Kevin Newman's pinch-hit heroics stop Pirates' 7-game losing streak
Jarrod Dyson had the green light to go once he got on base, and the 35-year-old center fielder didn’t hesitate to steal second and third base before scoring to bring the Pittsburgh Pirates within one run.
Kevin Newman had to wait on yellow until he got the chance to pinch-hit against Minnesota Twins reliever Taylor Rogers in the bottom of the ninth with runners on second and third.
Together, they led the Pirates to a red light that put a stop to their seven-game losing streak. Newman hit a two-run, walk-off single to clinch a 6-5 victory over the Twins on Thursday afternoon at PNC Park.
Newman is earning a reputation for being clutch, as it was his fifth career walk-off, but he was more excited to end the losing spell for the Pirates (3-10). They avoided a second consecutive series sweep after losing three straight to the Chicago Cubs and now have momentum going into a three-game visit from the Detroit Tigers (5-5).
“Just a huge … relief for myself and the team to be able to come through when when we really need one,” Newman said. “It’s a great feeling to come back. Hopefully, this is the start of something a little different than what we’ve had lately.”
The Pirates didn’t begin the game the way they wanted in the first major league start for right-hander JT Brubaker, their 2018 minor league pitcher of the year who had worked twice out of the bullpen.
The Twins (10-3) got started when shortstop Jorge Polanco singled off Brubaker in the first, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch, foreshadowing how the Pirates would rally in the eighth. Eddie Rosario drew a walk, leaving runners on first and second with two outs for Miguel Sano.
The burly first baseman sent an 0-1 sinker screaming down the left-field line for a three-run home run and 3-0 lead. The ball left in a hurry, with an exit velocity of 114 mph. With the exception of that pitch, Brubaker was happy with the way he mixed pitches to keep the Twins off balance.
“I thought it went pretty well,” Brubaker said. “One pitch hurt me. It just happened to be the long ball.”
It was the Pirates’ turn in the second inning as Colin Moran and Bryan Reynolds hit back-to-back singles to set the table for Gregory Polanco. The right fielder hit Kenta Maeda’s first pitch, crushing a curveball 446 feet over the right-center seats, and it bounced onto the concourse before taking a dip into the Allegheny River. It was Polanco’s first homer of the season, the second time in his career he put one in the Allegheny.
“I’m still working on it, but it feels good to hit the first one,” said Polanco, who also lined out to right and struck out twice. “Seeing a breaking ball and adjusting every day, every at-bat I feel better. Feeling now like my hands are working more, so hopefully in the next three or four days, I get locked in. Just trying to work on my timing right now because my body feels great. Just trying to keep everything together right now and put a good swing to the ball.”
Brubaker left after the third, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out two Twins. Cody Ponce replaced Brubaker in the fourth and surrendered a solo shot by Bryon Buxton that traveled 431 feet to left-center and landed in the Pirates’ bullpen for a 4-3 lead. Rosario gave the Twins a 5-3 lead in the fifth with a two-out homer off Ponce that just cleared the right-center fence.
Dyson drew a leadoff walk off reliever Sergio Romo to start the eighth, then stole second and third bases before scoring on a groundout to third by Phillip Evans to cut it to 5-4.
“I thought Dyson in the eighth inning was a turning point for us, getting on and creating a run on a walk, stolen base, stolen base, groundout putting us within one,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “He’s a guy who, when he gets on base, he can steal at any time. … It changes the course of the game.”
Buxton almost homered again to start the ninth, but Reynolds made a leaping grab at the left-field fence to rob him. The Pirates used that momentum to rally in the next inning, and Reynolds played a big part.
Moran led off the ninth with a bloop to left off Rogers before being replaced by pinch-runner Cole Tucker, who advanced to third on Reynolds’ double down the third-base line. Rogers got Polanco swinging, but Newman replaced shortstop JT Riddle and smacked a sharp single through the infield to set off a wild but safety-conscious celebration.
“Any time you celebrate, I don’t care how far apart we’re standing,” Shelton said. “We can have people stand on the bridge and fake high-five as far as I’m concerned.”
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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