Austin Hedges Comes up Big For Pirates in Win Over A’s (+)
PITTSBURGH — Austin Hedges has had his struggles this season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, specifically at the plate.
Entering Friday’s game against the Oakland A’s, Hedges was hitting only .179 with an unimpressive .461 OPS.
While he hasn’t had the kind of year that either he or the Pirates would have wanted at the plate so far this season, the backstop came up big for the Pirates in their 5-4 win at PNC Park.
After drawing a walk in the sixth inning, Hedges scored on a Jack Suwinski sacrifice fly to put the Pirates ahead by a score of 4-3.
After the A’s came back to tie the game at 4-all, Hedges again delivered with the bat.
Ji Hwan Bae opened the bottom of the eighth with an infield single. After Mark Mathias flew out to left field, it was Hedges who advanced Bae to third base with a single to left field, putting the go-ahead run just 90 feet away.
Hedges could have had a double had it not been for a great play from A’s left fielder Jace Peterson, but advancing Bae to third was all that was needed. Andrew McCutchen drove in Bae with a sacrifice fly to right field to give the Pirates the lead for good.
“(He) swung the bat well, big hit there in the eighth, the ball down the line that Peterson made an unbelievable play on to bare-hand. I mean, that’s a heck of a play,” manager Derek Shelton said.
Hedges biggest moment was without doubt a game-saver. A’s speedster Esteury Ruiz led off the top of the ninth with an infield singled.
Ruiz, who leads all of baseball with 29 steals, quickly took off for second base with an attempted steal. Hedges made a quick and on-target throw to nab Ruiz and prevent the possible go-ahead run from getting into scoring position.
“Everybody in the ballpark knows Ruiz is running. I mean, he’s got about a 35-foot lead. I can tell you from being a catcher, when everyone knows you’re gonna run and you’re getting a pitch and you have to execute it to be able to make that throw the way did.
“And then (Marcano’s) tag was unbelievable, so on both sides of that play. But, that’s a tough play for a catcher, because everybody knows he’s going and you can get fast and he didn’t. He stayed right within his mechanics, came up and fired a strike,” Shelton said.
Oh and by the way, it was in that ninth inning that Hedges was tasked with aiding Colin Holderman, who was going for his first-career save attempt.
It’s a big moment for a younger player to try and get their first milestone. Hedges was able to help Holderman keep his composure and convert the save.
Before Holderman, Hedges was instrumental in getting starter Johan Oviedo to complete seven strong innings on the mound, making his importance in the win present for the entire game.
“I think throughout the game, because like we said, Oviedo wasn’t sharp and that’s the things that you can’t quantify, you can’t put in a score book of what Hedgy does to be able to get young pitchers through it,” Shelton said.
Sure, Hedges has had his struggles this season. But it’s hard to question is defense and what he means to the Pirates’ pitching staff.
In Monday’s win, Hedges’ value at the plate by reaching base twice in two big spots was an added bonus. The Pirates will be hoping for more of that moving forward.