Tigers hammer Derek Holland for 5 homers, but outfield collision casts pall over Pirates' loss

Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Phillip Evans chased the fly ball into right field at full speed, briefly looking up before a full-speed collision with right fielder Gregory Polanco in foul territory in the sixth inning.

A hush came over PNC Park when Evans dropped to the ground, as the automated crowd noise was turned off in the empty ballpark when Pirates players waved toward the dugout for help. Team trainers ran onto the field to attend to Evans, who appeared to be knocked unconscious.

The collision cast a pall over the Saturday afternoon game between the Pirates and Detroit Tigers, who hit four home runs in the first inning and batted around the order twice on their way to an 11-5 victory.

“It’s extremely scary,” said Pirates manager Derek Shelton, who said Evans was alert by the time he reached him. “When you see the impact of that magnitude, that hard, both guys going full speed. Right near the fence. It’s a scary situation. I thought our medical guys did a good job, thought the paramedics did a nice job.”

The moment wasn’t new to the Pirates. It was the second time in as many years they had an infielder and outfielder collide while chasing a fly ball in a game. On April 20, 2019, shortstop Erik Gonzalez fractured his collarbone when he ran full speed into center fielder Starling Marte, who suffered a bruised abdominal wall and quadriceps, against the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park.

Evans chased a Miguel Cabrera fly ball in foul territory along the right-field line when he ran into the elbow of the oncoming Polanco, absorbing a hit to the head that left Evans sprawled.

Polanco was shaken up, kneeling and leaning against the railing, while manager Derek Shelton, second baseman Adam Frazier, shortstop Kevin Newman and outfielders Jarrod Dyson and Bryan Reynolds stood nearby as Evans was stabilized with a neck brace, placed onto a stretcher and carted off the field. Polanco remained in the game.

“That’s not something you ever want to be a part of or be out there for or see,” said Newman, who added that Evans had feeling in his extremities. “It was definitely scary. I’ve never seen a teammate lying on the ground that long, going through all those tests and all that stuff, getting taken out by the stretcher. Definitely a chilling moment. Hopefully the news that we get back is bright.”

Evans had been a pleasant surprise for the Pirates, a versatile infielder signed as a nonroster invitee to spring training after spending last season in the minors with the Chicago Cubs. Evans was slashing .378/.452/.514 and hit his first major league homer in the fifth inning of Friday’s 17-13 loss to the Tigers.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said earlier Saturday the team “clearly targeted” Evans because of the opportunity to play corner spots in the infield and outfield, especially at third base.

“We thought that he was at a point his career where he had started to make some adjustments. There was enough defensive value with the versatility, and basically, it looked like he was making some adjustments offensively, getting us some more power,” Cherington said. “So we thought maybe he was at the point in his career where there might be a corner. It’s not a big enough sample to tell, but we’re really encouraged by what he’s doing. He’s a great teammate. He can do a lot of things to help the team.”

Evans’ injury could pave the way for more playing time for Gonzalez, who had four hits and six RBIs on Friday night while playing shortstop but started at third base Saturday.

The game got off to an ominous start when four of the first five Tigers hitters — Niko Goodrum, Miguel Cabrera, C.J. Cron and Jeimer Candelario — homered off Pirates lefty Derek Holland as Detroit batted around the order in the first for a 5-0 lead.

“We had the right game plan,” Holland said. “Those guys just came out pretty aggressive and made us pay for it.”

The Tigers made it 6-0 in the second when Travis Demeritte singled in Jonathan Schoop. By then, Holland had thrown 63 pitches, but he remained in the game to ease the burden of a bullpen that used six pitchers in Friday’s 17-13 loss.

The Pirates rallied to score two runs in the third and three in the fourth off former Pirates pitcher Ivan Nova (1-0), cutting it to 6-5. But after throwing 102 pitches in five innings, Holland returned to the mound for the sixth and gave up a homer to JaCoby Jones and back-to-back doubles to Goodrum and Schoop before being pulled. Holland (0-1) allowed nine runs on 13 hits, with one walk and six strikeouts while throwing 113 pitches.

“I told myself, too, no matter what, with what was going on with the bullpen, you’ve got to go as far as you possibly can,” Holland said. “I don’t care what the pitch count was. I told him to extend it. I don’t care if it’s 100 pitches. Give me 150, I don’t give a (crap). I gotta get out there and keep the bullpen from getting used up a little bit because we’ve been killing them a little bit.”

Right-hander Nick Mears, added to the 28-man roster earlier Saturday, made his major league debut. Cabrera hit the foul ball that Evans chased into the collision, then scored Schoop on a sacrifice fly to right. Mears walked Grayson Greiner with the bases loaded to make it 10-5, and Cron hit a run-scoring double in the seventh off Sam Howard for an 11-5 lead.

The bullpen was so depleted that Shelton was forced to use backup catcher John Ryan Murphy to pitch the ninth. Murphy retired the Tigers in order, on eight pitches. The Pirates (3-12) will complete their three-game series against the Tigers at 1:35 p.m. Sunday, with left-hander Steven Brault replacing Joe Musgrove (ankle soreness) as the starting pitcher. The Pirates have lost nine of their past 10 games.

“It’s tough, but we have to wash it,” said Newman, who was 4 for 5 with two RBIs. “Part of being a professional is just showing up to work the same every single day no matter what’s happened the day before, the week before or whatever. But you know, we’ve got to keep showing up and keep fighting. Our clubhouse is close, and we are confident. We do think we can get around the turn here pretty quickly.”