Cole Tucker described the baseball like “the north star.” As he kept running out to right field, the ball stayed in the same sight line.
Off the bat, the second baseman didn’t think he had any chance at a play. He didn’t even bother calling off right fielder Yoshi Tsutsugo. But as he kept running, a thought crossed his mind.
“Oh my God, I might actually catch it.”
Nearing the end of his 85-foot sprint, Tucker took a leap, and to everyone’s surprise, including his own, he got it:
TUCK FOR TWO!!!!! pic.twitter.com/L4YkRGodSF
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) October 2, 2021
With the base runner, Eugenio Suarez, frozen between first and second, Tucker was able to get up in time to deliver a quick throw to first base to complete one of the best double plays across all of baseball this season. And with respect to Ke’Bryan Hayes’ throw from foul territory against the Cardinals or Ben Gamel’s catch against the Cubs, it may have been the finest defensive play by a Pirate all season.
“You're not going to see a better play than that,” Derek Shelton said. “That was unbelievable.”
It was so impressive that it made this other ranging, diving catch in the third inning…
Or his eighth inning grand slam…
Look almost pedestrian by comparison. With those contributions on both sides of the ball, Tucker led the Pirates to a 9-2 win over the Reds at PNC Park Friday.
“You can probably mark this game as the 'Cole Tucker game,' I guess,” starter Wil Crowe said.
If you don’t want to listen to Crowe, you could listen to the crowd, who were consistently cheering for Tucker through the later innings of the game.
“That felt really good,” Tucker said. “When my head hits the pillow tonight, that's the last thing I'll be thinking about. More so than the diving play or the homer."
Talking on the field postgame, Tucker talked about how there are sometimes “moments as a big leaguer where you don’t feel like a big leaguer.” Those days when a bat feels like its 40 pounds and a fastball comes in at 200 mph.
Tucker had plenty of those types of days earlier in 2021. Entering the year in competition for the shortstop job, Tucker not only lost out on the everyday role and a bench spot, he was not invited to the alternate training site. Instead, he stayed in Bradenton, Fla. to work on his offense. Two of the other notable players who stayed behind were Kevin Kramer, who was unceremoniously traded midseason in a minor-league swap with the Brewers, and Jared Oliva, who looks like a candidate to be non-tendered this winter.
If Tucker didn’t improve, his time with the Pirates appeared to be nearing the end of the line.
“I'm not an idiot. I know what's going on and I know the realities and the business of the game,” Tucker said. “I feel like the best way to handle that is to keep showing up and focus on what's going on in the field and let the much smarter figure out the smarter things."
That focus, mechanically, was on his foundation and using his lower half more. Watching it in action, his back foot stays in place rather than skipping and he is getting better leverage:
Those changes started to become more noticeable during the Pirates’ final road trip of the season, starting in Miami against the Marlins. Over his last 14 games, he has slashed an impressive .298/.358/.532 with a pair of homers and triples.
Friday was arguably his best day in the majors, showing how he could use all of his tools to help the team win.
“Everyone in the big leagues will tell you, everyone has days where they get their heads smashed in,” Tucker said. “So to have days where you show up and ball out, man, it really keeps you going. It does wonders for your confidence.”
Shelton and general manager Ben Cherington are currently in the exit interview process with players. Tucker’s growth, willingness to make changes and commitment to his approach since his promotion at the end of August have made everyone feel happier about his season.
“I think since he's come back up, there's been a real commitment to his approach and his plan and what he's going to do at the plate,” Shelton said. “I think we're seeing the benefits of that and the fact that he's really been dedicated to that.”
The Pirates’ middle infield looks wide open for 2022, and Tucker could find himself in another spring training competition. Another chance to claim a starting job and perhaps finally prove over a full season, not just a couple weeks, that he can perform at a high level.
He’s not thinking that far ahead yet. He’s not even thinking about the offseason yet. There are two games left.
Maybe he has one more 'wow' moment left for this weekend.
“Just keep showing up and keep grinding because cool stuff happens out there,” Tucker said. “You just have to keep searching for it.”
MORE FROM THE GAME
• It's also been a tough season results wise for Wil Crowe. But on Friday, he turned in a gem, matching a career-high nine strikeouts over six scoreless innings of one-hit ball.
"This year has been a lot," Crowe said. "A lot of growing. A lot of learning different things about myself and how to get through lineups in the big leagues. You take a lot from tonight."
Crowe's sinker and changeup combo was working all game, with the Reds whiffing on 10 of 11 swings against the changeup. The changeup has been his best swing-and-miss pitch all season, getting a whiff 33.7% of the time,
"Knowing what I’ve been able to do all year with the changeup, to be able to effectively throw that two-seam was I think why it made it even better tonight," Crowe said.
Crowe was pulled after 79 pitches in the sixth because of a prolonged bottom of the sixth inning, which included a lengthy review process after the Reds appealed and eventually won a challenge that Gamel missed second base.
"With that good of a start, I couldn't live with myself if something happens to him in the seventh inning after we waited 35 minutes," Shelton said.
Wil Crowe just isn't throwing anything over the heart of the plate pic.twitter.com/Y2v5BwWC6P
— Alex Stumpf (@AlexJStumpf) October 2, 2021
• Tied at one for most of the game, the Pirates finally broke through in the bottom of the eighth, piling on eight runs. Tucker's grand slam capped the rally, but it also included back-to-back run scoring hits by Kevin Newman and Hoy Park.
Chris Stratton got his team-leading seventh win after allowing the tying run to score in the eighth.
• Oneil Cruz is being promoted to the majors, per sources. More on that here.
In more roster news, the Pirates optioned Miguel Yajure to Class AAA Indianapolis and promoted right-hander Shea Spitzbarth.
• Factoid of the Game (this one's from the game notes, but hard to pass up): Crowe made his 25th start of the season Friday, a team high. The last Pirate rookie to have an outright lead in starts was Bill Werle in 1949.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Cole Tucker, 2B
2. Yoshi Tsutsugo, RF
3. Ben Gamel, CF
4. Colin Moran, 1B
5. Anthony Alford, LF
6. Michael Perez, C
7. Kevin Newman, SS
8. Hoy Park, 3B
9. Wil Crowe, RHP
And for David Bell's Reds:
1. Jonathan India, 2B
2. Max Schrock, LF
3. Nick Castellanos, RF
4. Joey Votto, 1B
5. Eugenio Suarez, 3B
6. Tucker Barnhart, C
7. Jose Barrero, SS
8. TJ Friedl, CF
9. Luis Castillo, RHP
THE SYSTEM
• Indianapolis
• Altoona
• Greensboro
• Bradenton
THE SCHEDULE
Max Kranick (2-3, 6.23) will take the bump against Tyler Mahle (13-6, 3.54) in game two of the final series of the year Saturday at 6:35 p.m.
THE CONTENT
Visit our team page for everything.
