Before A.J. Burnett put the finishing touches on another gem, and before Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez hit the signature bombs in the Pirates’ 8-2 rout of the Mets on Saturday, there was Josh Harrison’s first at-bat.
It told the story. And right now, Harrison might be this team’s most important story.
Matt Harvey’s first pitch of the afternoon was a hanging slider, and Harrison pounced on it, driving a single to left. He raced hard around first base, thinking about taking second. Harrison thought better of it, using an aggressive but intelligent approach.
Then he stole second base. It was the kind of aggressive baseball Clint Hurdle likes to see.
It was the Harrison everyone saw in 2014. He appears to be all the way back.
“He’s got a skill set that’s in a good place,” Hurdle said after the game. “He’s got confidence that’s in a good place.”
Hurdle also acknowledged that dealing with a new, lucrative contract wasn’t easy for Harrison. Neal Huntington said essentially the same thing May 11.
“I think it took him a little while to compartmentalize everything,” Hurdle said.
Harrison doesn’t necessarily agree. He had some interesting things to say:
If anything, perhaps Harrison used Huntington’s words as motivation. The Pirates arrived in Philadelphia on May 12, with Harrison sporting a .177 average. Less than two weeks later, Harrison is at .261, an increase of 84 points during an ongoing 10-game hitting streak in which he’s 21 for 43 — .488 — with two home runs, five doubles, seven RBIs, nine runs and two stolen bases.
Harrison again looks like the guy who took baseball by storm last season, lashing line drives to all directions. He delivered that opening jab to Harvey, then the decisive blow with a two-run double down the right field line in the fourth.
“I feel good,” Harrison said with a smile. “It was a matter of time.”
A.J. Burnett pitches in the seventh inning of his gem Saturday. — JARED WICKERHAM / GETTY
Hurdle speaks regularly of Burnett “learning from his past to prepare for his future,” which is the manager’s eloquent way of saying Burnett has learned to become a pitcher instead of the thrower he was in his younger days.
Still, the man’s stuff remains exceptional. Francisco Cervelli said Burnett didn’t miss much against the Mets, a stance supported strongly by Burnett striking out 10 without allowing a walk.
And even when he did miss his spots?
On the surface, this is a kinder, gentler Burnett. Before meeting with reporters after this win, he noticed that his shirt boasted an expletive, smiled and excused himself to put on a more appropriate shirt.
A moment earlier, he noticed a couple of kids in the clubhouse and heard a vulgar song on the stereo, so he calmly turned it off.
Still, deep down, even the kinder and gentler Burnett remains a badass on the mound. His curveball was forcing the Mets to chase out of the zone all game. His fastball regularly hit 91-93 MPH.
Terry Collins, the Mets’ manager, said he knew his team would have a difficult time.
“Guys like him find a way to beat you,” Collins said, comparing Burnett to New York’s Bartolo Colon, another older guy who once threw over 100 MPH. “And the movement on Burnett’s pitches? God almighty.”
At 38, Burnett is off to his finest start. He is 4-1 with a 1.37 ERA, best among all starters in Major League Baseball. Though he doesn’t possess the power he once did, his 53 strikeouts rank 11th.
“He decided this was his last ride,” Hurdle said. “He’s pitching as well as I’ve ever seen.”
• If you weren’t at PNC Park, you might not have noticed but thousands of Mets fans who made the trip from New York and filled sections 332 and 333 — upper deck, left field — and they’re supposed to return Sunday.
The World Cup atmosphere seemed to inspire Burnett.
“I heard a lot of A.J. chants,” Burnett said. “And I heard a lot of Harvey chants. I fed off that energy.”
Burnett got the better of the phenom and admitted he had been looking forward to the showdown all week.
Chalk one up to Batman over The Dark Knight.
• The Mets have numerous pitchers on their staff who have dealt with significant arm injuries. Harvey is coming off recent Tommy John surgery. Because of this, they’re especially cautious of using starters too frequently. Collins said he prefers to give starters who have endured arm injuries five days rest whenever possible, as opposed to the standard four.
He also said he believes the majors soon will see teams using six starters.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I see it coming. Teams might benefit from it.”
• McCutchen and Alvarez both pounced on Harvey mistakes.
McCutchen’s home run came on a 2-0 pitch that was supposed to be fired toward the outer half of the plate. Instead, Harvey badly missed to the inside corner, and McCutchen crushed the 96-mph heat into the Pirates’ bullpen well beyond center field.
Alvarez’s home run was strikingly similar. With catcher Kevin Plawecki set up on the outside corner, Harvey again delivered 96-mph on the inside half of the plate. Alvarez launched it into the top row of Section 143 above the Clemente Wall.
