Ever since the Pirates first reported to LECOM Park for spring training in Bradenton, Fla., Ke'Bryan Hayes has said repeatedly his main goal for this season was to make sure he was available for his team all season. After a wrist injury sidelined him for a good chunk of his rookie campaign, he wanted to make sure he did not have a repeat performance in 2022.
It would be quite the stretch to say this recent back injury comes even close to the troubles he had with his wrist, but the ailment was enough to finally land him on the injured list for the first time in 2022, even if it was only for the minimum 10 days.
He returned to the lineup Tuesday, though it was apparent there is some rust there is going to need to be knocked off. He went 0-for-4 out of the No. 3 spot in the lineup in what would be a rough offensive day for the Pirates' 6-1 loss to the Braves at PNC Park.
Could he have played through it? Consider it a suspicion by this reporter that if the Pirates were in the middle of a playoff chase rather than be 29 games under .500, both he and the team could have tried to avoid even that short trip. There was just no reason to push him, especially since it wasn't exactly clear what caused the spasms. The west coast plane rides? Playing on turf at Chase Field in Arizona? A specific play? It's unclear, so his work became focused on the Marc Pro and SwimX machines for his rehab rather than games. A quick breather in his first mostly-full major-league season.
Not that he wanted to be out an extended period of time.
“This is what I do for a living. It sucked being out, having to watch all those games,” Hayes said before the game.
Being without him for even that period of time had a visible effect on the Pirates, who went 2-8 in his absence and didn't get much production out of third base.
“I think it’s really important because it lengthens our lineup out,” Derek Shelton said before the game. “When you have as many young players as we do, being able to lengthen your lineup out takes a little bit more pressure off of where they’re at in being able to give them opportunities. It’s really important to have him back in our lineup in all facets of the game.”
On the year, Hayes' offensive output has not been particularly inspiring, seeing his batting average drop to .248 and his OPS to .674 after his hitless performance Tuesday where he also struck out twice. But consider that in games he plays and the Pirates wins, he's hitting .271 with a .738 OPS, both of which are above average. If the team wins, he's usually an offensive contributor. In his starts in August before hitting the injured list, he hit .306 over nine starts, and the Pirates went 5-4.
Hayes has unrealized potential on the offensive side of the ball, but even with his current offensive numbers, he still leads the team with 3.4 WAR, according to Baseball Reference. A lot of that comes from volume, as his 438 trips to the plate are just 10 behind Bryan Reynolds for the team lead. If he's healthy, he's an impact player.
The Pirates know the impact he can make on both sides of the ball. That's why they extended him back in April, making him the unofficial face of the rebuild. It also shows the importance of what staying healthy and finishing out this year upright could mean for the third baseman, both in terms of team results and his own personal growth.
“Any time you're over there on the IL and you're watching your team go to battle each and every night, you want to be out there to try to help do your part to help get wins,” Hayes said. “So just looking forward to being back and not trying to do too much, just try to be me and hopefully I can help us get some wins.”
JOE SARGENT / GETTY
Braves catcher Travis d'Arnaud congratulates Collin McHugh on closing out the game Tuesday.
• To make room on the major-league roster for Hayes, Kevin Padlo was optioned to Class AAA Indianapolis.
• JT Brubaker simultaneously had one of the worst six batter stretches sandwiched between one of his best starts of the season.
After four shutdown innings to start, Brubaker was tagged for a Travis d'Arnaud homer on the first pitch of the fifth. That would start a stretch of six straight hits for the Braves, including three on three pitches.
Shelton attributed to that stretch to Brubaker leaving breaking balls up in the zone. Brubaker's focus was on trying to change the tempo, because even though pitching coach Oscar Marin came out for a visit halfway through that stretch, with some reflection, Brubaker would have slowed down the game bit there to try to regroup.
"It’s really trying to recognize and take away that I need to slow the game down a little bit more and see what's going on," Brubaker said. "Do I need to call [catcher Jason] Delay out? I know Oscar came out before Grissom. What do I need to do to get them off their tempo, get them off their game plan? How can I recognize and change an inning like that?"
Brubaker would pitch a strong sixth and get into the seventh, ending his night with six runs on his ledgers over 6 2/3 innings, striking out eight with one walk and nine hits allowed.
• Cap tip to Chase De Jong, who recorded 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to keep the rest of the bullpen rested ahead of the day game Wednesday. He now has a 2.13 ERA over 50 2/3 innings this season, providing some quality middle relief.
• But that Max Fried guy. He's something special.
Michael Chavis pounced on a second inning hanging slider to get the Pirates on the board early, but they wouldn't get another hit until Ben Gamel blooped a single in the seventh. Fried would end up going eight innings, with the Pirates barely putting together a rally in any of them. He struck out seven with three hits and one walk on his ledger.
“We know we’re going to have to score multiple runs," Shelton said. "It’s challenging with him but he [Chavis] took a good swing early and gave us the lead. It gives you the thought, ‘All right, he leaves some balls in the middle of the plate. We’re going to be able to get to him.’ After that, he didn’t leave anything in the middle of the plate.”
He's going to be in the Cy Young mix this year.
• A major-league baseball game took two hours and 15 minutes to play. In 2022. Mind-blowing.
• With the loss, the Pirates fall to 47-76 on the season and 8-22 since the All-Star break. Their .382 winning percentage puts them on pace for a 62-100 record. They need to go at least 16-23 down the stretch to avoid their second straight
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• 15-day injured list: RHP David Bednar (low back), LHP Dillon Peters (left elbow inflammation)
• 60-day injured list: RHP Yerry De Los Santos (lat), OF Canaan Njigba-Smith (wrist), RHP Blake Cederlind (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow), C Roberto Pérez (hamstring)
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Kevin Newman, SS
2. Bryan Reynolds, CF
3. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
4. Ben Gamel, DH
5. Michael Chavis, 1B
6. Rodolfo Castro, 2B
7. Greg Allen, RF
8. Tucupita Marcano, LF
9. Jason Delay, C
And for Brian Snitker's Braves:
1. Ronald Acuña Jr., RF
2. Dansby Swanson, SS
3. Austin Riley, 3B
4. Matt Olsen, 1B
5. Chase d'Arnaud, C
6. Eddie Rosario, DH
7. Michael Harris II, CF
8. Vaughn Grissom, 2B
9. Robbie Grossman, LF
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates will try to salvage at least one game this series in the homestand finale Wednesday. Mitch Keller (4-9, 4.49) will try to prove the drop in velocity in his last start was a fluke as he takes on Kyle Wright (15-5, 3.14) at 12:35 p.m. Chris Halicke will have you covered as I get ready to go to Philly.
THE CONTENT
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