Bryan Reynolds took a peek at how the defense was set up before Gregory Polanco swung. He had just legged out a hustle double to leadoff the bottom of the ninth. If there was a chance to move up another 90 feet, it could be the game.
The shift was on. Shortstop Didi Gregorius was up the middle and third baseman Alec Bohm was in the hole.
There was an opportunity.
Polanco ended up hitting a grounder to Bohm in that shift, but to Bohm's left. Reynolds made a quick read and advanced to third.
"I knew he wasn't gonna catch me," Reynolds said.
Two batters later, he beat the play at the plate on a Jacob Stallings' bouncer, sending home a crowd of 32,071 -- the most at PNC Park since the pandemic -- happy, walking off the Pirates past the Phillies, 3-2, Saturday night.
"We’re trying to be as aggressive as possible, and tonight, we won a baseball game because we executed and were aggressive," Derek Shelton said.
And it's another Saturday night, another walk off for Stallings. All four of his this season have come on that day.
"He’s got a knack for walk-off’s for sure," Reynolds said. "When they walked NoGo [John Nogowski], I figured Stallings would do something. And he did, of course.”
Since being promoted to the majors in 2016, the only National League player with as many walk-offs as Stallings is Bryce Harper. In his career, spanning parts of six seasons, he has 82 RBIs. About one in 12 turns into a walk off.
It had been asked just about every time he walked one off what makes Stallings so effective in those situations. There hasn't been a definitive answer, but a few suggestions have been thrown out there, including his ability to stay in his approach and get the bat to the ball.
How about another one: Knowing the situation.
"Every situation is different," Stallings said. "I mean, I had never faced [José] Alvarado before, never seen him before, so obviously it's an electric sinker and was just trying to get him in the zone and hopefully put the bat on the ball. Good things usually happen when the infield's in, so just trying to put the bat on the ball and get a good pitch to hit."
Had it not been for Reynolds taking the base on the Polanco ball, Stallings' bouncer most likely would have resulted in an inning-ending double-play. That aggressive base running Shelton talked about all spring got them a win.
"Two really unbelievable base running plays by Bryan, not to mention the leadoff double," Stallings said. "To get to third is probably even a better read than the one he had on my ball. Really can't say enough about the base running."
MORE FROM THE GAME
• While JT Brubaker did not personally get back in the win column, his six inning effort snapped a streak of eight straight of his starts that resulted in a Pirates loss.
Using a slider that showed more depth than usual and a good mix of pitches, Brubaker kept the Phillies on edge for most of the game, going four no-hit frames before slipping up and surrendering a sacrifice fly to his mound opponent, Aaron Nola, in the fifth. He tossed a 1-2-3 sixth inning top cap his night.
He allowed three hits and two walks while only allowing the one run.
"He went right after them," Shelton said. "He executed pitches. His slider was good for the second straight outing, and he continued to execute pitches all the way through."
When I asked postgame how that felt, Brubaker smiled and said with a chuckle, "Feels good. I didn't give up a long ball today." That had been a problem for him of late. After allowing just 10 home runs through his first 12 starts, he was tagged for 11 over his previous six entering Saturday, including at least one a game.
What was the real change the led to his success? Brubaker changed his entrance music and the color of shirt from white to black.
Credit that to a conversation he and Wil Crowe had recently. Crowe also changed his walk out music Friday and went on to toss six innings of one-hit ball.
"He said, 'man I might need to switch my walk-up,' and I said, 'me too. It hasn't been working too well,' " Brubaker said with a smile.
They're a superstitious bunch, ball players.
• Before the game, Shelton said he was not going to name a formal closer to replace Richard Rodríguez, opting for a bullpen by committee approach instead.
As a result, he turned to David Bednar to face the heart of the Phillies' order in the eighth, but he could not hold onto the 2-1 lead, surrendering a game-tying base knock to Harper.
He bounced back after that to minimize the damage.
"I think the biggest thing there is when you get a young guy like that in a high-leverage situation in front of an almost-full house, you see how he reacts," Shelton said. "And he reacted [well], and he came back and finished the eighth."
Chasen Shreve and Kyle Keller combined for a scoreless seventh, and Chris Stratton pitched the ninth.
• Also before the game, the Pirates selected the contract of utility player Hoy Park. He was one of two players the Pirates got in the Clay Holmes trade with the Yankees on Monday.
He did not get into the game, but his addition to the roster signals the Pirates want to hang onto him for a while.
“He’s made some adjustments in his swing which our scouts and baseball ops people have identified that we like,” Shelton said.
The 25-year-old was one of the best hitters in all of Class AAA this season, slashing .327/.475/.567 with 10 homers, nine doubles and as many walks (46) as strikeouts for the Yankees' highest-level affiliate.
The Pirates envision him bouncing around the diamond, but is traditionally a shortstop and second baseman.
“If they need me to play anywhere, I’ll be there to try to help the team,” Park said. “It doesn’t matter where I’m at.”
• Another transaction round up to close: The Pirates activated Bryse Wilson, who they received in the Rodríguez trade. Jared Oliva was optioned to the minors.
Erik González began his rehab assignment with Indianapolis Saturday. He made an out, was hit by a pitch and played three innings at third base.
Additionally, the club announced the signing of right-hander Owen Kellington, their fourth-round draft pick. With it, they spent every dollar they could without losing a first-round draft pick next year. My report can be found here.
THE ESSENTIALS
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Ben Gamel, LF
2. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
3. Bryan Reynolds, CF
4. Gregory Polanco, RF
5. John Nogowski, 1B
6. Jacob Stallings, C
7. Rodolfo Castro, 2B
8. Kevin Newman, SS
9. JT Brubaker, RHP
And for Joe Girardi's Phillies:
1. Jean Segura, 2B
2. J.T. Realmuto, C
3. Bryce Harper, RF
4. Andrew McCutchen, LF
5. Brad Miller, 1B
6. Alec Bohm, 3B
7. Didi Gregorious, SS
8. Travis Jankowski, CF
9. Aaron Nola, RHP
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates will try once again to get that elusive first sweep Sunday. Mitch Keller (3-7, 7.04) will take the hill at PNC Park for the first time since his demotion. He'll take on the Phillies' new right-hander Kyle Gibson (6-3, 2.87 with the Rangers). First pitch is at 1:05 p.m.
IN THE SYSTEM
THE CONTENT
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