With Dexter Fowler taking a secondary lead from third base and one out in the fifth inning, Joe Musgrove directed his focus to the man shepherding him through his first regular-season start for the Pirates. Francisco Cervelli, catching Musgrove in a game for the first time since spring training, immediately called for a sinker.
Musgrove relied on that, his four-seam fastball and cutter to breeze through four scoreless innings; however, he had struggled throwing any of his pitches with runners on base during his 15 starts with the Astros last season. Musgrove, a 25-year-old right-hander acquired in January as part of the Gerrit Cole trade, followed Cervelli's lead and struck out the next two batters he faced by getting ahead with his fastballs before using his slider for strike three.
Musgrove, who had been on the 10-day disabled list since May 2 with right shoulder discomfort, used his five-pitch arsenal to throw seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in an 8-1 victory over the Cardinals in his long-awaited Pirates debut at PNC Park on Friday night.
The win improved the Pirates' record to 28-22 and helped them gain sole possession of second place in the Central Division. More important, it showed why Neal Huntington and Clint Hurdle expressed confidence in Musgrove's ability to transition back to the rotation after pitching in the Astros' bullpen during their World Series run last season.
TAP ABOVE FOR BOXSCORE, STANDINGS, VIDEO"It is important,” Musgrove said when asked if it's important for him to show he can excel in the rotation. "The bullpen was something I wasn’t crazy about at first, but after going down there I think it was the best thing to ever happen to me. At a young time in my career, pitching out of the bullpen in the postseason, it really helped me find myself as a pitcher and find out how to get hitters out with guys in scoring position. How to stay calm in tough situations."
Musgrove used his three fastballs to throw 16 first-pitch strikes to the 25 batters he faced. He faced only one three-ball count and retired 15 batters on three pitches or less. He allowed five hits, including two leadoff doubles, yet he found a way to keep the Cardinals (26-22) off-balance from front to finish.
Musgrove allowed a one-out single to Matt Carpenter in the first inning, only to respond with this strikeout of Jose Martinez, using a four-seamer high and inside for a swinging third strike:
He gave up a leadoff single in the second when Jedd Gyorko jumped on an elevated cutter before using his sinker to get Francisco Peña to ground into an inning-ending double play. It was in stark contrast to Musgrove's time in the Astros' rotation. He had a 5.37 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in 25 career starts in Houston, despite throwing a first-pitch strike to 63.9 percent of the batters he faced last season.
Musgrove would pound the strike zone, but opponents jumped on his four-seam fastball, sinker and cutter early in the count. He'd then struggle with runners in scoring position — opponents batted .417 against him when a runner was on third base with less than two outs — and opponents had a .832 OPS against him the second time through the order.
Musgrove earned a spot in the Astros' rotation on opening day last season, only to be sent to the bullpen after recording a 6.12 ERA in 15 starts. He had a 1.44 ERA and 0.86 WHIP in 23 regular-season appearances as a reliever. He then had seven postseason appearances, including four in the World Series.
"It’s allowed me to be aware of what the situation is and not let things speed up," Musgrove explained. "I have the type of stuff where I can get the one-pitch outs I need, or get a ground ball when I need it. It’s just the focus and intent on driving the pitch to that spot and getting the result I want. Tonight I had them really good. We had them off-balance."
When Musgrove reported to Pirate City for spring training, both Hurdle and Ray Searage emphasized the importance of quality strikes, not quantity. Hurdle also spoke of "purposeful balls," which meant throwing pitches out of the zone that would create either weak contact or swing-and-miss. He struggled to follow that recipe in his final rehab start at Triple-A last week, allowing six runs on 10 hits in five innings.
However, Musgrove used it to strand Marcell Ozuna on third base after the Cardinals' prized offseason acquisition led off the seventh with a double. Musgrove got ahead of Gyorko with a sinker and four-seamer before throwing a four-seamer out of the zone for a called strike three.
Musgrove then got two groundouts on a total of three pitches. He walked off the mound having thrown 50 of his 67 pitches for strikes, averaging only 2.68 pitches per batter faced. He didn't throw another pitch. With the Pirates leading 3-0, Hurdle removed Musgrove in favor of Adam Frazier because the Pirates had runners on the corners and no outs in the bottom of the seventh.
Although Frazier flied out to left, Cervelli's three-run double later in the inning stretched the lead to six runs, and Hurdle later described the decision as "risk versus reward." He spoke glowingly of Musgrove's debut; however, he also didn't want to make too much of one start.
