In the Nos. 8 and 9 holes in the Pirates¡¯ lineup for Saturday¡¯s 6-2 win?over the Twins were two batters in need of a turnaround at the plate.?
Catcher Michael Perez entered the game hitting 1-for-21 (.056), and shortstop Kevin Newman¡¯s batting average sat at .169 (11-for-65). Yet the two combined to drive in five of the Pirates¡¯ six runs a day after their offense was held hitless?for 7 1/3 innings.?
Perez was in the worst predicament of any Pirates batter with at least five games played, being the only player with one hit or fewer, but manager Derek Shelton said he saw signs in Perez¡¯s start in Detroit that the backup catcher was beginning to find his swing.?
¡°He hit two balls into left-center field that were really well hit that just kind of got caught in the graveyard out there,¡± Shelton said. ¡°I thought that game in Detroit kind of led into this game as far as taking aggressive swings.¡±
The first aggressive swing came in the first at-bat for Perez. After three straight batters reached with one out, including Todd Frazier on a throwing error that helped to produce the first run, Perez smacked a double to right-center field to score two more.?
Then, in the fifth, Twins starting pitcher Michael Pineda adjusted and got Perez into a two-strike count. From watching video, Perez figured a slider would be coming with him that far behind in the count.?
¡°However, when I saw that fastball come in, it just looked pretty,¡± Perez said through interpreter Mike Gonzalez. ¡°I took a good swing at it. I was looking for the slider, but I saw a fastball and saw it well and connected."?
The result looked pretty -- Perez shot a ball over the tall right-field wall at Target Field for a?Statcast-projected 408 feet.?
Perez, who finished 3-for-3 with a walk, flared a bloop single in the sixth?and fell a triple shy of the cycle -- all while guiding Trevor Cahill through his best start of the season. Cahill shook off a 32-pitch second inning to go six frames with only one run allowed.
¡°That was a hell of a game from Mikey Perez all the way around,¡± Shelton said. ¡°Defensively, offensively, he did a really nice job.¡±?
¡°Today was special,¡± Perez said. ¡°There was something about me today that felt beyond comfortable, beyond confident.¡±?
Though Perez had the better line in the box score, Newman had just as crucial of a day for the Pirates and for his own confidence. Newman was the starting shortstop for the team after hitting a record-breaking .606 in Spring Training, but he hasn¡¯t found anything near that edge to begin the season.?
Newman would have done what Perez did -- double in his first at-bat -- if it weren¡¯t for a four-star catch by Byron Buxton, robbing him of an extra-base hit in the second inning.
But Newman struck back in the sixth inning.?Though?he?is in the seventh percentile in exit velocity, averaging 84.6 mph,?the No. 9 hitter?clobbered his homer with a 105.1 mph exit velocity -- his highest since a 105.2 mph home run off Chi?Chi?Gonz¨¢lez on Aug. 29, 2019 -- to go?back to back?with Perez.?
The back-to-back jacks marked the first time that the Pirates¡¯ Nos. 8 and 9 batters in the starting lineup accomplished the task since June 27, 2001, when Derek Bell and Jason Schmidt did so against the Brewers.?
Newman, who also hit a sac fly in the sixth inning, is working on his stance and approach to pick up the pace at the plate, though he said he ¡°can¡¯t give [us] all the secrets.¡± What could he tell us??
¡°Hitting that ball out helped solidify the things that I¡¯ve been working on -- just some small tweaks, really. More mentality than anything,¡± Newman said. ¡°I¡¯m going back to trying to get a ball over the plate and doing some damage.¡±?
The top of the Pirates¡¯ order has carried the team, allowing them to stay at around a .500 winning percentage, but if the bottom of the order can come through more consistently like it did on Saturday, that could lead the Bucs to exceeding?expectations as the season goes on.?
¡°We¡¯re trying to do everything we can to get the win for the team,¡± Newman said. ¡°So?when you really have an impact on the game, there¡¯s no better feeling.¡±