For the first time this season, the Pirates have won back-to-back games and a series, defeating the Brewers, 12-5 , Saturday night at PNC Park.
And for the second consecutive night, it was an outfielder leading the way on offense. On Friday, it was Bryan Reynolds. On Saturday, Gregory Polanco.
While almost every hitter in the Pirates' lineup has slumped for at least part of the season, Polanco's has been the most profound and prolonged. He entered the day with just four hits in his 47 at-bats, translating to an .085 batting average. That could get any hitter down, possibly for the count.
So when Polanco has been working in the batting cage, hitting coach Rick Eckstein wasn't focusing on the negatives. He was trying to build him up, telling him words of encouragement.
"Think like a winner," Eckstein would say.
"Think like an MVP."
"Think like you're the best."
Derek Shelton, Eckstein and Polanco have been trying to stay positive during his slump. Positive, "no matter what," as Polanco put it.
And there was a lot under that "no matter what" umbrella.
"If you come to the ballpark like, ‘I’m going to go 0-for-4’ or whatever, it’s going to happen," Polanco said. "If you think, 'OK, I’ve got this. I’m here for something. I’m here because I can hit, I can play, I can play at this level.' That’s my mentality."
So Polanco tried to keep things simple. And simply put, it was his best game of the season, and perhaps since his 2018 shoulder surgery.
After doubling in his first at-bat, Polanco gave the Pirates the lead for good in the fourth, tagging a belt-high curveball on the outside edge of the plate 434 feet to right-center:
It was his first multi-hit effort since June 5, 2019.
And it wasn't just the homer and double, but also a six-pitch walk drawn off of southpaw Angel Perdomo.
"There were a lot of positive signs to see," Shelton said.
The expression is "hitting is contagious." The idiom might have to be altered since Polanco's timing problems stemmed from him missing most of summer camp and the beginning part of the regular season after testing positive for COVID-19.
But after the home run, the bats started to come alive for one of the first times this season.
"He smoked that one," Colin Moran said. "I feel like everybody was able to take a little bit of an exhale, extend that lead and get us going there."
The Pirates would score multiple runs in every inning from there on, besides the eighth.
Hey, that's the energy a hot-swinging Polanco can bring.
"He brings so much energy to this clubhouse, the lineup, when he's in the dugout, everything," Derek Holland said. "So to see him getting things going, I think that's what's huge about him is he's an important piece to this clubhouse. He's an important piece to this lineup."
It's too early to proclaim that Polanco is getting his timing back or putting the slump behind him. It is just one game, after all. And it's just a two-game winning streak for the team.
But after their start, playing two complete games takes a little bit of the weight off their shoulders. A reminder that they are going to hit.
"That’s our mentality, just not for me but for everybody," Polanco said. "They encourage everybody like, ‘We got this. We’re going to be good. We’re going to be good. Just trust it.’ We’re going to keep it like that, man, and trust the process.”
Now, it's just about moving forward, both individually and as a team.
"We cannot control yesterday," Polanco said. "We can control today and tomorrow. We’re going to stay hungry. We’re going to keep playing hard and play to win.”
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