MILWAUKEE -- There are moments where the Pirates will make you scratch your head or flat out leave you dumbfounded.
In fact, it happened just one night ago. A baserunning blunder left fans outraged at how and why plays like that are far too common.
But then there are moments like the seventh inning of Saturday's 4-3 win over the Brewers that might make you think this team is actually heading in the right direction.
In order for this one to go the Pirates' way, Derek Shelton had to make a tangible impact in this game, and it embodied everything that happened in that inning.
Prior to the seventh, the Pirates did very little to convince you or anyone that a victory was within grasp. Luis Urías put the Pirates in an early 1-0 hole with solo homer off Zach Thompson in the second inning. Then Andrew McCutchen added to the Milwaukee lead with an RBI single in the fifth that saw Diego Castillo get too ahead of himself on trying to nab the runner at the plate and allowed McCutchen to easily move into scoring position:
Then with Urías on first and one out in the sixth, Keston Hiura singled to left field and Ben Gamel whiffed on a routine grounder in the outfield, allowing Urías to score without a throw to give the Brewers a 3-0 lead:
Meanwhile, Brandon Woodruff had his way with the Pirates lineup. The first Pittsburgh baserunner of the game was Yoshi Tsutsugo, who doubled with one out in the fifth inning to quell any thoughts of a perfect game or no-hitter, though it was apparent that the Pirates were in danger of that before then.
"We’ve seen him twice in the last seven days," Shelton said. "He threw the first four innings like he had no-hit stuff. The changeup was elite, probably as good as we’ve seen it."
The Pirates began to figure some things out in the sixth as Michael Perez and Daniel Vogelbach earned walks to put pressure on the Brewers' starter for the first time in the game. But Woodruff escaped the inning without any damage, preserving Milwaukee's 3-0 lead.
This is where the mental side of the game can have a serious impact. Woodruff seemingly had their number through six innings. With Tsutsugo, Kevin Newman and Oneil Cruz due up in the seventh, it was easy to imagine the sixth was the closest the Pirates might come to breaking through.
Instead, Tsutsugo and Newman singled to lead off the seventh and Cruz put the Pirates on the board with an RBI double.
Now trailing 3-1, the Pirates had some life. But remember back to Wednesday's 16-0 slaughter at the hands of the Yankees? Ke'Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds led off the first inning with a single and a double, respectively, and the Pirates did absolutely nothing with it. Any production there changes the entire complexion of that game. Maybe the Pirates still lose, but maybe they don't lose by 16 freaking runs.
In a similar situation, only trailing by two runs now, the Pirates' mettle was put to the test yet again. Could they come through this time?
Reynolds was initially given the day off, but as the Brewers brought in Brad Boxberger from the bullpen, Shelton brought in his best hitter for a moment where they needed someone to step up and get the job done.
Reynolds looked like the Pirates' best hitter in the at-bat, working the count full. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Reynolds laid off a pitch way off the plate for what should have been ball four. Instead, home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz called it strike three. Both Reynolds and Shelton were livid, and Shelton gave Ortiz more than enough reason to be ejected from the game:
Reynolds perfectly summed up what that moment meant to him and to the team.
"I loved it," Reynolds said. "I really, really appreciated it."
"It’s important to protect your players," Shelton said. "We needed Reynolds to stay in the game. It’s just one of those things that happens."
The Pirates responded to Shelton fighting for his team. While Josh VanMeter flew out to left field in the subsequent at-bat, Newman was able to score on an error by Boxberger as he was trying to field the throw from Christian Yelich, pulling the Pirates within one.
Then, Gamel made up for his error in the best way possible:
You can't see on the video, but Gamel had an emotional outburst before touching second on his way around the bases. I asked him about it after the game; what that meant to come back and come through in that way.
"You just try to pick up the team, first and foremost. Whatever it takes, really," Gamel said. "We strung a bunch of really good at-bats together that inning. Woody has us against the ropes the entire game. The fact that we were able to push a couple across on him was huge."
Without any fight there from Reynolds or Shelton, maybe the team rolls over. Maybe they don't have the fire in them to scratch and claw their way back.
