When working on bunting with Tarrik Brock, Josh Palacios was taught that you sometimes have to really get your nose in there to get the right angle.
In the 10th inning Sunday at PNC Park, Palacios was called on to bunt and almost wore one on the face after Andrew Vasquez's breaking ball hung. There was no apparent intent, but Palacios had to hit the deck out of self-preservation:
"Not gonna lie, it low-key excites me a little bit," Palacios said. "Kind of gets the juices flowing. I took a breath, locked back in on what I had to do and took it one rep at a time."
Now up in the count 2-0, the bunt sign was taken off and Palacios was free to swing away. And he made that swing count:
That walkoff home run, the first of the birthday boy's career, sealed a 6-4 comeback victory for the Pirates over the Phillies.
"I took a shot and hit that ball and I think I blacked out," Palacios said. "I don’t know. I still might be blacked out right now."
If he did black out on that trip around the bases, well, he missed a heck of a round, complete with hitting the 'Griddy' coming home and... apparently this is called the 'Sturdy' rounding third:
"Oh, that’s definitely Brooklyn," Palacios said, referencing his hometown. "I got sturdy for the boys in New York — shoutout to everybody in New York. I got sturdy around third base, then hit the griddy on the way home and then I think I took a shot. I don’t know if my helmet hit the rim."
Eh, maybe it was a bit off. Palacios will hit the homers and leave the throws to his fellow rookies. After all, it's not going to get any prettier than what they pulled off in the 10th, where there were three perfect darts to get a double play.
The first was by Henry Davis. With runners on second and third and nobody out in the top of the 10th, Trea Turner lifted a potential go-ahead fly ball to right field. Davis got under it and delivered a strike towards home, causing Bryce Harper to hit the breaks halfway down the line to the plate.
When I asked Endy Rodríguez which of the three throws he wanted to talk about first, the answer was instant: "Henry. Man, f---. He's got a great arm. God bless him."
How strong was that throw? Try 95.9 mph, low enough for Connor Joe in case it needed to be cut off.
“I kind of panicked, to be honest," Davis said. "I was nervous once it was out of my hand. I think I started screaming ‘Two!’ Then I was like ‘Four! Four! Four!’ "
The reason for the confusion was because Alec Bohm, the runner on second base, broke for third and was nearly there before Harper hit the breaks. As both runners retreated, Rodríguez threw down to second base to try to get the double play.
"At that moment, I just try to find Harper and I hear 'Two!' so I throw to second base," Rodríguez said.
Harper went for home again on the throw, but Nick Gonzales cut it off and delivered another strike home.
Let's see the first 9-2-4-2 double play since April 20, 2016, in action:
That play doesn't happen without three perfect throws.
"It all started with Henry making a great throw to Endy and then Endy making a great throw to me," Gonzales said. "I'm not in a position to make a good throw if they don't hit me right in the chest."
Put up a zero in the top of the inning, walk it of the home half. That'll work.
That's been the feel of these past few weeks since the Pirates leaned into the youth movement. They acknowledge there will be some good and bad, but that's two straight games against the defending National League champs that they came out on top because of the contributions of the rookies.
"It's awesome to come up in the minor leagues with these guys," Gonzales said. "Now, we're here on the biggest stage and we're playing the largest teams and everything and doing well. So, that's just a testament to our hard work and the coaching staff in the minor leagues, coaching staff here. That's kind of helped us get our feet wet and get into the game."
So what does it all mean?
"We've got it," Rodríguez said. "Everybody knows we have the talent, and now we pull it off. Just working on the little things to enjoy the big thing in the future."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Team feed
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• 10-day injured list: 2B Ji Hwan Bae (ankle), 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes (lower back)
• 60-day injured list: SS Oneil Cruz (ankle), RHP JT Brubaker (elbow), LHP Jarlin Garcia (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow), INF Tucupita Marcano (knee), RHP Vince Velasquez (elbow)
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Connor Joe, 1B
2. Bryan Reynolds, LF
3. Andrew McCutchen, DH
4. Henry Davis, RF
5. Jared Triolo, 3B
6. Josh Palacios, CF
7. Liover Peguero, SS
8. Nick Gonzales, 2B
9. Austin Hedges, C
And for Rob Thomson's Phillies:
1. Kyle Schwarber, LF
2. Nick Castellanos, RF
3. Bryce Harper, DH
4. Alec Bohm, 1B
5. Trea Turner, SS
6. Edmundo Sosa, 3B
7. Josh Harrison, 2B
8. Garrett Stubbs, C
9. Johan Rojas, CF
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates are off Monday and the trade deadline is coming Tuesday. They will also return to game action Tuesday when Johan Oviedo (4-11, 4.60) takes on Matt Manning (3-2, 4.32) and the Tigers. First pitch will be after the deadline at 7:05 p.m. I'll have you covered for the short series.
THE MULTIMEDIA
THE ODDS
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THE CONTENT
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