The battery of Gerrit Cole and Chris Stewart have joined forces five times this season however in Friday night’s contest, they showed efforts on both sides of the ball. The Pittsburgh Pirates were able to win 4-1 in front of 33,337.
“He knows the intent I have on different pitches and he’s on the same page with me in terms of that aspect,” Cole said of his catcher. “He doesn’t let me shake sometimes when he wants a pitch and he thinks it is the right pitch. It actually gives me more confidence to execute what he wants. He has a feel for the league better than I do and he has a better feel of me than I do sometimes.”
Cole [6-2] threw the longest outing of his major league career. He allowed an unearned run on six hits and a season high 10 strikeouts. He is now 10-2 with 104 strikeouts in his last 14 starts at PNC Park.
“He had complete command start to finish, the fastball command improved as the game went on,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “He maintained velocity, the slider was a big pitch tonight and he used a big curveball to offset the angle of his sliders. He brought energy, he brought focus and it was a good shot in the arm for us.”
The Pirates struck for two run innings on two occasions.
In the second inning after Noah Syndergaard [1-2] struck out the first four batters to open the game, Pedro Alvarez had an opposite field two-out ground rule double. Gregory Polanco then followed with a ball that deflected off Luca Duda’s glove and was ruled a single. This brought the first Pirate run home.
“I want my team to win the ballgame,” Polanco said. “It was the first run of the game so I was happy.”
A second run scored on Stewart’s third double of the season. Cole nearly extended the inning with a hard hit ground ball, however Daniel Murphy ran it down and threw to first base to record the out.
Another two runs were scored in the sixth inning. Andrew McCutchen opened the inning with a double of the Clemente Wall. A Starling Marte ground out advanced McCutchen 90 feet and he scored on a Jung Ho Kang single. Syndergaard attempted to pick Kang off at first but a throwing error allowed an advance to second base. Kang also stole third base and scored on an Alvarez sacrifice fly.
Cole came out to pitch the ninth inning. He struck out pinch hitter Darrell Ceciliani but then allowed a single to Curtis Granderson and a walk to Eric Campbell. Manager Clint Hurdle came out to a mix of cheers and boos to remove Cole. Cole received a standing ovation from the PNC Park crowd.
“I saw right away how locked in he was from the first inning and on,” Stewart said. “I think we learned from the last game against the Cubs that he doesn’t have to overdo it. He got a little too amped up last game and he realized that and went into this game locked in and tried to execute his game and throw the ball where it needed to go.”
Hurdle cited two trips to the disabled list but cited that had he not walked Campbell that there would be a “decision to make”.
The effort was appreciated and enjoyed by fans and Pirates players alike.
“It was really fun to watch,” said Polanco. “He kept pounding it in the zone. That was so fun to watch and made me feel comfortable out there.”
Mark Melancon came in to close earning his 10th save of the season. It is his fourth career season with at least 10 saves.
Stewart was 2-for-3 at the plate to lead the Pirates offensive attack and also threw out two runners on the basepaths. He is now 7-for-14 in that category.
“He was challenged in Chicago his last start, they stole some bases off him,” said Hurdle. “He settled in and did some work in between his starts. Good feet, good release, unloaded quick and he swung the bat well. It was a good game for him. It’s not an easy thing to do coming in every once in a while and perform on the both sides of the ball.”
These two teams will face off again Saturday afternoon as Matt Harvey [5-1 1.98 ERA] takes on A.J. Burnett [3-1 1.38 ERA]. Burnett is 5-9 with a 4.18 ERA in 24 career starts against the Mets. Harvey allowed two runs in seven innings receiving a no-decision in the game.
Photo courtesy: Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports
