Unlikely Source Leads to Improbable Win; Did Hayes Figure Something Out? (+)
PITTSBURGH — Things were looking bleak on the North Shore of Pittsburgh entering the late stages of the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.
Entering the sixth inning, the Pirates trailed the Cardinals by a score of 5-0. Ke’Bryan Hayes finally got the Pirates on the board with a single up the middle. That was all the damage the Pirates could muster in the inning.
The game looked out of hand. Entering play, the Pirates were 0-22 in games where the trailed after six innings on the year.
That zero in the win column finally changed to a one.
Carlos Santana made things interesting in the bottom of the seventh inning when he drove in two with a ground-rule double to left.
Two batters later, Hayes again came through for the Pirates. This time, he represented the dagger.
With two on and two outs and the Pirates trailing by a pair, Hayes belted a go-ahead, three-run home run to left field to put the Pirates ahead by a score of 6-5. The Pirates went on to win the game 7-5.
“It felt great. Probably one of my best hits, home runs in my career so far… I went up there after Bae struck out and wanted to pick my teammate up and wanted to get something early in the count. Really, first pitch, I was looking for hanging breaking ball first pitch and backed up,” Hayes said.
Hayes has shown flashes with the bat before. He showed it in the win on Friday. The Pirates’ third baseman was a triple shy of the cycle and drove in a season-high four runs.
“It was great. That’s what we’ve talked about. When he’s on time and he gets the ball up front he has the ability to impact the ball. We definitely saw that tonight,” manager Derek Shelton said.
It’s no secret that Hayes has had his struggles at the plate this season. Entering play, Hayes was hitting just .221 with a .621 OPS and a pair of home runs.
Things are starting to change a bit of late for the 26-year-old. Hayes’ big game in the one comes on the heels of a 2 for 5 showing on Wednesday night in the Pirates’ win over the San Francisco Giants.
It’s a tiny sample, but Hayes made a tweak in the box that could lead to more of what we’ve seen the last couple games.
“I kind of went to a toe-tap. Just, feel a little bit more balanced whenever I go to load. (I’ve) just been working on that and then mainly, just trying to be aggressive early in the count,” he said.
The toe-tap is a subtle change that has helped numerous players in the past, including a recent example of Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman.
Combined with his elite defense, if the Pirates are able to get production from Hayes at the plate, they have something special on their hands.
The win as a whole was a big one for the Pirates, who have now won three-straight for the first time since winning four in a row from Apr. 26-29.
The Pirates improved to 29-27 with the victory and trail the Milwaukee Brewers by only a half-game for first place in the National League Central division.