PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – A toe tap. A big reason Ke’Bryan Hayes tied career-highs in hits (5) and RBI (4), has 17 hits this month and is batting .680 in June. After a pair of bad losses, Hayes helped lead the Pirates to a 14-7 blowout win over the Mets on Friday.
Hayes had been struggling coming off a bad series in Seattle and said something had to change. He didn’t know where he was at and it came to a head the day he struck out four times against the Mariners. He talked it over with Pirates hitting coach Andy Haines and they discussed going back to a toe tap instead of a leg kick. He diligently to fix it quickly. He has his timing back and the results are obviously there.
"Just kind of really been grinding with that, really those first few days because I've been leg kicking for the last 2-3 years,” Hayes said. “So really just being able to sink, loading my hands and timing that toe tap. That was really the big thing for me, the first few days doing it and now I just feel comfortable with it and now it's just go up there, be aggressive and hit."
The 26-year-old said he previously wasn’t in a good position to hit. He was falling behind in counts and when you get down 0-1, 0-2, the bat isn’t going to work in the majors. He now has himself in a better position and the timing is much better.
"It was really good,” said Pirates manager Derek Shelton. “He was on time today, and he's been on time for the last six or seven days. I think it goes back to when you put in the work and you get yourself in a good spot, you're going to have good ABs."
He said he’s been working his butt off to try and figure out how to get back to the at bats he had his rookie year. He’s being aggressive up there, has his body in the right position and letting his athleticism take over. Even his biggest critic is happy. His mom.
“Sometimes she’ll be like, ‘You could have gotten six (hits)’ or this or that,” Hayes said with a smile. “She's always been like that with me and my brother. It’s all love, obviously. She wants me to do what I can do every day and play hard and have fun.”
Hill Top
He may be 43 years-old, but Rich Hill showing he has a lot left. The lefty had his third consecutive start with at least six innings and threw 119 pitches-most thrown by a pitcher his age since knuckleballer Tim Wakefield did it in 2011. The last National League pitcher of that age to throw 119 pitches in a game was the Phillies Jamie Moyer in 2007.
“I’m not really aware of the pitch count,” Hill said. “You are pitching until the manager takes the ball from your hands. Shelty let me go out there and let me finish that seventh inning which obviously I’m thankful for. I think that was something that felt good. You put yourself in position to succeed because of the work.”
"I think the fact that we knew we had an off-day coming up and the fact that we're a guy short in the bullpen and he felt good,” Shelton said of leaving Hill in there. “We were in a spot in the order where we thought we could get him through it. He threw the ball well in the fifth and the sixth."
"He executed the whole game. He gave up the home run to Lindor on a hanging breaking ball. Other than that, he was really good all game long. Both sides of the plate with all of his pitches."
“Just to be able to do that at that age, it's a testament to him taking care of his body, doing all the stuff in the weight room, training to and all that stuff,” Hayes said. “He's a fierce competitor. It's pretty fun to watch. Sometimes we laugh at him because he gets a little amped up out there. But, it's just what he is. It's what fires him and gets him going.
Why Bednar?
Pirates up 10 runs in the ninth inning, why would you put for All-Star closer David Bednar in the game?
“He hadn’t pitched in four days,” Shelton said. “We have an off-day coming up after it. It’s really hard with your back-end leverage guys if they go so many days without throwing. We knew he was going to throw. We were going to have him get one out and he did that.”
Bednar ended up throwing 20 pitches facing four batters.
Notes
· Friday was the first time this season the Pirates had a game where every starter had at least a hit.
· Four had multiple hit games (Hayes, Jack Suwinski, Carlos Santana and Josh Palacios).
· Five had multiple RBIs (Suwinski, Hayes, Ji Hwan Bae, Palacios, Austin Hedges)
· Ten of the runs batted in came from the bottom four in the lineup.
Up Next
Battle of righties at 4:05p with Kodai Senga (5-3, 3.75 ERA) for the Mets against Johan Oviedo (3-4, 4.29 ERA). North Shore Tavern Leadoff Show with Josh Rowntree at 3p with first pitch on 93.7 The Fan at 4:05.