Hopefully not that big of an issue and we can make the next start."
• Maybe the 15th time's the charm. The Pirates will, yet again, try to get that elusive first sweep of the season Sunday. Ironically, this is the fourth straight series where the Pirates have been in this position, going 0-for-3 in the previous homestand. So far this season, they are 0-for-14 in series clinching games.
In the modern era, dating back to 1900, the Pirates have secured at least one series sweep of at least two games each year.
If nothing else, their current 8-3 stretch is their best in an 11-game period this season.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
2. Kevin Newman, SS
3. Bryan Reynolds, CF
4. Yoshi Tsutsugo, 1B
5. Anthony Alford, LF
6. Michael Perez, C
7. Cole Tucker, RF
8. Hoy Park, 2B
9. Bryse Wilson, RHP
And for Don Mattingly's Marlins:
1. Miguel Rojas, SS
2. Jazz Chisholm Jr., 2B
3. Bryan De La Cruz, CF
4. Jesús Sánchez, RF
5. Lewis Brinson, LF
6. Lewin Díaz, 1B
7. Nick Fortes, C
8. Eddy Alvarez, 3B
9. Edward Cabrera, RHP
THE SYSTEM
• Indianapolis
• Altoona
• Greensboro
• Bradenton
THE SCHEDULE
Game three of the weekend series will get underway at 1:10 p.m. Sunday, with Max Kranick (1-3, 7.66) taking on Sandy Alcantara (9-13, 3.10). After that, the Pirates and I will be on our way to Cincinnati for a three-game series with the Reds.
THE CONTENT
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