Peguero and his 'dad,' Hayes, power Pirates to comeback over Royals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The joke started back in 2021 when Liover Peguero and Jared Triolo were still in Class High-A Greensboro. When they saw highlights of Ke'Bryan Hayes up in the majors, they would tell their teammates the same thing.

"Yeah, that's our daddy."

Now that both are in the majors, Peguero still calls Hayes his "dad," and the 26-year-old third baseman is totally on board.

"He'll be like, 'who am I,' just saying it as a joke," Peguero said. "I think it's funny."

The relationship between the two infielders went back a year before that. Hayes and Peguero both started the 2020 season at the alternate training site in Altoona on different ends of the prospect board. Hayes was getting ready for his major-league promotion, while Peguero was a teenager getting his feet wet in the Pirates' organization after being acquired earlier that year. Hayes was the Pirates' third baseman of the future, and Peguero had the potential to join him in the infield for years to come.

Hayes quickly took to the young infielder, impressed with the work he was doing defensively and how he didn't back down from facing the pitchers in camp who were throwing upper-90s. Before he was promoted to the majors, Hayes said he was going to save him a spot in the show. He knew Peguero was still a couple years away, but he felt he was going to be one of the guys who could help make the Pirates a winner someday.

"I always knew there was something there with him," Hayes said. "I always try to keep him under my wing or especially from that time on, just always tell him to keep working hard, keep working hard, little stuff like that."

On Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium, Hayes' Altoona prediction came to fruition, as the duo led the way for a 6-3 Pirates comeback victory over the Royals. Trailing in the top of the eighth, Peguero legged out a bunt single before Hayes homered to give his team their first lead of the ninth:

The next inning, Peguero ran into a slider and sent it 416 feet, effectively icing the game:

Like father, like son. And like that, the Pirates' infield is the heart of their lineup at the moment.

Hayes is on the best hitting tear of his career since his call up in September of 2020. Over his last 20 games, he has homered six times with 30 hits and a .366 batting average. Finally healthy, Hayes has overcome a slow start to the season and has a .752 OPS on the campaign, which is above the league average. After years of posting high exit velocities and not having the results to show for it, he is enjoying a three-week stretch that is amongst the best in the sport currently.

"Just really consistent with his timing, really consistent with his load, and he's getting to the ball in front," Derek Shelton said. "I think that's why we're seeing the power."

A few weeks ago, Hayes made a mechanical tweak to get his front foot down sooner, helping him catch the barrel out in front. That's helped him elevate the ball more, especially to the pull side, which has led to this stretch of 13 extra-base hits in 20 games. Coincidentally, one of the reasons for this hot stretch also comes from Altoona. When he was injured and watching video, Hayes and Altoona Curve hitting coach Jon Nunnally reconnected and started talking about his swing more. Hayes had only worked with him in Altoona in 2020, but they have texted these past few weeks as Hayes has heated up. Shelton did point out though that Hayes' offensive turnaround began back in June when he was healthy, though that was interrupted by a couple trips to the injured list with back soreness.

Now he's carrying the offense on his back. When asked how it feels to be the baddest guy in the lineup at the moment, Hayes smiled and with a slight chuckle said, "it feels good." If he can keep that OPS above the league-average mark, after you factor in his elite defense, Hayes could stake a claim as one of the best third basemen in the National League and that eight year, $70 million contract could become a steal for the franchise.

Peguero doesn't have a long-term deal in place, and his rookie season has been streaky. Entering Tuesday, Peguero was hitting just .133 with no extra-base hits over his last 10 games, nine of which were starts. So what happens Tuesday? He racked up three hits, was one of the only Pirate hitters that gave Royals starter Cole Ragans any issue in his seven scoreless frames and, of course, iced the game with that shot in the ninth. 

That big swing of the night came against a Stephen Cruz slider. The breaking ball undoubtedly hung, but a swing like that is a good sign considering his struggles against sliders in his brief time in the majors. Entering Tuesday, Peguero was hitting just .107 with 18 strikeouts in 28 at-bats against breaking balls.

It's just one swing, but sometimes that's all it takes to get things going.

"I think it's more of the approach of what pitch you should swing at, and that's really important," Sheltons aid. "And the fact that he got it as clean as he did, that's something that really stands out of, 'hey, what you should swing and what you should not swing at.' "

And even if that swing doesn't spark a turnaround, a blast like that does help the ol' confidence.

"This game is hard," Peguero said. "All I need to do is recognize it, work through [it]. I've been working really hard and trust the work that I put in."

Now if that quote doesn't sound similar to something his dad would say...

"It feels great," Hayes said about powering the comeback. "All the hard work you put in, you just try to be as consistent as you can in your workdays. Those are the type of moments that you grow up playing the game for, late in the game, tying the game up or taking the lead. It felt really great."

GETTY

Liover Peguero gets high fives after his ninth inning home run Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium.

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THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE INJURIES

• 10-day injured list: RF Henry Davis (thumb)

• 15-day injured list: RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (elbow)

• 60-day injured list: SS Oneil Cruz (ankle), RHP JT Brubaker (elbow), LHP Jarlin Garcia (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow), INF Tucupita Marcano (knee), LHP Angel Perdomo (elbow), RHP Vince Velasquez (elbow)

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
2. Bryan Reynolds, DH
3. Andrew McCutchen, DH
4. Connor Joe, 1B
5. Endy Rodríguez, C
6. Josh Palacios, RF
7. Liover Peguero, SS
8. Jack Suwinski, CF
9. Ji Hwan Bae, 2B

And for Matt Quatraro's Royals:

1. Maikel Garcia, 3B
2. Bobb Witt Jr., SS
3. Salvador Perez, 1B
4. MJ Melendez, DH
5. Nelson Velázquez, RF
6. Drew Waters, CF
7. Freddy Fermin, C
8. Michael Massey, 2B
9. Dairon Blanco, LF

THE SCHEDULE

Andre Jackson (0-1, 4.91) will take the ball Wednesday as the Pirates go for the sweep. Angel Zerpa (1-2, 7.27) will go for the Royals. First pitch is set for 8:10 p.m. Eastern time.

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