Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Chris Archer deserved standing O for slinging arrows

The first play of Chris Archer’s start saw shortstop Kevin Newman make a backhand stab and jump-throw that saw Josh Bell stretch into a split to get Lorenzo Cain out at first.

Seven innings later, Gregory Polanco made a sliding catch of a Lorenzo Cain pop fly in right field, the bookend play to end a bounce-back performance for the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander.

Archer walked off the mound to a standing ovation from the announced crowd of 24,465 Friday night at PNC Park, offering a salute and a tip of the cap in response to their applause for his effort in the Pirates’ 9-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

“It felt good,” Archer said. “It was just interesting how they kind of reciprocated the energy. A lot of guys said they felt my energy was better but a lot of that came from the fans. They were getting really excited. A lot of them were here tonight. It’s nice to have them in your corner. That was really special.”

1. Slinging arrows: Archer went seven innings for the first time since a four-hit, nine-strikeout no-decision April 13 at the Washington Nationals.

Against the Brewers, Archer allowed four runs on five hits, with seven strikeouts and two walks. He encountered a rough stretch in the fourth, when he gave up three hits, including a Keston Hiura home run, and two walks before striking out pinch hitter Freddy Peralta for the final out.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle raved about Archer’s command, as he threw strikes on 62 of his 92 pitches and retired nine batters on three pitches or less. Archer’s fastball was especially on, as he threw 35 of 50 for strikes.

“He challenged with the fastballs,” Hurdle said. “He got them looking for fastballs and would set up the changeup, which he used extremely well. The slider played. He threw some curveballs, as well.”

What Hurdle really liked was Archer’s edge.

“It was a good night to show up,” Hurdle said. “They had his bobblehead all over the ballpark.”

2. Under control: Archer’s command had been one of his biggest issues, as he had issued more combined walks (17) than strikeouts (16) in his previous five starts.

That was especially true on Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, when Archer’s lack of command led to extended counts. He had three balls against 10 batters, and gave up three hits, two walks and threw a wild pitch in the three-run fifth inning.

Where Archer’s average pitch speed (87.6 mph) and spin rate (2,604) remain well above the major-league average, his strikeouts per nine innings slipped from 11.1 in 2017 to 8.85 this season and his walks jumped to 5.31.

Guess who? pic.twitter.com/rp83a28sim

— Pirates (@Pirates) June 1, 2019

Where Archer threw only 61 of his 105 pitches for strikes (58.1%) against the Dodgers, he improved his rate to 67.4% (62 of 92) against the Brewers.

“You just watched it like we did,” Hurdle said. “He just experienced it. The game can be hard. Sometimes you get caught in some vacuums that it takes you a little longer to get out. It doesn’t matter how much experience you have. He got a fresh start tonight and got back to some basics. He was aggressive with the fastball command, letting it rip.”

3. See what works: Archer gave a shout out to Jacob Stallings, who caught him for the first time, for doing his homework against the Brewers’ lineup.

Stallings, however, said he purposely didn’t watch Archer’s previous outing against the Dodgers.

“I didn’t want to have something in my mind that didn’t work, I guess,” Stallings said. “I wanted to see something he did well against them previously, what did work. I didn’t want to fill my head too much. I wanted to see what did work and try that again.”

Instead, Stallings stuck to the scouting report – even though Archer doesn’t have much history against the Brewers. He had faced them three times, going 0-2 with a 6.60 ERA in 15 innings.

“You don’t want to become a slave to the scouting report or what says something says,” Stallings said. “You just want to go out there and trust your feel, trust your eyes.”

Stallings liked what he saw, as Archer’s execution made it an easy game to call behind the plate.

“His two-seam was freaking awesome,” Stallings said. “He was throwing it both sides. That he was his best pitch, honestly, that and his changeup. He was throwing his two-seam to both sides of the plate, getting swings and misses on his two seam and, not only that, but he was getting ground balls.”

“So he was able to be efficient and get through seven. For him that’s key. He’s got such good stuff. To able to get deep into the game – as you saw, he only gets better as he goes – and to find those quick outs were big for him.”

4. Stay in May: Where the Pirates pitching staff couldn’t wait for the month to end, given its 6.26 ERA in May, one player probably wanted it to go on forever.

Josh Bell batted .389 with 44 hits, including 12 doubles and 12 home runs, and 30 RBIs in May.

He had an RBI single in the first inning and added another single in the fourth to finish with 94, breaking Ralph Kiner’s club record for total bases in a month.

Bell also tied the club record for home runs in May, with 12, and finished two extra-base hits shy of Ty Cobb’s major-league record of 26 in one month.

The Pirates started their promotion of Bell for the All-Star Game, giving out gold “BELLIEVE” T-shirts to fans who sat in right field above the Clemente Wall, which the Pirates have dubbed “The Bell Tower.”

The @JBell_19 All Star campaign has officially begun!#BELLieve https://t.co/IOlzWVglnW pic.twitter.com/sGov13JKJK

— Pirates (@Pirates) May 31, 2019

Bell even draped a few of the shirts over seat backs himself, and peeked over the top row to see where two of his homers have landed in the Allegheny River.

“That was cool. I’ve never been out there before,” Bell said. “It was cool to see the vantage point, to kind of look over and look into the river a little bit. … I was like, so that’s how far it is.”

5. Nod to Captain: The first out of the game was the biggest, as Newman made an impressive play that his idol, Derek Jeter, would have appreciated.

Nobody appreciated it more than Archer.

“I told Newman this: I felt like with that play, the tide turned for me,” Archer said. “All of a sudden, the game was fun again. When you go through some moments, just like in life, you forget to be present, to enjoy. From first pitch on, I enjoyed the whole outing. Even when it got a little shaky, I enjoyed the whole thing.”

Newman added a pair of single in the six-run third inning – the second one driving in a pair of runs – as the Pirates batted around the order against Jhoulys Chacin.

But Newman’s stop might have been the game’s most important play because of the effect it had on Archer.

“He was hyped,” Newman said. “It was really cool, that energy. It was a good, quick spark. He took us the rest of the way. It was fun to watch, He was great out there. It was lights out.”

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