Hernandez shows more pop
Third HR in 10 games helps Fister win duel with Bucs’ Taillon
PITTSBURGH — Starling Marte barely moved, the Pirates’ AllStar left fielder merely turning and shuffling a few steps toward the wall. As soon as bat met ball on the fifth pitch of Teoscar Hernandez’s second plate appearance Monday night, there was no doubt.
Hernandez’s third home run in his 10 games as a major leaguer proved the difference in the Astros’ fourth consecutive win — 3-1 over the Pirates at PNC Park.
The 23-year-old outfielder turned on an inside 92 mph fastball from Jameson Taillon in the fifth inning of a scoreless game and crushed it into the left-field seats.
The series-opening victory clinched a winning seven-game road trip to Baltimore and Pittsburgh for the Astros (65-60), who with 37 games to play own an outside chance at claiming the second American League wild-card spot. Hernandez’s two-run blast and a ninthinning solo shot from Alex Bregman signified their offense Monday in a pitchers’ duel between towering righthanders.
The game, played in a brisk
2 hours, 17 minutes, featured only 10 hits.
The Astros’ Doug Fister turned in arguably his best start of the season, allowing only three hits over seven scoreless innings. Taillon, the Pirates’ standout rookie and a product of The Woodlands High School, gave up only four hits over eight innings.
Efficient outing
Fister needed just 92 pitches to record his 21 outs. Only two Pirates reached scoring position against him and both came on two-out doubles, by Gregory Polanco in the fourth inning and Josh Bell in the seventh. The 6-8 sinkerballer struck out six and issued only one walk.
“Tonight felt really good,” Fister said. “I felt in control but (I was) just kind of mixing things up. (Catcher Jason) Castro and I really went over a good game plan and really stuck with it. It came down to executing.”
Outside of Hernandez’s long ball, the 6-5 Taillon yielded only a Castro double and two infield singles. He struck out a season-high eight and also issued just one walk, to A.J. Reed in the plate appearance that preceded Hernandez’s homer.
The eight-inning outing was Taillon’s third in 12 starts.
“Pitch efficiency is key for the deep starts,” said Taillon, who grew up rooting for the Astros and said he has long admired second baseman Jose Altuve. “I think the twoseam (fastball), I think not being afraid of contact, I think (it) all plays into it, just realizing that my stuff plays.
“I learned that early on my first couple starts.”
The Pirates’ bats betrayed Taillon’s great outing. Through eight innings, the Bucs had mustered only the three hits. Polanco tagged Ken Giles for a two-out double in the ninth and scored on an errant throw by Bregman on an ensuing ground ball by David Freese.
But rather than extending a potential Pirates rally, Freese ran into the game’s final out while attempting to stretch it into a two-base error.
“You can’t be out there at second base,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “You’re two runs down. That probably was some emotional baserunning. At the end of the day, we needed to get Bell the at-bat.”
Bregman’s homer, off Pirates set-up man Neftali Feliz, tacked on an insurance run for Giles. The touted rookie displayed impressive power, belting a 1-0 pitch out to dead center field for his fourth homer in seven games.
Turnaround season
For Hernandez, Monday’s blast continued his breakout season after a terrible 2015 in Class AA. The other 29 teams passed over him in December’s Rule 5 draft. He wasn’t even officially invited to major league spring training. Yet here he is, keeping his name in the Astros’ lineup on a near daily basis.
“I just try to be patient at home plate, try to make some adjustments,” Hernandez said. “The past couple of games I was swinging at pitches out of the zone. Just see the ball and try to hit it hard and do some damage.”
Astros manager A.J. Hinch lauded Hernandez for how balanced a hitter he has become. Compared to last season, Hernandez has drastically refined his pitch selection.
“The tools have always been there,” Hinch said. “He’s always had some upside, and he’s certainly showing it.”