Resurgent Polanco 'thinking like a winner'

For the first time this season, the Pirates have won back-to-back games and a series, defeating the Brewers, 12-5 , Saturday night at PNC Park.

And for the second consecutive night, it was an outfielder leading the way on offense. On Friday, it was Bryan Reynolds. On Saturday, Gregory Polanco.

While almost every hitter in the Pirates' lineup has slumped for at least part of the season, Polanco's has been the most profound and prolonged. He entered the day with just four hits in his 47 at-bats, translating to an .085 batting average. That could get any hitter down, possibly for the count.

So when Polanco has been working in the batting cage, hitting coach Rick Eckstein wasn't focusing on the negatives. He was trying to build him up, telling him words of encouragement.

"Think like a winner," Eckstein would say.

"Think like an MVP."

"Think like you're the best."

Derek Shelton, Eckstein and Polanco have been trying to stay positive during his slump. Positive, "no matter what," as Polanco put it.

And there was a lot under that "no matter what" umbrella.

"If you come to the ballpark like, ‘I’m going to go 0-for-4’ or whatever, it’s going to happen," Polanco said. "If you think, 'OK, I’ve got this. I’m here for something. I’m here because I can hit, I can play, I can play at this level.' That’s my mentality."

So Polanco tried to keep things simple. And simply put, it was his best game of the season, and perhaps since his 2018 shoulder surgery.

After doubling in his first at-bat, Polanco gave the Pirates the lead for good in the fourth, tagging a belt-high curveball on the outside edge of the plate 434 feet to right-center: