Hayes heating up after finding his timing in footwork

Just about everything in the Pirates' 9-2 loss to the Reds at PNC Park Friday would probably be better off flushed away. Johan Oviedo struggled, allowing three runs before getting an out. Colin Selby was roughed up, and outside of a brief rally in the sixth inning, the Pirates offense could barely muster anything.

But in that sixth inning, there was one swing that was of note:

That was Ke'Bryan Hayes taking an Andrew Abbott fastball up to dead center for a home run, his eighth on a season and his third in four games. In those four games, Hayes has gone 8-for-17 at the plate with a double, a triple and 10 RBIs.

Hayes definitely needed a stretch like this, because even with this recent surge in power, his season OPS is still only a modest .709. While that represents a 50 point jump from a year ago, it's still below the league average of .732.

It's only half a week's worth of games, and Hayes has been known to have feast and famine stretches in the past, so you can be forgiven for wanting to see more before being convinced Hayes has turned the corner offensively. Actually, some skepticism seems wise given Hayes' recent track record.

But this has been one of his better stretches in some time, and it could result in more. The pieces for some prolonged success are there.

"When he’s on time, you see pull side in the air or in the air on the pull side," Derek Shelton said. "Today was in the air in the middle of the field, but I think that’s the biggest component.”

That improved timing starts with Hayes' lower half. During the Pirates' last road trip in Milwaukee, Hayes had watched some video and focused on his back leg. In his words, he wanted to "feel the ground more" during his swing.

Justice De Los Santos of MLB.com tweeted videos of his swing from the side during his home run Friday (right) and from this past road series in Milwaukee, and slowing them down side by side, you can see that back foot is more grounded and not moving forward as much:

'Working in the cage, just felt something," Hayes said about his swing tweak. "Some of the swings I was taking, you can notice the difference. Seeing it on the video, it looked a lot cleaner."

Seeing the swing from that angle, it's clear there's also a change with that front foot, as it looks like more of a leg kick and the stride. That could be a product of the better timing, being able to drive towards the ball sooner to get the barrel out in front sooner. Deep contact points have been a problem for Hayes for some time, which has led to many ground balls and balls hit the opposite way. In both cases, those types of batted balls fail to maximize what are usually very high exit velocities.

But with this new approach, all three of those home runs this week have been to either left or center field. 

"The setup that I'm working with now, I feel like I have all the time in the world to because my movement is a lot more simple and it's more of just step to the ball and hit type of thing," Hayes said Thursday.

"I feel like being behind the ball better allows the barrel to get out in front a little better," Hayes would add on Friday. "You have a little room for error. You can be a little early, a little late, even."

It has been a challenging couple of years for Hayes offensively, with some of those problems being due to his struggles with injuries and having to work on his approach as a hitter. He came into this year hoping to backspin more fly balls to great lift to the pull side. It's happened at times this year, but only in spurts. That may be all this is again, but if nothing else, it is a more potent stretch than usual.

Perhaps this is a grounded step in the right direction.

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THE INJURIES

• 10-day injured list: 2B Ji Hwan Bae (ankle)

• 15-day injured list: RHP Dauri Moreta (lower back)

• 60-day injured list: SS Oneil Cruz (ankle), RHP JT Brubaker (elbow), LHP Jarlin Garcia (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow), INF Tucupita Marcano (knee), RHP Vince Velasquez (elbow)

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
2. Bryan Reynolds, LF
3. Andrew McCutchen, DH
4. Connor Joe, 1B
5. Henry Davis, RF
6. Endy Rodríguez, C
7. Jack Suwinski, CF
8. Liover Peguero, 2B
9. Alika Williams, SS

And for David Bell's Reds:

1. T.J. Friedl, CF
2. Matt McLain, 2B
3. Elly De La Cruz, SS
4. Spencer Steer, 3B
5. Joey Votto, 1B
6. Christian Encarnacion-Strand, DH
7. Stuart Fairchild, LF
8. Will Benson, RF
9. Luke Maile, C

THE SCHEDULE

Andre Jackson (0-0, 5.16) will be the first Pirate pitcher in a bullpen game Saturday. The Reds will counter with lefty Brandon Williamson (4-2, 4.54). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. I'll have you covered.

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