At last, it’s a good match
Archer’s pitching blends with homers by Moran, Polanco
Remember how it felt Tuesday night after a loss against the Atlanta Braves, when it seemed that injuries and mishaps finally had caught up to the Pirates.
If you had confronted
Pirates manager Clint
Hurdle with such feelings, he likely would have replied with one of his favorite refrains: “Feelings aren’t facts.”
A 6-1 win against the Braves Thursday afternoon at PNC Park offered proof and would have validated Hurdle’s assessment.
The win was the second in a row against Atlanta, and it moved the Pirates back to a game under .500 (30-31).
“It’s a long season, and one out of 162 or even a bad stretch isn’t going keep us down,” pitcher Chris Archer said. “We have veterans in this clubhouse who know that it is a long season. We also have some young guys who don’t know the difference. Bad games don’t have a lingering effect on us. We believe in each other in here.”
Joe Musgrove knew he had to go deep into the game Wednesday night and responded with a strong performance. Archer then followed his winning outing Friday with another such effort Thursday.
“He was on point today,” Hurdle said. “Archer had the fastball command, and that opened up all of his other pitches. We needed those guys to put their foot down, and they did.
“You keep giving them the ball. You keep believing in them and coaching them up.
“They know what they can do and what they needed to do, and they went out there and did it.”
But this one got off to a rocky start.
Freddie Freeman hit his 16th home run of this season with two outs in the first inning. Archer threw 2-1, 93-mph fastball that Freeman drove 415 feet and over the center-field fence. Archer did not want to fall behind, 3-1, in the count against one of the best hitters in baseball, so he threw a strike that caught too much of the plate.
After the game, Archer said that in hindsight he should’ve listened to catcher Jacob Stallings.
“Stallings called a different pitch than the one I threw,” he said.
“I should’ve trusted the call and threw the pitch. But you know what? I learned and I pretty much went with what he called and was successful.”
Stallings is developing a reputation as a student of the game, and Archer largely credited him for his recent strong outings.
Musgrove also praised Stallings’ work with him the week leading up to his start Wednesday. Elias Diaz caught Musgrove in the game, but Stallings was right there helping Musgrove while preparing himself for Thursday.
Stallings told reporters that he wanted Archer to throw a changeup to Freeman.
“He had thrown all fastballs that inning, and Freeman is a very good hitter and has been for a long time,” he said. “I wanted Archer to give him a different look to get him off the fastball. It was a good pitch Archer executed well but Freeman went and hit. That guy is a good hitter.”
Archer adapted quickly. He threw 14 firstpitch strikes to the next 25 hitters and only had threeball counts on three hitters. He retired 11 Braves on three or fewer pitches.
Josh Bell hit the first of his three doubles to lead off the second. Colin Moran drove him in with a home run to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead, and Gregory Polanco also homered two pitches later.
Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz then settled in, though, and allowed just two hits over his final four innings.
Archer, however, got into trouble in the seventh, giving up a double to Brian McCann and walking Ozzie Albies.
But Francisco Liriano came in and induced pinch-hitter Johan Camargo to hit into a double play. The ever-dangerous Ronald Acuna Jr. then flied out to Polanco in right to end the inning.
“That was a perfect example of a veteran guy coming in a tough situation and getting the job done,” Hurdle said.
“He pitched clean the entire time he was out there.
“That was a great effort to back up what Archer got started.”
Liriano recorded the first two outs of the eighth, and the inning should’ve ended with a Josh Donaldson ground out, but Kevin Newman, playing third base in place of Moran, didn’t connect on the throw to Bell.
Felipe Vazquez came in to get the final out, getting Nick Markakis to pop out to Newman.
Bell hit his third double off of reliever Josh Webb to drive in Adam Frazier and Bryan Reynolds in a three-run eighth to give the Pirates some breathing room. Diaz drove in Bell with a double to make it 6-1.
It still wouldn’t be easy. Vazquez loaded the bases with a two-out walk to Acuna, but he struck out Swanson to end the game and pick up his 15th save of the season.
Dickerson almost ready
Corey Dickerson was in the clubhouse after the Pirates win and will join the team for the trip to Milwaukee. He might be activated any day now.
“It great to be back here with my teammates,” Dickerson said.
“It was fun to go down there [Class AAA Indianapolis] and get my work in with those guys. It was good to put my body through what it needed to go through. I’m excited to be back.”
Dickerson played nine games in Indianapolis while rehabilitating from a shoulder strain that has caused him to miss 57 of the 61 games the Pirates have played.
“It’s been tough to be away for so long,” Dickerson said. “I had to treat those games like another spring training. When you’re out for that long, your body starts to go into winter mode.”
But Dickerson’s return would create a cluttered outfield.
Bryan Reynolds went 2 for 4 Thursday and is on a 14-game hitting streak, the longest for a rookie in the majors this season. That hitting streak also is the second-longest by a Pirates rookie since Neil Walker’s 18-game streak in 2010.
Reynolds’ .346 batting average and .401 on-base percentage also lead all major league rookies.
Starling Marte plays center and has gotten hot lately. Marte was 0 for 4 Thursday, but he entered the game hitting 21 for 49 with two home runs and seven RBIs in his previous games since moving to No. 3 in the lineup.
Gregory Polanco has hit well, too, of late, including his homer Thursday.
Melky Cabrera didn’t play Thursday, but is on a five-game hitting streak (7 for 17) and has emerged as a leader. Cabrera is a veteran who likely will adapt well to pinch-hitting. Reynolds has shown the versatility to play all the outfield spots.
Dickerson likely won’t be ready physically to play many games in a row, much like Polanco who needs rest at times after coming back earlier than expected from a major shoulder injury.