Pirates’ magic formula for success: Good vibes, little things and Pikachu
PITTSBURGH — A few hours before game time Thursday, Pirates utilityman Connor Joe sliced open a box full of bright yellow T-shirts and doled them out to his mates in the clubhouse. The message on the front of the shirts was simple.
Good vibes only.
That mantra has quickly become this team’s calling card. The Pirates then went out and scored four quick runs off right-hander Luke Weaver — including a three-run blast by Joe that ignited the crowd at PNC Park — and held on for a 4-3 win against the Reds.
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Winners of four in a row, the Pirates are 13-7 for the first time since 2002 — back when Lloyd McClendon was manager and Dave Littlefield was general manager. That team finished its season 72-89. This year’s group is aiming a lot higher by using a deadly simple approach.
“We’re doing all the little things,” third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes said. “We’re catching the ball on defense and the pitchers are keeping the innings quick and getting us back on offense. (Andrew McCutchen) told us last week, ‘Keep doing the little things, keep playing with energy and the right things will happen.'”
In the seventh inning, Hayes triggered a remarkable double play that arguably saved the game. He tumbled to the ground as he snatched Wil Myers’ dribbler, then made an off-balance but on-target throw to second baseman Ji Hwan Bae to begin a double play. Carlos Santana ended it with a smooth, superb pick at first base.
“I just kind of blacked out and athleticism took over,” Hayes said. “That’s a play I’ve never made before, so it felt a little weird. I had to go back and look at it (on video).”
Double down ⬇️
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 21, 2023
It was no little thing, but Hayes made it seem second nature. Magical.
“When I went to the mound, they were all like, ‘Whoa!’ and I said, ‘Dang, Key, that’s a hell of a play,'” manager Derek Shelton said. “That’s why he’s one of the best defenders on the planet.”
Right-hander Roansy Contreras (2-1) worked 6 2/3 innings, allowed one run on five hits and two walks, and struck out eight. He produced the Pirates’ 10th consecutive quality start. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it’s their longest such streak since putting up 12 in a row June 7-19, 2015.
After the game, Contreras stood at his locker clasping the pitching staff’s latest good-luck charm: a Pikachu Pokémon doll attired in a black Pirates shirt.
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“That’s the trophy,” Contreras said through an interpreter. “Every time you do good in the game, you get the Pikachu.”
Win the game, celebrate with Pirates Pikachu
— RobBiertempfel (@RobBiertempfel) April 21, 2023
Contreras’ fastball again sat around 93 mph — last season, he averaged 95.6 mph with his four-seamer — but he still found ways to overwhelm the Reds.
“He had that wipeout slider today and guys weren’t making adjustments on it,” catcher Austin Hedges said. “Sometimes, you have to assume good hitters are going to make adjustments and sometimes you have to be like, ‘Hey, here it is. You haven’t hit it yet.’ He did a good job of that today.”
Contreras threw 50 sliders compared to 37 fastballs. The slider produced 14 swings-and-misses and nine called strikes — a tasty 46 percent strike rate.
What used to be a developing secondary pitch has become perhaps the most important weapon in Contreras’ arsenal. His slider usage has gone from 34 percent last season to 43 percent, his most-used pitch this year.
A sign that Contreras is a craftier pitcher than before?
“Calmer is the word I would use,” Shelton said. “I think that’s a sign of maturity on Ro’s part. And also, Hedges does an elite job of using a pitch mix. He mixed in the changeup today at some really appropriate times.”
Hedges knows the game’s evolution is rewarding pitchers who know how and when to spin the ball. Every hitter is sitting on the high fastball, the darling pitch of two seasons ago.
“When you’re behind in the count and in fastball counts, if you can be able to rip a slider, that’s how you last in this league,” Hedges said. “(Contreras) showed today he’s got the ability to do that.”
Weaver, who began the year on the injured list with forearm tightness, had a bumpy season debut. The Pirates scored four runs, including homers by Joe and Jack Suwinski, with two outs in the first inning.
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Hayes led off with a single that extended his hitting streak to seven games. The common denominator? He’s batted leadoff in each game — a lineup decision Shelton made more than a week ago when the Pirates faced a bunch of left-handers.
“He had consistent at-bats, then we had a right-hander that was a right-handed dominant lineup person, so he was the right person to fit there,” Shelton said before the game. “He’s continued to have consistent at-bats and we’ve continued to score runs.”
Shelton hasn’t ruled out eventually moving Hayes back to No. 5 or 6 if the matchup calls for it. For now, though, the lineup is cruising with Hayes in the top spot. Why mess with a good thing, right?
“It’s a little bit of that and a little bit still has to do with the matchups,” Shelton said, noting that Joe was in the lineup because Weaver is a reverse-split pitcher. “So some of it has to do with, if it’s working well, go ahead and continue to roll it out.”
That lineup, fresh from racking up 33 runs in a three-game sweep of the Rockies, again created some quick excitement. After Hayes singled and Bryan Reynolds walked, Joe launched a full-count fastball into the bullpen. Suwinski followed with a blast over the Clemente Wall.
It’s the fourth straight game in which the Pirates have hit multiple homers. Suwinski has been a catalyst. Over his past eight games, Suwinski is hitting 9-for-22 (.409) with a double, five home runs and eight RBIs.
Playing in that thin air at Coors Field probably helped spark Suwinski’s bat. “A lot of guys like Colorado because it is a good place to hit,” Shelton said with a smile.
Too bad the Pirates don’t play all their games in Denver. After that jump-around first inning, Weaver went more changeup-heavy and the Pirates managed only one hit the rest of the way.
The announced crowd of 14,051 struggled to get the wave going in the eighth inning, even as the Reds threatened to wipe out a three-run deficit. After three straight singles, a throwing error by reliever Colin Holderman, and a fly ball to deep left, the Reds trailed just 4-3 with a runner on third and one out.
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With the infielders drawn in, Jake Fraley hit a bouncer to Hayes, who froze TJ Friedl at third and threw across for the out.
“Key made a nice play, I was able to strike out the next batter and get it to (closer David) Bednar,” Holderman said. “That’s my only job, so I’m happy with it.”
Little stuff. Good vibes. It’s working.
(Top photo of Connor Joe: Charles LeClaire / USA Today)
