PITTSBURGH — Francisco Cervelli will catch for the second straight night as the Pirates look for a series win over the Milwaukee Brewers Wednesday afternoon. He reported no ill effects from his return to the field in the Pirates’ 3-2 win on Tuesday night .
The return of a healthy Cervelli to the Pirates’ lineup should be a boon for the Pirates — offensively and defensively. Fill-ins Eric Fryer, Erik Kratz, Chris Stewart and Jacob Stallings did a fine job of managing the pitching staff, but Cervelli has the offensive ability to contribute to what has been a suddenly lackluster offense.
“Both sides of the ball, he’s just an advanced player,” manager Clint Hurdle. “Francisco has the chance to impact the game with the bat and with the glove, and now — he thinks — with his legs because that was his fifth stolen base of the season.”
Hurdle was also quick to credit the work of the Fryer, particularly, as solid.
“Eric did a very good job for us swinging the bat,” Hurdle said. “His first four starts, if you look at the numbers, were impressive, but it’s not Cervelli. Eric’s worked very hard to become a major-league catcher and a bona fide backup. We helped develop that guy a few years ago and now it’s come full circle.”
Ace Gerrit Cole suggested that there can be a definite advantage to some consistency behind the plate, something he thinks Cervelli will bring.
“It’s huge,” Cole said. “We’re going to start having a consistent catcher in there for an entire series being able to read hitters. Fryer and Kratz did an excellent job of transferring information back and forth. There’s an excellent line of communication between all of our catchers. Obviously, having that stalwart behind the plate that’s going to catch most of the games, the energy that he brings, the offensive tools that he brings, the pitch framing, it’s a big advantage for us to have him back.”
Jameson Taillon agreed and added that that consistency can be especially helpful for the team’s cadre of young pitchers.
“It’s big, and that doesn’t take anything away from our other catchers,” Taillon said. “Cervelli is Cervelli. He’s a guy. He’s fun to throw to. Pitch framing, pitch calling, experience, he has the whole package. For a young guy like me, that means a lot to see him back there.”
Cervelli is still dealing with some pain in his hand, and the team’s training staff will monitor how he deals with that in order to determine exactly what Cervelli’s workload will be coming off the injury.
“If it’s me, I’ll do every day, but I have to do what they say,” Cervelli joked. He also added that the only time he really feels pain is when he takes an awkward swing.
“When I make a bad swing on a breaking ball or [at] something out of the sun, I feel something,” he said. “I have to make sure I’m consistent with my swing, and it’s probably a good thing.”
TAILLON STILL UNDER EVALUATION
Taillon is still being evaluated under the team’s concussion protocol, and the team can still place him on the concussion-specific seven-day disabled list up to 48 hours after the incident, but so far, he has passed all tests and said that he wasn’t even that sore.
Trainer Todd Tomczyk said that the distance the ball went after it impacted Taillon was an indication that he got off with minimal impact.
STEWART WORKING TOWARD RETURN
Stewart was able to resume baseball activities over the weekend, and knee seems to be responding well to that. He’s swinging the bat and throwing, but still hasn’t caught out of a crouch, which is the thing that had been bothering him.
“In the coming days, we anticipate ramping up baseball activities to see how the knee responds,” Tomczyk said. If Stewart’s knee doesn’t respond well to the increase in activity, surgery is still an option.
BACK IN THE SADDLE
After an extended break and an appearance out of the bullpen, Jeff Locke will return to the starting rotation for the first time in the second half.
“The break was nice,” Locke said. “I stayed in town, probably went outside about twice. It was perfect. I didn’t do a whole lot, I just hung out by myself and unplugged.
He added that he hasn’t had to change much of his approach or routine coming out the odd timing of the break and spot bullpen session.
“I’m not a guy that really things too much about [that] stuff,” he said. “There’s no challenge for me to think, ‘Now you’re starting, now you aren’t, now you are.’ I just go out there and do it.”
NOTES
Gregory Polanco will also play his second straight game while returning from his hamstring injury. With Chase Anderson having a pretty significant reverse platoon split, Polanco is the only left-hander in the lineup. Lefties have a .672 OPS against Anderson, while right-handers have a .996 figure. As a result, David Freese will start at first in place of John Jaso and Jung Ho Kang is back in at third base after not starting either of the last two games.