In a funny way, maybe Roberto Ortiz did the Pirates a favor. But Shelton standing up for Reynolds in that moment was something this team needed -- not only because of the missed opportunity against the Yankees or the gag reel blunder from the night before.
But because this team needs to learn how to fight back in those situations more times than not.
"It fires us up," Zach Thompson said. "I think it makes the guys want to get out there and have a little bit more fire under their butts."
GETTY
Derek Shelton argues with Roberto Ortiz after being ejected from Saturday's game against the Brewers.
• I briefly mentioned it earlier, but I want to highlight a play from the seventh inning that might be overlooked.
On the VanMeter fly out that led to the run on the Boxberger error, Newman displayed some savvy baserunning. Watch as the throw comes in how Newman is staring down Boxberger while tagging at third base:
Newman takes off as soon as the ball kicks off Boxberger's glove.
"Let’s give him great credit for that baserunning there," Chase De Jong said. "That's huge."
Indeed it is. Gamel may have ended up hitting the go-ahead homer in the next at-bat. But in that moment, Newman struck a perfect balance of pressure and aggression.
• While the offense was being shut down by Woodruff early in the game, Thompson muscled his way through 4 2/3 innings. He walked three batters and gave up six hits, which gave the Pirates far too many baserunners to deal with.
Thompson said his direction was way off early on, which led to struggles against a good lineup.
"I think the first two innings I only had one pitch I could throw in the zone," Thompson said. "I just had the same approach I had last time. Just go out and compete no matter who is in the box. It doesn't really matter to me. I just have to go out there and throw and keep my team in a really goods spot."
• The bullpen was absolutely stellar. The only run surrendered was unearned by Eric Stout, who came in to finish off the fifth and began the sixth with a hit-by-pitch and strikeout. De Jong came in and finished off the sixth with the Brewers' third run scoring on the Gamel error.
The highlight out of the bullpen came in the seventh after the Pirates willed their way to the 4-3 lead. Duane Underwood Jr. came in and immediately met some bad luck. His outing started with two bloopers that landed for base hits, giving the Brewers runners on the corners with nobody out.
Underwood Jr. locked it down and refuted any attempt by the Brewers to regain the lead. He struck out McCutchen, then Tsutsugo made a great play from first base to snag a grounder from Kolten Wong then fire the ball to Jason Delay to nab Willy Adames at the plate. Then Underwood Jr. struck out Urías to end the Milwaukee threat.
"That was impressive," De Jong said. "You just saw it on his face. Like, OK. That happened. Just cleared it and you knew he’s getting out of this. You just knew that. You got confidence in that guy. He comes out there and does exactly what he’s supposed to do after two nestle balls."
Wil Crowe and David Bednar left little doubt that the Pirates wouldn't be able to close this one out as each pitched perfect innings in the eighth and ninth, respectively.
"That’s fun to watch," De Jong said. "That was really cool to see all these guys go out there and attack guys and make them earn everything they get. It was really cool from the bullpen tonight. I’m really proud of these guys."
THE ESSENTIALS
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• 15-day injured list: LHP Dillon Peters (back)
• 60-day injured list: OF Jake Marisnick (thumb) OF Canaan Njigba-Smith (wrist), OF Greg Allen (hamstring), RHP Blake Cederlind (UCL), RHP Nick Mears (elbow surgery) RHP Max Kranick (elbow), C Roberto Pérez (hamstring)
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Ben Gamel, LF
2. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
3. Daniel Vogelbach, DH
4. Jack Suwinski, CF
5. Yoshi Tsutsugo, 1B
6. Kevin Newman, 2B
7. Oneil Cruz, SS
8. Diego Castillo, RF
9. Michael Perez, C
And for Craig Counsell's Brewers:
1. Christian Yelich, LF
2. Willy Adames, SS
3. Rowdy Tellez, 1B
4. Andrew McCutchen, CF
5. Kolten Wong, 2B
6. Luis Urías, 3B
7. Omar Narváez, C
8. Keston Hiura, DH
9. Jace Peterson, RF
THE SCHEDULE
The rubber match is tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for 2:10 p.m. Eastern. Matching lefties José Quintana (2-4, 3.33) and Eric Lauer (6-3, 3.84) are set to face off. I'll have you covered from American Family Field once again.
THE CONTENT
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