BRADENTON, Fla. -- The Pirates' offense broke out of their early spring slump Sunday afternoon against the Blue Jays, stringing together long rallies early and then adding home runs late to win, 13-9.
Absent from the offensive explosion was Kyle Crick. Instead, he was making firewood of the Toronto bats, shattering two in his inning of work in the seventh.
"I didn't hear the first one break, but the second one I definitely heard," Crick said with a laugh after the game. "It almost hit me!"
It was the first time Crick had pitched in a game since Sept. 8. He remembered that date, rattling it off, unprompted.
That outing was fairly uneventful, striking out two and walking one in a scoreless inning in St. Louis. The following day was more impactful, as he injured his right index finger in a clubhouse altercation with Felipe Vazquez. Crick underwent surgery for extensor tendon repair surgery shortly after, ending his season.
In the days following the surgery, the same thought kept creeping back into his head: "You've got to get back on the mound."
"Not just back to normal, but better than I was before," Crick said.
That thought stuck with him through his rehab and nearly five month wait between outings. Now he says his right hand is stronger than his left and is pretty close to being back to normal. Looking at it this offseason, he started to think the hand may end up being even stronger than it was before.
So after thinking about this return for so long, were you nervous, Crick?
"I'd say there's a lot of emotions in there, nerves being one of them, but more so, it was excitement," Crick said.
The Pirates will be counting on Crick to deliver quality innings this year for a bullpen that is in transition. After a terrific 2018 campaign with the team, he stumbled in 2019, posting an ERA close to 5 and one of the worst walk rates in baseball.
Crick talked about how he is looking to stay focused this year, finishing pitches with conviction and coming in with a consistent approach. If he does that, his results will almost surely be closer to 2018.
"Everybody knows that the slider is an elite pitch," Derek Shelton said of Crick.
Crick's now looking for that normal soreness that follows early season outings. That means he's closer to being ready for the start of the regular season.
Like with many of the other players coming back from injury, Shelton mentioned how good it was to see Crick with a smile on his face leaving the game. It was hard to miss.
"I'm just glad I can go out and throw baseballs again," Crick said.
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