The Pittsburgh Pirates started the second half of the season with a wild weekend at PNC Park, from a benches-clearing scrum Friday to celebrating their 1971 World Series champions with a grand slam for a walk-off win Saturday to signing the No. 1 overall draft pick Sunday.
The New York Mets spoiled their chances for the season’s first sweep by rallying from a six-run deficit for a 7-6 win on Sunday afternoon, putting a damper on Derek Shelton’s post-game conference call that was a world of difference from the one he conducted the night before.
Jacob Stallings’ slam was followed by fireworks, which made for an interesting backdrop as Shelton talked about the raucous atmosphere in a win over the NL East first-place Mets before 27,222. It was the largest crowd at PNC Park since Aug. 17, 2019, when the Pirates drew 28,359 for a Saturday night game against the Chicago Cubs.
“This is exactly what you imagine,” said Shelton, whose first season as an MLB manager was played in empty ballparks. “Pittsburgh has great fans, and they were out in force. They were into the game. We gave ‘em a pretty nice sendoff into fireworks. Really appreciate all the support. It was really cool to see how loud they were. From the eighth inning on, when we started to score, they were really into it.”
It’s worth noting that Mets fans made up a good portion of that crowd, and their cheering sometimes awoke the apathetic Pittsburgh partisans. It’s hard to blame the fans. The Pirates had the worst record in baseball last season, are in last place in the NL Central, and fans are anticipating that All-Star second baseman Adam Frazier will soon be traded.
Just when it doesn’t seem like there’s much to get excited about, the Pirates pulled off a remarkable rally to overcome a six-run deficit and win in amazing fashion. So it only made sense that they blew a six-run lead the following day, a reminder that this franchise is in a full rebuild.
Three of the players who came through for the Pirates — Stallings, John Nogowski and Wilmer Difo — all have been designated for assignment in their careers, the latter two in the past month.
This was a weekend where the castoffs carried the Pirates.
Good morning. pic.twitter.com/I1HYkBud3h
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 18, 2021
1. For starters: Before the start of the series, Shelton emphasized two points where the Pirates need to be better in the second half: Stay healthy and be more consistent offensively.
They go hand in hand, of course, as third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes has missed more games (53) than he’s played (40) while first baseman Colin Moran has played in only 49 games.
“Especially with the top four guys in the lineup … I don’t know how many games we played with those four guys in the lineup,” Shelton said. “Losing Key early and we lost Colin twice, so getting healthy is an important part of that.”
The Pirates have had their first four batters – Frazier, Hayes, Bryan Reynolds and Moran – in the starting lineup together for only 11 of their 93 games. Their record in those games: 6-5.
That’s been an absolute killer. It stands to reason that the presence of Hayes and Moran batting behind them would only help Frazier and Reynolds, who both started in the All-Star Game.
On the bright side, Moran should return from the IL soon. Then again, Frazier’s days with the Pirates appear to be numbered.
2. NoGo Show: The Pirates are pinching themselves over the addition of Nogowski, who is hitting .452/.489/.548 with four doubles and eight RBIs since joining the team July 4.
Nogowski has 19 hits in 42 at-bats through his first 10 games. By comparison, Hayes slashed .324/.395/.559 with one double, two triples, one home run and three RBIs in his first 10 games with the Pirates last September, when he won NL rookie of the month.
That the Pirates had their first baseman’s back when benches cleared Friday night when he took exception to Marcus Stroman’s celebration of an inning-ending lineout spoke volumes.
Stallings, for one, said he loves having Nogowski as a teammate.
“The guy is unbelievable, man,” Stallings said. “It’s just one of those things: You think it’s going to stop, then he gets two more hits the next day and good at-bats. Even when he gets out, he has good at-bats. I can’t say enough about him, what he’s done since he’s come in here. He plays great defense. He’s super competitive. He’s always giving you information about what he sees from the pitcher, which is great for me, being a right-handed hitter and hitting after him.”
3. Difo-rence maker: Since being selected from Triple-A Indianapolis on July 2, Difo is hitting .419 (13 for 31) with three doubles, two home runs, six RBIs and six runs scored in 12 games.
Starting in right field Friday, the super utility player went 2 for 4 with a home run in the 4-1 win. Difo came off the bench for a three-run pinch-hit homer to spark Saturday’s 9-7 win. Not bad for a guy who was designated for assignment last month and had to clear waivers, which left Stallings “really bummed.”
“He just brings such an energy to our team every single day,” Stalling said, referencing the philosophy of his father, former Pitt men’s basketball coach Kevin Stallings. “My dad used to always say you’re either an energy giver or an energy sucker. Wilmer is the epitome of an energy giver every single day. … He just brings tremendous energy and really is invaluable to our team.”
What Shelton loves about Difo, aside from his infectious energy, is that he’s ready to hit from the first inning on, which is noticeable with what’s on and in his hands while walking around the dugout.
“That’s a huge part of my routine,” Difo said. “I always have my batting gloves on, and I always have a bat in my hand, letting them know I’m ready for any situation. So far, it’s working out for me, so I’m gonna keep it going.”
Difo batted second against the Mets on Sunday, going 2 for 5 with a double and a run scored while starting at third base for Hayes before shifting to second base in the eighth inning.
“I think he just likes to play,” Shelton said. “I think it says a ton about his makeup. When we DFA’d him, it was not easy. It wasn’t easy for him, obviously. It was not easy for the staff and the players because of the energy he provides. Just one of those things that we needed a roster spot at that time. He went down to Class AAA. He continues to get his at-bats, continued to work. I think we’re seeing that as he’s come back to the big leagues.”
4. Going streaking: Not that he’s anywhere near as superstitious as his double-play partner, but Pirates shortstop Kevin Newman didn’t like discussing his errorless streak to start the season.
After 76 games without committing an error, Newman’s perfect start ended with an E6 in the fourth inning Friday when he mishandled a Jeff McNeil grounder on the other side of second base while playing in a defensive shift.
Newman simply shrugged.
“It was a cool run,” Newman said. “Really just worked as hard I could to try to make as many plays for our pitchers as possible. It kind of just happened. Cool little run for sure.”
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 17, 2021
Newman didn’t let the error bother him, as he handled grounders for the final two outs of that inning and later turned a pretty backhand stab and barehand-to-barehand throw to Frazier for a forceout at second.
“To be honest, I forgot about the error right after it happened,” Newman said. “Really didn’t dwell on it. It was shown, there’s a next play to be made. … That’s part of the game. You’ve just got to flush that stuff really quickly because the ball’s gonna find you. After it happened, it was onto the next play for me, mentally.”
5. Signed and sealed: The Pirates introduced the No. 1 overall pick Sunday morning when Louisville catcher Henry Davis signed for a $6.5 million bonus, then took batting practice at PNC Park.
Taking it all in. ? pic.twitter.com/i70StUy52F
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 18, 2021
As a right-handed hitter with pull power, Davis was asked about whether the left-field dimensions at PNC Park – 325 down the line, 383 to left-center, 410 to the North Side Notch – were inviting when he did a pre-draft workout for the Pirates.
Davis took batting practice before the game and was clearly swinging for the fences to impress onlookers. He homered to the left-field bleachers, the base of the rotunda and the bullpen.
“I didn’t really have a problem with it when I was here,” Davis said with a smile, “but I wouldn’t mind if they moved it in a little bit.”
