Polanco gets rare start vs. lefty
DETROIT — With Gregory Polanco coming off a 3-for-4 performance Wednesday night, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle stayed with the hot hand Thursday and started Polanco against a left-handed pitcher for just the second time this season.
Polanco’s good swings, however, did not carry over to Thursday. He struck out twice against Detroit Tigers starter Kyle Ryan and later struck out against reliever Blaine Hardy, another lefthander, before rounding out his unremarkable day with two walks.
Hurdle hoped the move could get Polanco going against left-handers.
“We’re going to find out,” Hurdle said before the game. “That’s why he’s playing. I like the way he’s swinging the bat, so we’ll run him out there and see.”
Polanco hit left-handers hard in the minors, though that success did not translate to the majors when he ascended quickly in 2014. He started 18 games against lefthanders in 2014, batting .193 against them.
First baseman Pedro Alvarez has yet to start against a left-hander, and Polanco has done it just twice. He is 0 for 5 with four strikeouts in those games.
Dads on duty
There were a number of new, yet eerily familiar faces milling around the Pirates clubhouse this week, as the Pirates held their third annual fathers’ retreat by bringing in 15 dads of coaches, trainers and players to Detroit. They traveled with the team, sat in on meetings and got an up-close look day-to-day life in the majors.
“They are memories that will last a lifetime,” Hurdle said. “It’s always precious when you can get a father and son together for three or four days. You need to take advantage of it.”
And there’s a reason Charlie Morton’s father and Clint Hurdle Sr. were playing catch Wednesday in front of the Pirates dugout.
“They’ve got a big responsibility [tonight],” Clint Hurdle Jr. said. “They’re all going to go out and throw out the first pitch against the Indians before the game, so they’ve all been loosening up, getting their arms ready. Got to make sure we don’t have anybody bounce it or overshoot it.”
Walker to Hall of Fame
Neil Walker’s father, Tom, was one of eight former players voted into the Texas League Hall of Fame Wednesday. Tom Walker, a Baltimore Orioles firstround pick in 1968, pitched for Class AA Dallas-Forth Worth in 1971, going 13-9 with a 2.25 ERA.
“Pretty cool,” Neil Walker said, smiling, when asked about the honor.
Tom Walker pitched himself into the league record book by throwing a 15-inning no-hitter against Class AA Albuquerque, and Dallas-Fort Worth finally gave him a 1-0 win in the longest no-hit gem in Texas League history.