SAN FRANCISCO -- Yeah, Joe Musgrove pitched five scoreless innings, struck out seven, walked none, scored a run and blasted a triple into right field during the Pirates' 4-2 series-finale win over the Giants on this Thursday afternoon at Oracle Park.
We'll get to all that in a second.
Right now, I wanna turn to Musgrove's batterymate, Jacob Stallings. Because, I mean, who saw this version of Stallings showing up in 2019?
All Stallings did in this game was rip a solo shot into the stands in the seventh, his second homer of the trip here, to give the Pirates a bit of insurance:
"It's fun to hit homers," Stallings offered with a sheepish smile at his locker after the game.
Singles and solo bombs: It's all Stallings does. I've jokingly played up that narrative in the press box when Stallings comes to the plate, and he just keeps proving it to be true. Thursday, Stallings had two hits: One single and that solo jack right up there.
On the season? I asked our Alex Stumpf to run the numbers for me — and they didn't disappoint: Stallings has registered 44 hits, six of them solo home runs, and 34 of them singles. Four doubles make up the rest. So 91 percent of his hits reinforce my slogan for him.
Singles and solo bombs.
It holds true because Stallings isn't a hyper-athlete. He's not fast or powerful. He's built more like a swimmer — tall, long torso, lean — than he is your squat, powerhouse MLB catcher. And yet, he's making improvements, putting in the work and continuing to ease his way into the club's future plans.
Think Clint Hurdle's noticed?
"He's been trending up, really in a linear fashion, which doesn't happen very often offensively," Hurdle replied to my question after the game. "He's the best offensive player he's ever been at the toughest level he's ever settled in."
To focus on Stallings' bat, however, wildly misses the overall appeal here. Stallings is a mental powerhouse behind the plate, guiding his pitchers toward successful outings time and again. His preparation carries throughout the week, then he executes on game day.
Musgrove certainly appreciates it.
"A lot of trust," Musgrove was saying at his locker after the game. "Stallings is cementing himself as an everyday starting catcher with his bat and with his ability to frame pitches and call games. It's been really fun to watch and it's been really fun to be a part of, being on the other end of that."
But wait! There's more:
"A lot of it starts with his preparation," Musgrove continued. "As a starter, there [are] nine guys in the lineup, and then you got five or six guys — especially in September — five or six, maybe seven guys that can come off the bench and be the guys to step in and take the place of guys.
"So it's a lot to try to manage and try to prepare for and game plan, but when you have a catcher like Jake on the other end who's game-planning just as much as we are, who's watching probably twice as much video as we are, it gives you an added level of confidence. It gives you the ability to trust what he's putting down and say, 'You be the brain, I'll be the muscle. You tell me where to throw it and I'll throw it.'"
The work ethic, the brain, the intangibles in that regard are there for Stallings. Pitchers love him. The bat is finding its way, becoming not just acceptable but good lately. All this while still inexperienced, never appearing in more than 14 games at the major-league level the previous three seasons.
"I've been feeling good," Stallings said. "... I've always felt like my swing is there, I just struggle to put my lanky body in a good position to hit. So I feel like I've done that more consistently this year and it's reflected with good results."
Good results indeed, Mr. Stallings.
The kind of results that make you start to wonder if the Pirates' future at catcher could be right here, donning No. 58.
• About Musgrove's performance ...
After getting scratched from his last scheduled start with a lingering, minor foot injury, Musgrove returned to the mound for Game 4. And he brought his good stuff with him.
Musgrove pitched five shutout innings, allowing four hits while striking out seven with no walks:
And he did this at the plate:
The previous Pirates pitcher to ring up a triple? Brian Burres on May 29, 2010. Before that?
Fire up Twitter:
I'm posting this list of the most recent triples by Pirates pitchers before Joe Musgrove today because, I mean, these names:
Brian Burres (2010)
Kip Wells (2004)
Saloman Torres (2003)
Ron Villone (2002)
Francisco Cordova (1998)
Esteban Loaiza (1995)
— Andrew Simon (@AndrewSimonMLB) September 12, 2019
"The five shutout innings [were better]," Musgrove admitted with a chuckle at his locker after the game. "Hitting's fun, man. I take a lot of pride in my work I do on hitting, but that's kind of an added bonus. My job is to go out there and pitch, and if I can help by adding on a run or getting on base, you know, it's a plus."
And while that's all so positive, the lingering question here remains: Why yank him after a near-perfect 72-pitch display?
Well, it's the foot, obviously. And it's that triple bothering the foot.
"The triple was probably my biggest mistake of the day," Musgrove said. "I probably should have stayed at second. I think that caused me the most pain, more than anything. But I'm just a competitor in this, man. You can't help but want to take the extra base or want to go as hard as you can."
"I was yelling at him to take it easy because I didn't want him to hurt his foot," Stallings added.
• The Pirates bullpen had allowed two hits in their previous 48 at-bats coming into this one.
That all changed as Yacksel Rios laid an egg in relief of Musgrove throughout a two-run sixth. Buster Posey singled to kick things off, and then Evan Longoria did this:
No question about that one.
And while Rios struggled through that two-hit, two-earned-run showing, Keone Kela came in and threw a no-hit, two-strikeout seventh. Richard Rodriguez and Felipe Vazquez each allowed a hit, and Vazquez added a walk, but both emerged clean from their relief appearances as well.
The bullpen, as a whole, continues to do its job.
"With the exception of one pitch, one changeup that was up in the zone — Longoria hit it out of the ballpark, we pitched extremely well all day long," Hurdle said.
• Vazquez recorded his third save in four games, the third time he's ever had three saves in a series in his career. Going back-to-back in a night-day context left him without his best stuff, but Vazquez still got it done for his 28th save of the year.
“Today I was a little tired, but [I found] a way to get a little pumped up," Vazquez was saying after the game. "I was just trying to make pitches, trying to get out of the inning.”
• Kevin Kramer knocked in an RBI with a sacrifice fly in the fourth to bring home Cole Tucker, who was on third courtesy of a triple. The young core continues to make its presence felt.
• Reynolds Watch: With a 1-for-4 day, Reynolds' average dipped to .325, tying him for fourth with Jeff McNeil. Anthony Rendon leads with a .333 clip, while Christian Yelich (.329) and Ketel Marte (.328) fill second and third place.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THE INJURIES
• Chris Archer (10-day IL, shoulder)
• Chris Stratton (10-day IL, right side inflammation)
• Gregory Polanco (60-day IL, shoulder)
• Lonnie Chisenhall (60-day IL, learned nothing yesterday, ate a hot pocket right out of the microwave)
Here's the most recent full report.
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates stick to the road, heading to Chicago to kick off a three-game tilt against the Cubs Friday at 4:05 p.m. ET. Alex will have that series for us.
THE COVERAGE
All our baseball content, including Mound Visit by Jason Rollison, can be found on our Pirates page.
