Kevin Gorman's Take 5: Ke'Bryan Hayes makes a major-league debut for the ages with Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates did their best to temper expectations for Ke’Bryan Hayes, but that didn’t stop their top prospect from looking like their best player in the first game of his major-league career.
Hayes looked less like a rookie and more like a future All-Star at third base, where he made difficult plays look routine — and one routine play look more difficult — and displayed a big difference at the plate.
An opened stance allowed Hayes to showcase the power the Pirates believe he has, as the exit velocity on his double off the wall in left field was 108.5 mph and he hit a 410-foot bomb to center for a home run.
First Major League hit: ✔️#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/f2vnV61dyv
— Pirates (@Pirates) September 2, 2020
Pirates manager Derek Shelton credited Hayes for working with hitting coach Rick Eckstein in spring training to identify and implement the changes, though Hayes said he started the switch on his own at the end of last season and returned to it in the spring after watching video with Eckstein. Hayes found that the open stance freed his ability to turn his hips more often and allowed the right-handed hitter to pull for power.
“I think there’s an aggressiveness to the swing,” Shelton said. “I think the movement he’s making to get ready to hit is more consistent than it has been in the past.”
That’s the key for Hayes following a debut in which he went 2 for 5 with a double, a home run, two RBIs and three runs scored in an 8-7 loss to the Chicago Cubs in 11 innings Tuesday night at PNC Park.
It was a debut for the ages, the first with two extra-base hits by a Pirates player in 98 years and the best in the NL since Hall of Famer Willie McCovey went 4 for 4 with two triples and three runs scored in his debut for the San Francisco Giants on July 30, 1959.
“That was unbelievable. It was outstanding,” Shelton said of Hayes. “He did things well in all three facets of the game.”
Now comes the big question: Can Hayes do it with consistency?
1. Defense first: Hayes has been touted as a future Gold Glove winner at third base, and he was taught that playing good defense is what will find him a place in the lineup.
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a defensive play got him going. Hayes showed nice range when he fielded a Kris Bryant grounder to his left and beat Bryant to first base with the throw.
“After the first ground ball I got, the speed of the game, it didn’t feel anything crazy for me,” Hayes said. “Leading up to the game, I definitely had some nerves, some anxiousness, wanting to get that first at-bat out of the way. But it’s the same game. The guys up here, their results are more often than other guys.”
After a 71-minute rain delay, Hayes tied the game with his leadoff homer in the eighth. The Cubs were positioned to score the go-ahead run in the ninth when Bryant singled, reached second on an error by shortstop Erik Gonzalez and went to third on a wild pitch by Richard Rodriguez.
When Hayes was told to play in on Javier Baez with two outs, he wondered whether his eyes were deceiving him: “I was like, ‘Are the outs wrong on the board?’
Then Baez grounded to Hayes. Instead of making the routine throw to first base for the force out, Hayes threw it to catcher Jacob Stallings, who tagged Bryant out at the plate.
“So,” Hayes said, sheepishly, “it happened to work out.”
2. Wave of emotions: Hayes sparked a four-run rally in the sixth with the double and tied the game in the eighth with the homer, yet he had another chance to be the hero in the ninth.
Hayes came to bat with two outs and runners at first and second base after Josh Bell was intentionally walked and Kevin Newman doubled. But Josh Osich got Hayes looking at a called third strike with a 92 mph four-seam fastball.
“I struck out looking on that pitch but it is what it is,” Hayes said. “I’ve got to go out on defense and make plays. I had to go out and run the next inning so you can’t get too down on at-bats. You’ve got to stay in the game because you never know what you’re going to do next.”
Ke’Bryan Hayes - Pittsburgh Pirates (1) Solo
Distance: 410 ft
Exit Velocity: 101.5 mph
Launch Angle: 24°
pic.twitter.com/pWk4jed6EF— MLB Home Runs (@HomeRunVideos) September 2, 2020
3. Office space: Shelton didn’t get to see Hayes’ home run in the dugout because he was watching from his office after being ejected for arguing a called third strike on Colin Moran by home plate umpire John Tumpane.
During the rain delay, Shelton talked with Moran.
“I just told him, ‘Listen, you had the right plan in place. You had the right approach in place. And you didn’t get a chance to execute.’ And that’s frustrating,” Shelton said. “That’s frustrating for a hitter. You don’t see (Moran) express himself very much, and for him to express himself, then you realize he’s got a pretty good case. The other thing with (Moran) is he’s got a pretty good idea of what the strike zone is. I just feel that he was right.”
The Pirates were called out on strikes to end the seventh, eighth and 11th innings, something that Shelton said they have to make sure doesn’t happen, especially on fastballs.
But Shelton believes his message was received.
“I feel like I got my money’s worth,” Shelton said. “I hope my point was heard. But, yeah, I feel like I said what I had to say, and I think I was right.”
4. Alford debuts: Another Pirates newcomer was involved in a big play by Hayes, as Anthony Alford hit the one-hopper to the pitcher that Hayes scored the game-tying run in the 10th inning.
The Pirates activated Alford after claiming on waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays, and he entered the game as a pinch runner for Jose Osuna in the eighth and stayed in at center field.
Shelton got to know Alford while coaching with the Blue Jays, and believes that he has untapped power potential.
“He’s a really strong kid, really athletic kid,” Shelton said before the game. “We’re not gonna put any pressure on him. He’s gonna get the opportunity to play and get some at-bats.”
5. Back on the mound: Shelton announced that right-hander Joe Musgrove will be activated from the injured list and start against the Cubs on Wednesday instead of Derek Holland.
Musgrove (0-3, 6.75 ERA) was expected to anchor the rotation this season after surgeries to Jameson Taillon and Chris Archer but started only three games this season before going on the IL with right triceps and right ankle.
“Anytime you lose your Opening Day starter for multiple starts, it is a loss for you,” Shelton said. “I think we’re excited to have him back. He’s been throwing. He’s done a nice job. Before we decided he was going to pitch, wanted to sit down and talk to him face-to-face and see where he was at. So he’ll get the ball, and it’s going to be exciting to have him back on the mound.”
Shelton said the Pirates haven’t determined how to use Holland (1-2, 7.62 ERA in five starts), who has pitched out of the bullpen before. JT Brubaker is scheduled to start Thursday but the Pirates have yet to announce their starters for Friday’s doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds.
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.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.