Williams put break to good use
CHICAGO — For whatever reason, the All- Star break seems to be a good thing for Trevor Williams.
Last year, Williams pitched to a 1.38 ERA after the break. This year, it meant infinitely more: The four days off allowed Williams extra time to spend with his newborn daughter, Josephine Marie, who was born July 5, a couple of days short of the break.
“We couldn’t have timed that any more perfect,” Williams said Friday at Wrigley Field before the start of a three- game series against the Cubs.
The timing is neat by itself, but that’s only part of a really cool birth story for Williams and his wife, Jackie. With many people close to them who have had positive experiences with adoption, Trevor and Jackie knew that one day they, too, wanted to adopt.
So after the Pirates 2018 season ended, they signed up to adopt and around Easter got matched with a birth mother. The kicker was not something they expected: Their baby girl was only about eight weeks from being born.
“We just wanted the first baby available,” Williams said. “She was the first birth mom that said she wanted us. It’s been awesome. It’s been a really good relationship with the birth mom and the entire birth family.”
After the Fourth of July game, Williams received a call that the birth mom’s water had broken, and he booked the next flight to Arizona, where Josephine was born. Trevor and Jackie arrived in time for the morning birth, with the Pirates allowing him to skip his final start before the break.
Williams hid the news publicly, but he said guys in the clubhouse knew the entire time — when Trevor and Jackie signed up, when they got matched and when he had to miss a start.
It was all part of what sounded like a relatively simple process, one that has been years in the making for Trevor and Jackie, who had their first child, Isaac, themselves.
“My wife has family that’s adopted,” Trevor said. “We have a lot of people in our life that have had really good adoption experiences. It came down to the fact that we really just wanted a baby.”
Run, Josh, run
When Josh Bell beat out an infield single Tuesday for a hit in the All- Star Game, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was watching at home with his daughter, Maddie.
“She said, ‘ He’s really fast,’” Hurdle explained, laughing. “I said, ‘ Most players are fast when they want to be, Maddie. They can be a little bit faster when the ball’s hit in the infield.’
“When he hits them in the river, he doesn’t have to run as fast.”
Hurdle and his daughter watched Bell hit a few long balls in the Home Run Derby Monday night and saw Felipe Vasquez horsing around with Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr., a Venezuelan.
The Hurdles liked what they saw.
“Good to see our men represent,” Hurdle said.
Injury updates
Gregory Polanco ( left shoulder inflammation) has played five games in his rehabilitation assignment with Class AAA Indianapolis, going 3 for 17 with one extrabase hit — a homer.
From what Hurdle said, it sounds as if Polanco is getting close, though maybe next week in St. Louis is more realistic.
“Called Gregory,” Hurdle said. “Have not heard back. We still have a few days ahead of us with what we scratched out initially.”
Corey Dickerson said his right groin injury has healed considerably over the break after he spent time rehabbing it.
‘ Nothing definitive’
The status of Francisco Cervelli remains very much up in the air.
He’s on the trip and worked out Thursday night at Wrigley Field, Hurdle said, while the Pirates are still trying to figure out what’s next for him.
“Nothing definitive, by any means,” Hurdle said. “He’s still working out with the club.
“We continue to work him out at multiple positions in case there’s a direction change there for us. His spirits are in a good place.”