Greg Allen's play on base paths proves why Pirates showed patience with outfielder
Greg Allen was aiming to make an impact, 90 feet at a time.
The Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder used his hitting to drive in one run and his quick thinking and speed on the base paths to score two more in an 8-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.
Allen’s performance didn’t go unnoticed by his coaches or teammates, who noted the Pirates have placed an emphasis on getting good jumps and trying to take an extra base at every opportunity.
“Having somebody on the basepaths that’s as good as he is at doing what he does is very beneficial, not to mention the defense and what he can do at the plate,” Pirates starting pitcher Bryse Wilson said on the AT&T SportsNet postgame show. “It changes a lot of things, especially with a team like this, a guy that can hit a single and then potentially be on third base in three or four pitches.”
After Spenser Watkins pitched four perfect innings, Allen drove in the Pirates’ first run with an RBI single to right field that scored Michael Chavis in the fifth inning.
Then Allen went to work.
He reached second on Cal Mitchell’s single and advanced to third when Watkins threw a wild pitch, angling around the glove of Orioles third baseman Rougned Odor to avoid the tag after a perfect throw by catcher Robinson Chirinos. Allen scored on a fielder’s choice by Jason Delay.
“I was just trying to be aggressive and take advantage of those opportunities,” Allen said in an on-field interview. “I may not always have the ability to steal a base, but if you can move up that 90 feet, especially in a situation like that with less than two outs and give that guy at the plate a chance to put the ball in play and score that run, that was my mindset. I saw the ball down and was able to stick my hand under the tag.
“I just play the game. Working your angles, knowing how much space you may or may not have. In a situation like that, with Odor holding the bag, I was just trying to find any kind of angle I can to get in there without giving him a chance to really have access to my body for a tag.”
Pirates manager Derek Shelton credited Allen’s awareness for the outcome on the most controversial call of the game, one that was overturned upon review and ultimately got Orioles manager Brandon Hyde ejected for arguing the call.
Allen drew a walk against Keegan Akin and advanced to second on Mitchell’s sacrifice bunt. Allen made a perfect read when Kevin Newman hit a broken-bat grounder to shortstop Jorge Mateo, breaking for third and making a dash toward home plate.
Chirinos was waiting in front of home plate for Mateo’s throw, blocking Allen’s path. Allen was called out after he ran into Chirinos, knocking the Orioles catcher over. The Pirates challenged the call by home plate umpire Carlos Torres — Shelton called it the most confident challenge he’s made in three seasons — and it was overturned upon video review.
It was the kind of impact the Pirates had been hoping for from Allen this season before he strained his left hamstring in the final week of spring training. He didn’t return from the injured list until after the All-Star break, and was hitting .147 (5 for 34) in his first 11 games.
Allen finally proved why the Pirates showed so much patience with him, as he’s scored six runs in a dozen games since returning July 23.
“The fact that he’s a good baserunner and he understands the situation,” Shelton said. “You know when you’re at second base, you not only have to read the ball down but the distance it’s going to go. And he did a really nice job on that. We created our own opportunities. That goes back to the way Greg ran the bases and just little things that we did.”
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
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