PITTSBURGH — Carlos Santana dominated a key at-bat. Austin Hedges alertly called a timeout at a pivotal moment. Connor Joe tamed the Clemente Wall. Mitch Keller cranked out another quality start.
Older guys doing important little things the proper way.
For the Pirates, it all added up to a 4-2 win against the Reds on Friday, which produced their first five-game winning streak under fourth-year manager Derek Shelton.
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Call it clutch. Call it experience. Or call it whatever pops into your mind, as Shelton did after the game.
“I think there were a lot of things that the veteran guys did that were really … uh, veteran-ish,” Shelton said with a little smile. “I don’t know if that’s a word, but I’m going to use it.”
Although the Pirates have been hot in the first innings of games this season (17 runs scored), the second inning (23 runs) actually has been their jackpot. Friday, they took a 2-0 lead in the second against right-hander Graham Ashcraft.
Joe dropped a one-out single into left field and Jack Suwinski walked. After Ashcraft balked, Mark Mathias lined a two-run single over the head of second baseman Jonathan India.
The first hit off Keller was Tyler Stephenson’s liner off the Clemente Wall to open the fifth inning. Right fielder Joe played the carom perfectly and held Stephenson to a single.
“I’m fortunate because PNC (Park) is a lot like Coors (Field), where there is a (closer) wall that’s taller,” said Joe, who played the past two seasons with the Rockies. “Within the first couple days of being here, (outfielders coach Tarrik Brock) got with us and was hitting a lot of balls off the wall so we could get the angles and see how it bounces off it.”
Keller got an out, then ran into some turbulence. Jason Vosler walked. Nick Senzel rolled an RBI single into the right-field corner. Jose Barrero’s sacrifice fly tied it at 2.
Joe singled to right, his third hit of the game, with one out in the sixth. Over his past four games, Joe is 9-for-16 with three doubles, a triple, a home run and four RBIs.
“I think he gets overlooked,” Shelton said. “He was a guy we targeted in the offseason because of the way he controls at-bats. Good swings tonight, good jumps defensively, made some nice plays. I use this term a lot, but Connor Joe’s a baseball player. The way he prepares, the way he goes about it, he’s locked in every pitch, regardless if he’s playing or not.”
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With two outs and Joe at third base, Mathais hit a bouncer to the left side. The ball ate up shortstop Barrero, who booted it and made a hurried throw to first base. Joe scored on the error to put the Pirates up 3-2.
Keller worked six innings, allowed one run on four hits, walked one and struck out five. It was the Pirates’ 11th straight quality start.
“Every night, we’re in the dugout watching the next starter,” Keller said. “We’ve got a pretty tight group. We watch each other’s bullpens in pregame and midweek. We’re helping each other out, which is awesome. It’s a huge testament to why we’re doing well. Everybody wants to do well and keep that going.”
In the seventh, Santana, 37, thoroughly dominated his four-pitch encounter against reliever Ian Gibaut and put the game on ice.
With the Pirates clinging to a 3-2 lead, Andrew McCutchen drew a two-out walk. That brought up Santana, who had gone 9-for-29 with four doubles and six RBIs in his previous four games but was hitless so far in this one.
Gibaut’s first pitch was a 93 mph fastball up — well above the top of the zone — and a little bit inside. Santana leaned back dramatically.
With his next pitch, Gibaut tried to nick the top inside corner with another four-seamer. Again, Santana jumped back like his life was in danger. The announced crowd of 17,276 hooted and howled.
Actually, the pitch wasn’t as dangerous as Santana made it look. The ball was an inch or so inside. But Santana’s show was beginning to have its desired effect.
“I don’t think he tried to hit me,” Santana said. “He tried to make a good pitch. I knew he was going to try to pitch inside, but I never lost my focus. I wanted to make good contact.”
Santana was inside Gibaut’s head now. He was going to get on base. The only question was whether it would be via a walk or a hit.
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Pitch three was a chest-high changeup. Santana took it for strike one.
Watching the at-bat unfold from the dugout, Hedges waited for the inevitable outcome.
“There was no doubt in my mind he was gonna hit a double or a home run or something,” Hedges said. “Those kind of situations are when guys like him — guys who play the game like that — come up big. There was no doubt in my mind he was gonna come through.”
As the crowd raised its volume, Gibaut stomped on the mound before coming set. Four-seamer, middle-middle.
Santana ripped a double in the left-center field gap. McCutchen, pumping his 36-year-old legs hard, scored standing up all the way from first base. As he pulled into second, Santana pumped both fists and screamed like a Viking warrior.
“Hey, I’m an emotional guy,” Santana said with a broad grin.
That kind of game-changing outcome is why the Pirates gave the 14-year veteran a $6.75 million contract last winter.
“That’s what a professional at-bat’s about,” Shelton said. “You don’t let anything rattle you. You stay within the at-bat the entire time and Carlos did that.”
In the bottom of the eighth, the first two batters, Mathias and Rodolfo Castro, made outs on a total of three pitches. As Hedges walked out from the on-deck circle, he saw closer David Bednar warming in the bullpen and slowed his gait.
“I’ve been lucky to play this game for a while now and I’ve seen some good veterans do the same type of thing,” Hedges said. “It’s a winning mentality. When winning is on your mind, you notice those things.”
When he got to the plate, Hedges called time before the first pitch. He then worked a six-pitch at-bat that gave Bednar plenty of time to finish his warmup.
“I just wanted to make sure (Bednar) was loose,” Hedges said. “Because as long as he’s good to go, I know he’s gonna close the door.”
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Bednar set down the Reds 1-2-3 to cap the Pirates’ first five-game winning streak since April 14-20, 2019.
A year or so ago, bench coach Don Kelly promised he’d shave his head if the Pirates ever won five in a row. So, who gets to be Kelly’s barber?
“I have no idea. Probably Shelty,” Keller said. “That’d be cool. I’m excited to see that.”
(Top photo: Charles LeClaire / USA Today)