PITTSBURGH — Steven Brault got a look at the major-league level, but it was again the young bats that took over as the stars in a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
Jordan Luplow hit a two-run home run in the second inning and Max Moroff hit an RBI single in the eighth and scored on David Freese’s game-winning single later in the inning.
It was the second game in a row that the young bats came out swinging. For some of them, it’s also their first extending look at major-league playing time. Max Moroff started his third straight game, and that’s gone a long way to helping him get comfortable at the MLB level, something that he clearly had to work through from the time he was first recalled.
“There was more watching than opportunities to play,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “There wasn’t a lot of bookend games and bundled at-bats. However, he’s been able to do a lot of work to watch the game and then get involved enough to know that it’s a different speed up here. It’s a different game up here.”
The confidence has been coming on strong for Luplow, as well. He’s played in four straight games, but the big boost for him was getting that first hit out of the way.
“I put a lot of unnecessary pressure on myself to get the first one,” Luplow said. “These guys have just helped me settle in and helped me learn every day, especially with these (pitchers) I haven’t faced before. It’s tough.”
Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks was tough, as he shut down the Pirates’ offense for most of the night, but Luplow was able to burst through with a towering, 431-foot shot into left-center that scored Freese and got the Pirates on the board in the early going.
“Everything that comes out of his hand pretty much looks the same and he can put it wherever he wants” Luplow said. “I got a good pitch to hit and I was able to put some barrel on it.”
Brault was neither sharp nor efficient, giving up eight hits and striking out none while needing 91 pitches to get through five innings. But he was able to settle down after rough start and finished the outing with a 1-2-3 fifth inning.
“It’s hard,” Hurdle said. “He’s been in a couple different roles. We tried to give him the opportunity for a routine here, getting to him early and giving him the five days down. As the game went on, he got better and the secondary pitches played better. … He walks away, for me, in a good spot. He should be able to hunt some good out of this outing.”
Here’s more from Brault on what he can take away from his start:
HE SAID IT
“Hendricks is tough, man. I bet a lot of people were sitting around the last couple of years wondering how people don’t hit this guy, but a lot of movement. He knows what he’s doing. He uses the strike zone and then that late movement gets it off the barrel. We fought. That’s obviously a very good club.” — David Freese on persevering against Hendricks and the Cubs.
Not a graph, but here’s a look at Luplow’s sweet swing for a 431-foot blast to left-center. It was his 25th home run across all levels, which is a 150-percent increase from a year ago. Luplow said he hasn’t changed his swing, but feels that he’s gotten better at being more selective with his swing and not mis-hitting when he finds one he can drive.
QUICK HITS
***Felipe Rivero pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn a drama-free save after taking 30 pitches to do the trick the last time out. In fact, the only drama about Rivero’s outing was if he’d be ready quickly enough to take the mound.
The Pirates were trailing into the bottom of the eighth inning, and if that continued into the ninth, Joaquin Benoit was going to throw. If the Pirates tied it up, Daniel Hudson was going to get the inning. When they went from trailing to leading in three batters, Rivero had to get up quickly
“We’ve talked about three lanes out there for situations in September,” Hurdle said. “(Rivero) was going to get the ball for a save. I didn’t want to use Hudson unless we were ahead, but in the ninth, if we tied it, he seemed like a good choice for me and if we were down, it was going to be Benoit. So they had to do some musical chairs to work out there.”
The quick warmup didn’t seem to hurt Rivero’s slider one bit.
Felipe Rivero, Entirely Unfair, Possibly Illegal 85mph Slider (after two 100mph FBs).
***Wade LeBlanc pitched three perfect innings of relief to give the Pirates some time to get out from under Hendricks, who dominated through 6.2 innings. But the Pirates were able to get to receiver Carl Edwards, Jr. after LeBlanc kept them in the hunt.
“It was what we were able to see probably the first half of the season from Wade,” Hurdle said. “He mixed his pitches well. The right handers, he’s never been pushed as far as making pitches and getting after things as far as right-handed hitters. He changes speed, moved the ball around, threw strikes and was very efficient.”
***Pirates broadcast analyst and former relief pitcher Kent Tekulve announced after the game that he will retire from his broadcast duties on AT&T Sportsnet Pittsburgh’s postgame show at the end of the season. Tekulve, 70, had a heart transplant in 2014. He pitched for the Pirates from 1974 to 1985 and threw the final pitch of the 1979 World Series.
Photos From the Game
Some of the best photos tonight from our photographer, David Hague:
Jordan Luplow hitting his homer. –David Hague/Pirates ProspectsSteven Brault — David Hague/Pirates ProspectsMax Moroff scoring a run. — David Hague/Pirates ProspectsFelipe Rivero shutting it down. — David Hague/Pirates ProspectsRaise It — David Hague/Pirates Prospects
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