Kevin Gorman's Take 5: Gregory Polanco snapping out of slump helps Pirates exhale

Before he broke out of his slump, Gregory Polanco heard about it every day. In the batting cage, from Pittsburgh Pirates hitting coach Rick Eckstein. Or in the office of Pirates manager Derek Shelton.

They saw hard contact and believed Polanco would start hitting.

And they wanted him to see it — and hear it — for himself.

This was Eckstein’s message to Polanco: Think like an MVP. Think like a winner. Think like you’re the best.

“That’s how you get out of a slump, you know?” Polanco said after the Pirates’ 12-5 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday at PNC Park. “Because if you come to the ballpark like, ‘I’m going to go 0 for 4’ or whatever, it’s going to happen. If you think, OK, I’ve got this. I’m here for something. I’m here because I can hit, I can play, I can play at this level, that’s my mentality. Shelty, he brings me to the office and the hitting coach — all around, we’re trying to stay positive no matter what.”

After striking out 24 times in his first 46 at-bats, Polanco focused on keeping his swing short and simple.

“That’s the biggest thing: Keep it simple,” Polanco said. “Not trying to have 100 thoughts and you’re thinking too much. No, just keep it simple. Just go work and when it’s a 7 o’clock game and we cross the line, all the work that I put (in) and did in practice, I’m going to trust it and just go there and play.”

Polanco was hitting .085 going into the game but raised his batting average by 35 points, going 2 for 3 with a double and a two-run homer. Polanco went down swinging only once, against lefty reliever Brent Suter, but drew a walk against another lefty, Angel Perdomo.

“It was, you know, good at-bats,” Shelton said. “The double is nice. The homer is nice. The left on left walk I thought was really good because of the fact his timing was good on it. There were a lot of positive signs to see.”

Oh my, it's time for some afternoon Hot Coffee! ?☕️#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/oVo3BSNe4N

— Pirates (@Pirates) August 22, 2020

1. Waiting to exhale: The Pirates were counting on Polanco’s impact on the lineup before his positive test for covid-19 during training camp, so his struggles since returning have weighed on them.

For example, Polanco batting third in the lineup in spring training. Instead, the Pirates put Adam Frazier there. It was a bad fit, as Frazier batted .125 in the first two games before moving to leadoff.

But the pressure on Polanco to perform appeared to affect his teammates, and Colin Moran said Polanco’s 434-foot homer in the fourth allowed the team to exhale and enjoy the game.

“I think as a group, we just kind of took a deep breath,” Moran said. “Kind of just tried to let things come to us and not press as much. I think at times were putting a little too much pressure on ourselves during the stretch there. Baseball is a tough game, so just trying to be a little easier and let things come to us and just try to keep things simple.”

It worked, as all but one Pirates batter reached base against the Brewers on Saturday. The only one who didn’t? Josh Bell.

Messed around and got a triple double. pic.twitter.com/Sal6YzxqN9

— Pirates (@Pirates) August 23, 2020

2. Left on left: Polanco wasn’t alone in having some success against a lefty, as Frazier homered off Suter to lead off the fifth and Moran hit two of his career-best three doubles against left-handers.

“It felt pretty good,” Frazier said. “I didn’t think it was getting out, to be honest. Curveball, caught it out front. Luckily it got over the fence. I’ll take anything I can get, especially that.”

Moran raised his batting average by 26 points, with his first career three-double game. Two of those hits came against left-handers, and that’s not by accident.

Moran is batting .273 against lefties this season, and he attributes his success to having a chance to play on an everyday basis.

“They’ve given me a lot of opportunities, so I’m thankful and working on stuff, approach-wise,” Moran said. “I’m happy to drive the ball the other way against them. I think that’s going to be big for me, staying on those guys and staying behind the ball. Those two at-bats were good to see, good to feel, get some rewards. Stick with that approach.”

3. Down for DH: Shelton hasn’t ruled out Moran as a third baseman, even though he has started only four games at the position and none since Aug. 7 against Detroit.

Moran has started twice as many games at first base, but he’s getting most of his starts (10) as the designated hitter.

DH is a role Moran is learning to embrace, even though it has been an adjustment. He’s batting .333 when starting at third, .310 when starting at first and .182 when serving as DH.

“Shelty came up, gave me some advice, coming from the AL for a long time,” Moran said. “Just trying to pick guys’ brains about how to stay hot when you’re going hot, cold throughout the game. Trying to find a routine, I think, has been big. I like doing everything, so when I can get at-bats, I’m happy to be in there. So just trying to find a good routine has been good. The last few times out there, I feel like I’ve learned from being in that role a little bit more.”

Safe to say Captain Redbeard stays hot at the plate.#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/iIOJgKNe2O

— Pirates (@Pirates) August 22, 2020

4. Arms of Angel: Asked about his head-first slide into home plate to beat Manny Pina’s tag in the first inning, Frazier took a moment to remember what happened then recounted a funny story.

“As soon as I slid in, I said, ‘Safe.’ Luckily Angel agreed,” Frazier said. “I think that was pretty big to get that first run on the board right there.”

Wait. Angel agreed?

Frazier was asked if he was referencing home plate umpire Angel Hernandez, who signaled him safe before a video review upheld the call.

“Yeah, I mean, come on, I’m trying to persuade him a little bit,” Frazier said. “I knew it was a close play. I thought I was safe, so I said safe verbally. Angel agreed. Watched the replay. It was pretty close. Never know how those are going to go. Say I get called out right there, and there’s not enough evidence or whatever it may be. There have been a few of those this year, where we thought we were the benefactor of a call and might get reversed. You have to help any way you can.”

BIG JAKE power!#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/BsWMiEGtVF

— Pirates (@Pirates) August 22, 2020

5. Jake rakes: Don’t look now, but the hitter who bats ninth is leading the Pirates in most offensive categories.

After going 2 for 3 with a two-run homer and three RBIs against the Brewers, catcher Jacob Stallings leads active Pirates in batting average (.313) and on-base percentage (.400) and ranks second in slugging (.417) and OPS (.817).

“He is taking advantage of the opportunity,” Shelton said. “He is having consistent at-bats. And one of the things that’s really standing out offensively is you know, he’s using the whole field and I think that needs to be pointed out. It’s a really important aspect that he’s driven the ball to all fields, which is nice to see.”