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The Associated Press
\nJared Triolo will be playing a lot of shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates with rookie Konnor Griffin currently injured.<\/p>\n
PITTSBURGH \u2014 Over the course of a long six months-plus Major League Baseball season, every team will ride its share of ups and downs, and be faced with adversity on several occasions.<\/p>\n
The Pittsburgh Pirates are going through that situation right now, and their season may very well depend upon how well they negotiate the turbulent waters.<\/p>\n
With two players \u2014 center fielder Oneil Cruz (fractured hand) and first baseman Spencer Horwitz (hamstring strain) \u2014 currently on the Pirates\u2019 Injured List but expected back by the end of this month, the Pirates got crushing news earlier this week when it was discovered that highly-touted rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin will be sidelined until early September with a torn tendon in his left ring finger that he suffered while making a diving catch during the Pirates\u2019 recent series finale in Washington against the Nationals.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a punch in the gut for us, because he\u2019s been such a big part of our team, and I feel so bad for Konnor, for whom this has to be extremely frustrating and disappointing,\u201d Pirates manager Don Kelly said of Griffin, who had just come off an earlier stint on the IL with a right forearm strain.<\/p>\n
The Pirates are also currently in the midst of a challenging stretch of 15 games that include three apiece against five good teams \u2014 the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs. All of those teams are currently either leading their divisions, contending for the lead in their divisions or in the thick of the Wild Card playoff chase.<\/p>\n
Despite that demanding schedule and all the injuries, the Pirates, led by their revamped offense and next-man-up approach, are taking the solider-on mindset. Indeed, they have no choice but to do so.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have dealt with a bunch of injuries, but every team deals with those sorts of things,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cWe need to find a way to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelly has no doubt in his mind that the Pirates will do so.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the thing that stands out to me is the fight this team has shown in the face of adversity all season,\u201d said Kelly, pointing to the Pirates wiping out a 5-0 deficit to win a recent game in Philadelphia and bouncing back from a one-sided loss in Washington to pound the Nationals less than 24 hours later in 100-plus degree heat.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that these guys are giving it everything that they have every single day regardless of the ups and downs and adversity we face,\u201d Kelly added. \u201cI\u2019m just really proud of what we\u2019ve been able to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the fact that the Pirates\u2019 bullpen has been leaking oil for much of the season and is among the worst in MLB in the blown saves category, the Bucs have also exhibited a remarkable resilience and ability to stay in almost every game that they play, due to their offense, which is on pace to match or surpass the 1940 Pirates\u2019 all-time franchise record of 809 runs scored in 154 games.<\/p>\n
The offseason acquisitions of Brandon Lowe and Ryan O\u2019Hearn have certainly provided a shot in the arm for the Pirates and lengthened their lineup, but there have also been some behind-the-scenes factors that have improved the offense.<\/p>\n
\u201cThroughout our organization and specifically here, a lot of adjustments have been made by our coaching staff (toward the batting approaches),\u201d Kelly said. \u201cIt took some time for the players to understand and develop a foundation of getting better, and then when you bring in veteran guys like Brandon Lowe, Ryan O\u2019Hearn and Marcell Ozuna, you can really add to your offense.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe conversations that take place among the coaching staff and between player-to-player about attacking the opposing pitchers have been fantastic. I\u2019m really proud of our coaching staff and our players who have continued to work through this and who have continued to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pirates hitting coach Matt Hague said that the team\u2019s offensive improvement has been due to the hard work of the players.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re scoring some runs and doing a lot of other things behind-the-scenes work ethic-wise and execution-wise,\u201d Hague said. \u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of game planning, and the guys paying a lot of attention to detail. That\u2019s why the offense is clicking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Triolo will take expanded role<\/p>\n
With Griffin sidelined, Jared Triolo will be getting much more playing time at the shortstop position. There\u2019s no doubt that Triolo \u2014 an NL Gold Glove winner in the past \u2014 is an excellent defender, but his production at the plate has often left something to be desired.<\/p>\n
Kelly said that he has seen Triolo turn the corner in that regard recently, though.<\/p>\n