“Harvey’s a great pitcher, an ace,” Cervelli said. “But he made some mistakes, and we took advantage.”
I love watching A.J. pitch. I played some catch with a friend today at a barbecue, and Burnett's pitching motion doesn't look any more strenuous than what I was doing. Somehow, though, he's throwing it 90 miles an hour and hitting his spots within inches, all while bending it like Beckham. Amazing.
aglebagel
5-23-2015, 9:32 pm
Whoops, accidentally hit the reply button instead of the regular comment box.
JAL
5-23-2015, 9:19 pm
It is a rare pitcher who doesn't make mistakes, Pirate hitters were missing mistakes earlier in the season, today they were hitting them. Good hitters hit mistakes most of the time. Also shows how good MLB hitter are than can blast 96 MHP pitches. Even Chapman's 100 MPH fastball can be hit if he puts in the wrong location. Good MLB hitters can turn around any fastball.
Burnett made coming to Pittsburgh from another team cool again. Sort of the "Pudge Rodriguez goes to Detroit"? of this franchise. Love what this guy did for this franchise, and continues to do.
I don't think there's any question that the contract was wearing on his mind earlier this year. Clearly he was missing hittable pitches. The hit into right field today, showed me that the 2014 version could be back
They've dug quite a hole with these pair of recent skids, and with the Cardinals playing so well. They're going to need to win a lot in the next few weeks to get back into the race.
Significantly less of a hole than the last 2 seasons in which they were atop the standings late in the season. I'd say par for the course with this team. They get hot mid/late-May and roll into September.
Carmen
5-24-2015, 12:16 am
Bucs have been 67-40 over the last 4 June's
VABurgher
5-24-2015, 1:03 am
The Cards have lost 3 in a row and are 6 and 9 over their last 15 they don't walk on water! The Pirates just need to pick it up they are now only 6.5 back the season is young.
frankkuchno
5-24-2015, 2:00 am
Yep.......Cards are 4-6 in their last 10 games.
And have LOST 3 in a row.
But.....in YOUR words.....they are playing "so well".
We are also 4-6.
And have WON 2 in a row.
Please explain the cognitive dissonance of your post?
frankkuchno
5-24-2015, 2:01 am
OR.....are you just trolling???
Rocco
5-24-2015, 8:15 am
A 2 game winning streak with your top two pitchers is great, and when your team is not playing well it is a relief, but.... now comes Liriano, whose last two starts have been abysmal, and then the back end of the rotation...
Bradthedad
5-24-2015, 10:41 am
You're a tough grader, Rocco. Last one bad but the one before 7 IP, 7 H, 3 W, 3 ER.
Randy Steele
5-23-2015, 9:29 pm
Smoke 'em if you got 'em.
Nice win, guys. Let's do it again.
Wow Randy , ain't heard that one since about 1972 when ol Sgt, Kick your Butt said it. lol
ziggygreece
5-23-2015, 10:40 pm
Josh you write awesome about hockey but *gasp* churn out awesome baseball articles as well. Hell, DK got 4 hits in 1 AB when you signed on. keep em coming big guy!!!
Nolan Arenado, reigning NL GG third baseman, leads all league third baseman with a range factor (RF) of 3.23.
Josh is second with (2.96).
Yes......#2 should always strive to be #1.
But yeah....he stinks!
It's too early but I say it every year....winning the "offseason" does not generally correlate to the actual season. You can add Toronto yet again to this list. Not saying all the signings were bad just saying the media goes moth to flame and reality ensues. And it's never a good idea to be team with two Uptons on the roster.
Agree.
Very nice flow to the story, almost seamless.
Some very unhappy people at the Trib methinks.
jimmy streich
5-24-2015, 10:03 am
If the Pirate turn it around I think we can look at the last game when Kang singled in Andrew then took 2nd and 3rd base to score on a pop up.. Without those 2 bases he's another stranded base runner.
A.J. was absolutely dominant. I have never seen such a game pitched that well in person. its great to see these guys starting to heat up together. It was even better in person.
Josh Harrison lashes a two-run double to right in the fourth inning. -- JARED WICKERHAM / GETTY
May 23, 2015
Coverage: J-Hay, A.J. revivals well underway
by Josh Yohe • Coverage • Pirates
BY JOSH YOHE
Before A.J. Burnett put the finishing touches on another gem, and before Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez hit the signature bombs in the Pirates’ 8-2 rout of the Mets on Saturday, there was Josh Harrison’s first at-bat.
It told the story. And right now, Harrison might be this team’s most important story.
