NEW YORK — The very nature of the Pirates lineup right now lends to unlikely heroes.
Second baseman Adam Frazier and center fielder Bryan Reynolds are all-stars, and third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes may be the Pirates’ main building block for the foreseeable future, but they can’t carry a team on their own.
Even so, Sunday’s 6-5 win over the New York Mets was something you wouldn’t dare dream up.
After the Mets leapt out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning, the lower part of the Pirates’ order just chipped away slowly but surely. Infielder Rodolfo Castro, the 22-year-old who was called up from Class AA Altoona to the Pirates last Tuesday, ripped a home run in the fifth. Catcher Michael Perez went back-to-back with a dinger to left to make it 5-2.
In the sixth inning, Castro was the hero again, ripping an opposite field home run himself, this time a two-run blast, to make it a one-run game. The Pirates had the bases loaded with one out in the eighth but couldn’t come through when Perez and Hayes, who was pinch-hitting, struck out consecutively.
No matter. There was some magic left in the Pirates’ bats anyways. In the ninth inning, shortstop Kevin Newman, who has been struggling mightily at the plate, doubled to left with one out. First baseman John Nogowski, who was traded for cash considerations after being designated for assignment, singled Newman home to tie the game. Outfielder Ben Gamel, who was claimed off waivers, singled Nogowski over to third. Then Wilmer Difo, who was designated for assignment by the Pirates earlier this season and cleared waivers to stay in the organization, singled Nogowski home to take the lead.
Closer Richard Rodriguez slammed the door from there, giving the Pirates a win heading into the All-Star break.
While the entire cast is a good story, the main source of future encouragement would be Castro’s performance. Whatever the expectations were, he’s blown them out of the water.
He is 3-for-12 in five games since that call-up, despite the enormous leap in competition. All three hits are home runs.
The mini hot streak started Friday, when Castro launched a solo shot to right-center at the end of a blowout loss. But Sunday was Castro’s finest hour.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the switch-hitter stepped in against Mets right-hander Jerad Eickhoff with nobody on and one out. He had to battle, for sure. In a 2-1 count, he fouled off three straight pitches, then took another ball, then fouled off a couple more. At least two of those foul balls were crushed, landing in the upper deck in right field, just on the wrong side of the foul pole. It was clear Castro was reading Eickhoff’s pitches well.
Then he put one fair, launching a ball into right-center, just to the left of where his Friday dinger landed, and putting the Pirates on the board.
In the next inning, Castro got up again, this time against Mets reliever Jeurys Familia. This time, Castro didn’t have to wait much longer. He got in an 0-2 hole, and was then served a 96 mph sinker down the middle. Castro took it the other way this time, ripping it just over the wall in left-center for a two-run blast.
Take your pick of which is more impressive, the long battle of an at-bat or the mature-looking two-strike approach to go the opposite way for another homer.
That set the stage for the entire comeback, willing the Pirates to at least within shouting distance. Then Newman, Nogowski, Gamel and Difo took over from there. If you had heard that sentence at the beginning of the season, you’d have a lot of questions.
It’s both emblematic of the state of the current roster, and a welcome method of victory to end the proverbial first half of the season.