\u201cTri will be getting the majority of the time at shortstop,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cHe\u2019s an elite defender who can play multiple positions, and he has done a tremendous job for us defensively. Offensively, he\u2019s had his ups and downs, but he\u2019s come on strong here recently.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been swinging the bat better, and on our recent road trip to Philly and Washington, he was driving the ball in the gaps, and I thought he was a big catalyst with his solo home run when we came from behind to beat Philadelphia. He\u2019s had a bunch of doubles, too. He\u2019s working hard to get back on track offensively, and he\u2019s been aggressive in barreling up pitches that he should be approaching aggressively.\u201d<\/p>\n
Triolo said that he feels more confident at the plate lately.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m starting to feel better hitting, and my confidence is going up,\u201d Triolo said. \u201cObviously when I\u2019m hitting balls in the gaps and over the fence, I feel a lot better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Triolo is optimistic that the Pirates have the firepower to overcome the injuries that the key players have sustained and to hold serve until Cruz and Horwitz return.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Injuries) are just a part of it,\u201d Triolo said. \u201cIt\u2019s a long season, and it\u2019s impossible to go a full season with a (completely) healthy lineup.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a really good team, and an especially good offense, and I think that will help pull us through. And after the (All-Star) break, we\u2019ll be getting back some reinforcements.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelly pointed out that he believes that it\u2019s important to keep Nick Gonzales\u2019s steady and productive bat in the lineup somewhere \u2014 Gonzales most often plays third base \u2014 and newcomers Tyler Callihan and Jack Brannigan will also be more prominent parts of the Pirates\u2019 infield picture due to the Griffin injury.<\/p>\n
Skenes on rebound trail<\/p>\n
Paul Skenes painted himself into a corner with an otherworldly pitching performance in his first two big league seasons, winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award in 2024 and the NL\u2019s Cy Young Award as the league\u2019s top pitcher last year.<\/p>\n
Skenes has been unspectacular but still largely effective this season and carries a 7-8 record and 3.58 earned run average into his final start before the break, which will take place on Sunday when he takes on the NL Central Division-leading Brewers and their young ace, Jacob Misiorowski.<\/p>\n
Skenes snapped a nine-game, nearly two-month personal winless streak this past Tuesday when the Pirates kicked off their current homestand by routing the Braves. It was a night in which Skenes \u2014 as he has most of this season \u2014 turned in a solid but unremarkable performance, surrendering two runs and eight hits in six innings.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s taking the same approach this year that he has always taken \u2014 showing up every day, committed, diving into the video, diving into the prep, doing what he needs to do to be ready,\u201d Kelly said of Skenes.<\/p>\n
Skenes has experienced an overall drop in velocity but still possesses the capability of running the ball up to the plate at 100 miles per hour. His placement of pitches, overall, hasn\u2019t been as keen this season as it was in his stellar first two big league seasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that he feels good,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cThe velo (velocity) is down a hair, but his stuff still looks like it\u2019s coming out of his arm good. From a metric standpoint, the way that Paul is throwing seems to be very similar to what he was doing last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of (the problem that Skenes is currently facing) could be regarding the command of his fast ball \u2014 very specifically, you haven\u2019t seen Paul missing glove side with heaters as much as he has this year, and he has tended to run his breaking ball off the plate maybe a little bit more than he is used to doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
For his part, Skenes has gone on record as saying that he believes that he is throwing the ball as well this year as he did in his first two MLB seasons, although his numbers reveal a different story. He posted an NL leading 1.97 ERA in his Cy Young Award season a year ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s trying to command his fast ball a little bit more, and, like he always has, he has been doing what he needs to do to be ready on game day,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n
Cooperstown bound<\/p>\n
A bronze enshrinement statute of O\u2019Hearn \u2014 a solid player who probably won\u2019t possess Hall of Fame batting stats when his career comes to an end \u2014 is unlikely to ever be installed in the MLB Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.<\/p>\n
But his helmet will be.<\/p>\n
After O\u2019Hearn set an all-time Pirates franchise single-game record with 10 RBIs \u2014 generated by three home runs \u2014 against the Braves earlier this week, O\u2019Hearn announced on a Pittsburgh radio station that the batting helmet he wore in the game was being sent to Cooperstown for placement in the Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s insane, but at least there will be something from me there,\u201d O\u2019Hearn said. \u201cThat\u2019s pretty cool, pretty unbelievable. I guess I\u2019ll have to go there now to check it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bat that O\u2019Hearn used in his record-breaking game is set to be displayed at Legacy Hall inside PNC Park.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n PITTSBURGH \u2014 The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired infielder Jacob Gonzalez and left-handed pitcher Brandon Eisert from …<\/p>\n