Matt Harvey’s first pitch of the afternoon was a hanging slider, and Harrison pounced on it, driving a single to left. He raced hard around first base, thinking about taking second. Harrison thought better of it, using an aggressive but intelligent approach.
Then he stole second base. It was the kind of aggressive baseball Clint Hurdle likes to see.
It was the Harrison everyone saw in 2014. He appears to be all the way back.
“He’s got a skill set that’s in a good place,” Hurdle said after the game. “He’s got confidence that’s in a good place.”
Hurdle also acknowledged that dealing with a new, lucrative contract wasn’t easy for Harrison. Neal Huntington said essentially the same thing May 11.
“I think it took him a little while to compartmentalize everything,” Hurdle said.
Harrison doesn’t necessarily agree. He had some interesting things to say:
If anything, perhaps Harrison used Huntington’s words as motivation. The Pirates arrived in Philadelphia on May 12, with Harrison sporting a .177 average. Less than two weeks later, Harrison is at .261, an increase of 84 points during an ongoing 10-game hitting streak in which he’s 21 for 43 — .488 — with two home runs, five doubles, seven RBIs, nine runs and two stolen bases.
Harrison again looks like the guy who took baseball by storm last season, lashing line drives to all directions. He delivered that opening jab to Harvey, then the decisive blow with a two-run double down the right field line in the fourth.
“I feel good,” Harrison said with a smile. “It was a matter of time.”
A.J. Burnett pitches in the seventh inning of his gem Saturday. — JARED WICKERHAM / GETTY
• Burnett is currently a dominant force.
Hurdle speaks regularly of Burnett “learning from his past to prepare for his future,” which is the manager’s eloquent way of saying Burnett has learned to become a pitcher instead of the thrower he was in his younger days.
Still, the man’s stuff remains exceptional. Francisco Cervelli said Burnett didn’t miss much against the Mets, a stance supported strongly by Burnett striking out 10 without allowing a walk.
And even when he did miss his spots?
On the surface, this is a kinder, gentler Burnett. Before meeting with reporters after this win, he noticed that his shirt boasted an expletive, smiled and excused himself to put on a more appropriate shirt.
A moment earlier, he noticed a couple of kids in the clubhouse and heard a vulgar song on the stereo, so he calmly turned it off.
Still, deep down, even the kinder and gentler Burnett remains a badass on the mound. His curveball was forcing the Mets to chase out of the zone all game. His fastball regularly hit 91-93 MPH.
Terry Collins, the Mets’ manager, said he knew his team would have a difficult time.
“Guys like him find a way to beat you,” Collins said, comparing Burnett to New York’s Bartolo Colon, another older guy who once threw over 100 MPH. “And the movement on Burnett’s pitches? God almighty.”
At 38, Burnett is off to his finest start. He is 4-1 with a 1.37 ERA, best among all starters in Major League Baseball. Though he doesn’t possess the power he once did, his 53 strikeouts rank 11th.
“He decided this was his last ride,” Hurdle said. “He’s pitching as well as I’ve ever seen.”
• If you weren’t at PNC Park, you might not have noticed but thousands of Mets fans who made the trip from New York and filled sections 332 and 333 — upper deck, left field — and they’re supposed to return Sunday.
The World Cup atmosphere seemed to inspire Burnett.
“I heard a lot of A.J. chants,” Burnett said. “And I heard a lot of Harvey chants. I fed off that energy.”
Burnett got the better of the phenom and admitted he had been looking forward to the showdown all week.
Chalk one up to Batman over The Dark Knight.
• The Mets have numerous pitchers on their staff who have dealt with significant arm injuries. Harvey is coming off recent Tommy John surgery. Because of this, they’re especially cautious of using starters too frequently. Collins said he prefers to give starters who have endured arm injuries five days rest whenever possible, as opposed to the standard four.
He also said he believes the majors soon will see teams using six starters.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I see it coming. Teams might benefit from it.”
• McCutchen and Alvarez both pounced on Harvey mistakes.
McCutchen’s home run came on a 2-0 pitch that was supposed to be fired toward the outer half of the plate. Instead, Harvey badly missed to the inside corner, and McCutchen crushed the 96-mph heat into the Pirates’ bullpen well beyond center field.
Alvarez’s home run was strikingly similar. With catcher Kevin Plawecki set up on the outside corner, Harvey again delivered 96-mph on the inside half of the plate. Alvarez launched it into the top row of Section 143 above the Clemente Wall.
“Harvey’s a great pitcher, an ace,” Cervelli said. “But he made some mistakes, and we took advantage.”