Derek Shelton has made some head-scratching moves this season, even for a rookie manager, and the Pittsburgh Pirates skipper has taken the most heat for constantly shuffling the lineup.

But his decision to sit shortstop Kevin Newman in favor of JT Riddle paid off handsomely on Thursday afternoon, as it gave Riddle a chance to get back onto the field after a stint on the 10-day injured list and allowed Newman the chance to come up big off the bench.

Long before Newman’s pinch-hit, two-run, walk-off single set off a socially distanced celebration of a 6-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins at PNC Park, Shelton discussed that decision.

For an everyday starter, Newman wasn’t starting every day. That seemed off, at least compared to Adam Frazier, Josh Bell, Colin Moran and Bryan Reynolds, who were starting for the 12th time in 13 games.

Newman, by comparison, has started eight while splitting time at short with Erik Gonzalez, Cole Tucker and, now, Riddle.

“It’s just a matter of running a cycle of getting guys in there,” Shelton said.

Shelton cited two factors. One was playing a day game after a night game, which shouldn’t really affect a 27-year-old shortstop the way it might a 35-year-old center fielder like Jarrod Dyson.

The other, however, was the pitching matchup. The Detroit Tigers are starting left-hander Matthew Boyd on Friday night, so Shelton planned to sit the righty-hitting Newman against the Twins and start him against the Tigers. What wasn’t said: After two days off, Newman went 0 for 4 with three groundouts in Wednesday’s 5-2 loss.

So, Shelton was impressed with how Newman handled the situation.

“It shows a little fortitude there,” Shelton said. “Step in, pinch-hit. I think Taylor (Rogers) executed two pretty fastballs on the inner-half to him. To be able to drive the ball back through the middle and get the big hit, yeah, it speaks to the fact that he was in the game the whole time. He was aware of what was going on. He was ready to hit. It’s nice.”

And it wasn’t by accident.

2020 celebrations. #RaiseIt pic.twitter.com/j4yLBWaPqA

— Pirates (@Pirates) August 6, 2020

That's Mr. Walkoff to you.

The FIFTH career walkoff for @OfficialKBN. pic.twitter.com/zmQ6Mzcr7a

— Pirates (@Pirates) August 6, 2020

1. Stay ready: Newman pinch-hitting for Riddle, who had singled through a defensive shift in his previous at-bat, wasn’t a split-second decision. Shelton was looking for a right-handed hitter (Riddle bats left) against the left-handed reliever.

“When we saw Rogers getting warm, that’s when (Shelton) turned to me and said, ‘Be ready,’” Newman said. “That was the matchup that we were looking for.”

Never mind that Newman is batting .189. He insisted that he feels confident and is making solid contact, despite the results.

Newman noted that MLB’s health and safety protocols limits the number of players in the dugout during the game, so he spent some time in the batting cage getting ready and staying loose.

“So, we were able to get quite a few swings in and be prepared,” Newman said. “It worked out.”

Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review Pirates center fielder Jarrod Dyson steals third base under the Twins’ Ehire Adrianza during the eighth inning on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, at PNC Park.  

2. Stolen identity: Despite his age, Dyson remains one of the fastest players in baseball. The Pirates hadn’t seen much of it, except for his defense in the field.

That’s because Dyson hasn’t been on the basepaths much. He’s batting .077 (2 for 26) and has drawn only two walks. Dyson has had his moments. He hit a two-RBI single in the four-run seventh of the 11-inning loss to Milwaukee on July 27, and an RBI single in eighth in 6-3 loss to Cubs on July 31.

Dyson also has been stranded at second twice, while pinch-running for Phillip Evans in the ninth at the Cubs on Sunday and at the Twins on Tuesday.

So, Dyson’s exaggerated bat flip when he drew a walk from Sergio Romo in the eighth was a sign of things to come. With the green light from first base coach Tarrik Brock, Dyson promptly stole second. And then he swiped third.

“I tell him all the time, he’s one of the oldest guys in baseball,” Shelton said. “And one of the things about it is his speed has not deteriorated. We knew that coming in. He’s got a really good feel.”

Shelton called it the game’s turning point when Dyson scored on a groundout to third by Evans, bringing the Pirates within a run.

“We see when he’s on the bases,” Shelton said, “he can cause some havoc.”

Now, the Pirates just need to get Dyson on base more often.

3. Cool with Cole: Dyson doesn’t start back-to-back very often, so it’s likely the Pirates will play Tucker in center sometime this weekend.

Tucker never played anywhere but shortstop before this season — he has since played second base, right and center fields — but Shelton said he thinks Tucker “has the ability to become a full-time outfielder” even if it’s still something of a project.

“I don’t know if that’s something that we’ll do with him,” Shelton said. “I think that maintaining versatility is extremely important for us and for anybody in baseball. When you have guys that can play multiple positions, the functionality to be able to go from center to right to short to second is extremely important. To say that he could be a full-time outfielder, I think 100 percent he could do that with his ability. But I don’t know if we’re at that point yet.”

4. Buy Sam a drink: It shouldn’t go overlooked in the victory that the Twins got their five runs on three home runs, a three-run shot by Miguel Sano on JT Brubaker and solo homers by Byron Buxton and Eddie Rosario off Cody Ponce.

Sam Howard almost joined that club.

The lefty, who was signed from the Colorado Rockies but started the season in Altoona, relieved Chris Stratton with two outs in the eighth and got catcher Alex Avila to fly out to left.

In the top of the ninth, Buxton drove one to the warning track, where Bryan Reynolds made a leaping catch to keep it from going over the fence.

“I definitely thought that was gone off the bat. Denver, that would have been in the second deck,” Howard said, drawing laughs. “We were starting to go up and away and it was off the plate, but he still barrelled it.”

Howard struck out Max Kepler, gave up a single to Jorge Polanco but got Nelson Cruz to hit into a fielder’s choice to end the inning and keep the Pirates within one run.

“He got us some big outs,” Shelton said. “To go back out there in a 5-4 game with who he had to face in that part of the order, it was really nice to see.”

COFFEE IN THE RIVER!@El_Coffee with a blast to the Allegheny. ?☕️#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/u5nmgZtXL6

— Pirates (@Pirates) August 6, 2020

Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review Pirates right fielder Gregory Polanco celebrates his three-run homer during the second inning against the Twins on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, at PNC Park.  

5. Armed and ready: Gregory Polanco’s timing might be off but he showed his power when he connected for a 446-foot, three-run homer that bounced into the Allegheny River.

The bigger concern with Polanco is his left arm in right field, and you have to wonder if he will ever be the same after shoulder surgery on his throwing arm in September 2018.

Polanco made a couple throws on Wednesday that were cause for concern, so he was asked about it.

“My arm feels good,” Polanco said. “I’ve got no pain, no tightness. I’ve got my arm back probably not the way it was before, not yet, but I can throw hard anytime I want now, you know? I don’t have probably the same strength that I had back before the injury, but I feel very strong and I’m feeling better every day. Every day my arm feels good, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to be where I was before the injury.”

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---