PITTSBURGH — Sometimes, to win a baseball game, you need the smallest guy on the team to come up big. All 5-foot-10, 175 pound of Adam Frazier came up to the plate as a pinch hitter to lead off the seventh inning in a tie game.
Frazier is a prototypical leadoff hitter. He takes a ton of pitches, fouls off even more, can bunt for a hit, takes extra bases with reckless abandon, and is in general, a real pain the neck for opposing pitchers to deal with.
But with a rain storm threatening that would eventually delay the game an inning later, Frazier took a more-direct approach. He sent Edubray Ramos’ 2-1 fastball 407 feet into the upper reaches of the stands above the Clemente Wall and provided the winning factor in the Pirates’ 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Frazier isn’t exactly a fountain of endless power. It was his first major-league home run and first at any level in 2016. His last home run came on Sept. 5, 2015 when he was with the Altoona Curve, one of three home runs he hit as a Pirates farmhand. In two seasons with Mississippi State, he never once cleared the outfield fence.
“In college, I blame the bats,” joked Frazier. “I was there right when [they changed to metal bats that more closely resemble wooden ones]. It was tough. The stadium we played in was a big part and it was tough to get it out.”
But Frazier claims he did hit one homer as a Bulldog, at least, unofficially.
“I did hit one in college, but it hit off the foul pole and it bounced in,” Frazier said. “The umpire ruled that it didn’t leave. The coach was out there arguing and I was giving it to him, because it obviously left. We watched the replay on the big screen and the umpires said, ‘Sorry, bro.’”
So while Frazier — allegedly — possesses the tools required to hit a ball out of the ballpark, what has to go right for it to happen? It started with a good scouting report.
“I played with Ramos this past year in the fall league so I had an idea,” Frazier said. “He has a great slider, electric fastball. I was just trying to get a pitch to hit and get the barrel to it.”
Then, Frazier had to read the situation and get a little lucky.
“It was up and in and I figured he was coming back with a fastball after just missing with two off-speed pitches,” Frazier said. “I got my hands to it and got the barrel out front. … If I catch it out front, it has a chance. I try to stick to my identity. I’m not trying to hit home runs all the time.”
FIRSTS GALORE
Catcher Elias Diaz started his first game at catcher and in his first at-bat, he grounded out to record his first career RBI. In the fourth, he fired a cannon to pick Carlos Ruiz off second base, recording his first assist.
“I thought Diaz caught a fantastic game,” Hurdle said. “He game planned so well, handled each pitcher that came out there professionally. A really impressive outing for him in his first major league start.”
TAILLON HITTABLE
Jameson Taillon gave up eight hits and four runs in his six innings of work. It wasn’t a great start for Taillon, who gave up some uncharacteristically hard-hit balls. Four of his eight hits allowed went for extra bases, including a pair of solo home runs.
“The sequences — he knows what he needs to work on,” Hurdle said. “The two home runs were both three-fastball sequences. He was trying to throw a two-seamer that carried back over the plate for one of them and an elevated four-seamer that caught too much of the plate. Opportunities to learn. That two-seamer needs to play or maybe something in an offensive count that he needs to changeup.”
But Hurdle was complimentary of the way that Taillon continued to work through the outing and get the ball to the bullpen with the game still in reach.
“He made some mistakes and he paid for them but he kept us in the game and he really didn’t fold or go away,” he said. “He stayed on the aggression throughout the outings.”
“That’s just baseball,” Taillon said of his attitude after giving up some big hits early. “I felt good and I knew I felt good so that helped the confidence stay up. I gave up some hits but again, I felt good, so I just kept going.”
Taillon said that confidence started from the beginning of the day, when he sat down for the pregame meeting and took charge as the season veteran with Diaz making his debut behind the plate.
“Today was probably the first time in the major leagues where I went into a meeting and I spoke first and said what I saw, what I wanted to do and then asked what they liked.” Taillon said. “I did watch pretty well over the past couple of days. A guy like [Gerrit Cole] is really good to watch. He has a tick or two on me fastball-wise, but we’re relatively similar, so I figured what they were doing to him was what they were going to do to me.”
POWER TO SPARE
Matt Joyce’s two-run home run in the sixth inning allowed the Pirates to tie the game and set up Frazier’s. It was Joyce’s 10th home run of the season and he is now slugging .563, a career high, and 272 points higher than his mark from a year ago. Needless to say, Joyce has been a crucial addition to the bench.
“I felt [when we got him] we got a good, plum ballplayer that could bounce back and have a good season,” Hurdle said. “I didn’t think about numbers. Obviously, these are eye-catching numbers. He’s leading the team in home runs at home. In the role he’s playing, that’s pretty impressive, as well. Good for him. He’s worked hard and this is part of the game you love as a coach.”
NOTES
Mark Melancon recorded his 30th save. It was the third straight season in which he recorded 30 or more, a first for a Pirates pitcher. In that span, he has 114 saves, the most in Major League Baseball … Joyce finished the day 2 for 2 with a walk and two runs. Marte was 3 for 4 with a double, a stolen base and two runs.
UP NEXT
Francisco Liriano will start a two-game series with the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday. He’s looking to build on a 13-strikeout performance in his last start. He’ll face Mariners’ ace Felix Hernandez.
