After two months of searching, Hayes’ first home run is heroic

SAN DIEGO -- Off the bat, it was clear it wasn't going to get caught. The question was whether it would clear the wall or fall just short.

For Ke'Bryan Hayes, it had been the latter all too often.

This one not only cleared but also did it to the largest part of the place:

That 409-foot, three-run shot off Taylor Rogers, Hayes' first home run of the season and the first by anyone off San Diego's closer, made all the difference in the Pirates' improbable 4-2 victory over the Padres Saturday night at Petco Park.

Yes, it was Hayes' first home run of the year in 152 official at-bats. He has been tattooing baseballs all season, ranking in the top 30 in Major League Baseball in average exit velocity (93.1 mph) and hard contact on 47% of his batted balls, but he had yet to get one out until this.

The situation was far from ideal for a homer: The weather was cool, the famous San Diego atmosphere had been beating up baseballs all evening, Rogers is one of the best lefty relievers in the sport and, for good measure, Hayes had been a scratch here the night before because of a minor lower back ailment that he described as "killing me the whole game" Wednesday afternoon at PNC Park.

Turns out those were the right conditions to pounce on an 0-1 cement-mixer of a slider.

"You see a lot of strange things happen in this game,” Derek Shelton said. “He took good swings all night, and he got a ball up and hit it to the deepest part of the ballpark on a night the ball wasn’t really flying."

As even-keeled as they come, Hayes downplayed the significance of the first home run:

"I wasn't really stressing about it too much," Hayes said. "I've just always been a guy that's hit the ball hard, have good at-bats. The homers will come whenever they come."

It might not have been stress, but there likely was a certain level of frustration, or dissatisfaction. About how he wasn't transferring his weight at the right spot. How we wasn't getting the ball in the air enough. About how his contact point wasn't catching the barrel at the right point.

Near the beginning of the month, hitting coach Andy Haines told me Hayes was probably the player who was the most impacted by the de-juiced baseballs, falling just short on a couple drives that would have left the field in previous years. And he wasn't the only person in the clubhouse who felt that way.

Hayes has had a few more close calls since then, including a drive that hit the edge of the basket at Wrigley Field but bounced back into play. Through it all, his home run count still read zero.

It doesn't anymore.

"It probably relieves a little bit of pressure on you, whether it’s subconscious or not," Shelton said. "Any time you check that off, you may breathe a little easier. He may sleep a little bit easier tonight."

• I'm nominating this Ben Gamel robbery for the Pirates' defensive play of the year:

"I just put my head down, found the wall and saw an opportunity to go up there and make a play," Gamel said.

That robbed Eric Hosmer of a home run in the third inning and held San Diego's lead to 1-0.

Gamel would later leave with what the Pirates described as left hamstring discomfort after a stolen base in the eighth. Gamel himself described the injury as "like a grab" and added only, "We'll see tomorrow," when asked of the severity.

• JT Brubaker's record stayed stuck at 0-4, but his recovery from a sluggish start to his season continued with a five-inning line of one unearned run, six hits, three strikeouts and two walks.

Over his past two starts, spanning 11 2/3 innings, there've been zero earned runs. He record a 2.63 ERA in the month of May, relying on his sinker and slider a lot more.

"Early on [this season], his command wasn't where it needed to be and he was too scattered around the zone, and the last two starts he's really locked it in and he's pitched really well," Shelton said before the game. "... The actual pitch mix has been way better."

• The overall pitching performance wasn't a masterpiece, with the Padres stranding a stunning 16 runners and batting 2 for 15 with runners in scoring position. Dillon Peters left bases loaded in the San Diego sixth by striking out Hosmer swinging through 95-mph heat. Chris Stratton stranded two in the seventh -- after allowing the Padres to go ahead, 2-1, on Trent Grisham's RBI single -- and Anthony Banda left bases loaded in the eighth.

• The Padres had won every start Joe Musgrove had made this season, and he did his part to try to keep that streak alive with six innings of one-run ball. 

"Grinded tonight," Gamel said about facing Musgrove and getting the win. "Grinded at-bats. Just kept passing the bat off to the next guy."

• Michael Chavis appeared as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement in the eighth inning, but was pinch-hit for in the top of the ninth. He is considered day-to-day with his forearm injury.

• I took a look at the Pirates' first base situation pregame. You can read it here.

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard

THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE INJURIES

• Michael Chavis was considered day-to-day pregame because of his forearm injury. He entered the eighth inning as a pinch-runner and fielder, but was pinch-hit for in the ninth rather than have him swing a bat.

• 10-day injured list: RHP Heath Hembree (calf), OF Jake Marisnick (thumb), 1B Yoshi Tsutsugo (lumbar muscle strain), Daniel Vogelbach (hamstring)

• 60-day injured list: OF Greg Allen (hamstring), RHP Blake Cederlind (UCL), RHP Nick Mears (elbow surgery), Kevin Newman (groin), Roberto Pérez (hamstring, out for season)

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Cal Mitchell, RF
2. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
3. Bryan Reynolds, CF
4. Ben Gamel, LF
5. Josh VanMeter, 1B
6. Rodolfo Castro, SS
7. Jack Suwinski, DH
8. Michael Perez, C
9. Tucupita Marcano, 2B

And for Bob Melvin's Padres:

1. Jurickson Profar, LF
2. Ha-Seong Kim, 3B
3. Eric Hosmer, 1B
4. Luke Voit, DH
5. Jake Cronenworth, 2B
6. Wil Myers, RF
7. Austin Nola, C
8. Trent Grisham, CF
9. Segio Alcántara, SS

THE SCHEDULE

The Pirates will go for the series win Sunday, with first pitch coming at 4:10 p.m. Eastern. Roansy Contreras (1-0, 2.13) will take on MacKenzie Gore (3-1, 2.06) in a matchup of highly-touted pitching prospects.

THE CONTENT

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