"I’m not going to overcook this thing," he said. "He pitched fantastic. … I thought he threw some balls right where he wanted to throw some balls. Other than that, you need to get the story from him. One walk, seven punchouts, started the rally. … Big night. Fun night for him."
Hurdle was referring to Musgrove's contribution in the bottom of the sixth. He led off the inning with a single — his first major-league hit — and scored the go-ahead run on a double by Josh Harrison. The Pirates added two more runs, one on a sacrifice fly by Josh Bell and another on an RBI triple by Corey Dickerson, for a 3-0 lead.
After being removed, Musgrove watched as his teammates closed out his first major league win as a starting pitcher since May 26, 2017, when he needed 102 pitches to throw seven scoreless innings against the Orioles. Musgrove has now pitched six or more scoreless innings only twice in his big-league career, and he's pitched through the seventh inning five times in 26 starts.
"This is kind of the way I wanted to come out," Musgrove said. "I've had plenty of time to get myself right and get things where they need to be. This is the pitcher I wanted to show them, and I was able to do that. It's a good feeling."
1. Offense finally breaks through against Gant.
The Pirates had only two hits through five innings against John Gant, a right-hander who relies on a sinker to force weak contact. Gant had seven strikeouts in that span and did not allow a runner to reach scoring position. Then, they broke through when Harrison doubled to score Musgrove.
They added seven more runs, including one on lefty Brett Cecil and two apiece against John Brebbia and Greg Holland. Cervelli gave the Pirates the cushion they needed with this bases-clearing hit off the Clemente Wall to make it 6-0:
Harrison, Bell, Dickerson, Austin Meadows and Jordy Mercer had two hits apiece. The rally began long before Harrison's decisive hit, though. After leading off the first inning with a three-pitch strikeout, Harrison entered the dugout and began telling his teammates what Gant was throwing: a two-seamer high in the zone, followed by a slider and changeup.
They then used that information at the plate, and it paid off for Harrison in the sixth when Gant threw three consecutive pitches high in the zone, including back-to-back two-seam fastballs.
"It's the big leagues, man," Harrison said. "First couple times through we make adjustments. Today we made an adjustment the third time through the lineup. For starting pitchers a lot of times that third time through the lineup is tough. Not taking anything away from him. He's a big-leaguer, too. We're big-leaguers, too, as well. You've got to make adjustments."
2. Polanco's arm still plays in right, but ...
Meadows isn't ready to step in as the every day right fielder or even in a platoon role. He's started only 20 games in right during his minor-league career. His arm strength isn't seen as a good fit for the position. Neal Huntington has made it clear the Pirates don't see him as an everyday right fielder.
However, it could be advantageous for the Pirates to send Meadows to Triple-A to get reps in right field. Sure, Polanco still has a cannon and knowledge of how to play right field at PNC Park.
That proved to be important in the first inning when Carpenter hit an elevated four-seam fastball off the wall in right. Polanco read the ball perfectly, corralling it after it bounced off the fencing above the scoreboard and throwing a perfect strike to second base to hold Carpenter at first.
Polanco also nearly threw out Ozuna at second base after Ozuna hit the grounder down the first-base line to beat the shift. But Polanco is hitting just .148 with runners in scoring position. Meanwhile, Meadows is 13 for 29 with a 1.355 OPS since being recalled last Friday.
Meadows is doing his part to help the Pirates win games, and it will make for a difficult decision when Starling Marte is ready to come off the disabled list.
"I’m comfortable," Meadows said. "Like I said earlier, spring training playing with these guys, my comfort level is really high with these guys. It’s fun going out there every day with these guys. It’s a special group. It’s definitely really fun to be a part of."
3. Take advantage of short-handed Cardinals.
The Cardinals are without Yadier Molina, Paul DeJong, Carlos Martinez and Adam Wainwright. Relievers Luke Gregerson and Dominic Leone are also on the disabled list. As a result, the Cardinals have lost four of their last six games, and they're batting .241 as a team in May.
The Pirates must take advantage. After all, the Cardinals will surely get stronger as the season goes on. They'll soon add top prospect Alex Reyes to a rotation that has fared well without Wainwright. Holland, whom they signed in late March to serve as the closer, has struggled without having a spring training. He'll likely gain traction the more he pitches.
Also, the Pirates' schedule will get increasingly difficult in the coming weeks. Beginning Monday, they'll host the Cubs for three games before traveling to St. Louis to play four games. They'll then face the Dodgers, Cubs and Diamondbacks before hosting the Reds. The White Sox and Tigers aren't on the schedule again. It's time for the true test, and winning a series against a short-handed opponent would be a good start.
