Maile finding swing to go with strong D

PITTSBURGH -- There were no fireworks to mark the occasion. There was no crowd to stand and cheer. The scoreboard was showing exit velocity and launch angle data, not a replay. But Luke Maile still felt good about launching a home run off Michael Feliz into the visitors' bullpen at PNC Park during Friday’s first intrasquad scrimmage.

“I was aware of what the score was. It was tied, 1-1, and that gave us the lead. If you’re out there, you might as well try to win, right?” Maile said Sunday morning. “That’s the way I looked at it. We took the lead and I was able to find a barrel, so everybody wins.”

The Pirates signed Maile in December because of his defensive skills behind the plate, but it’d be a nice bonus if he can add some offensive ability to their roster as well. Maile, who is expected to start the season as catcher Jacob Stallings’ primary backup, believes he’s made some legitimate strides at the plate over the last four months.

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Maile, 29, has hit just .198/.252/.304 in his Major League career. He was 3-for-16 at the plate in six games before Spring Training was shut down. So it might not be fair to expect a massive breakout offensively, but he’s taken some quality swings and made hard contact during the Pirates’ Summer Camp workouts.

“We know he can catch and receive. So, happy to see the work that he put in between [Spring Training] 1.0 and 2.0 has really worked,” manager Derek Shelton said. “It’s been good so far. He’s had nice swings and he’s done a nice job behind the plate.”

During the quarantine period, Maile was able to take part in small group workouts a couple times a week at the club’s Pirate City complex in Bradenton, Fla.

What did he work on? Maile said he couldn’t offer a great explanation because he doesn’t delve too deep into the mechanics of his swing. Put simply, though, he’s using his legs more. And when he gets his legs involved, he feels like his swing takes a more direct path to the ball. That has led to better, and louder, contact over the last week.

“I haven’t felt this good in a long time,” Maile said. “It’s obviously early, but I’m pretty encouraged with the way I’m swinging the bat right now. … I just feel like I have a swing that I remember doing when I was 5, 6, 7, 8 years old. I think that’s probably the best way I can describe it.”

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Around the horn

• Reliever Kyle Crick pitched in Sunday’s intrasquad scrimmage, his first time facing hitters since Spring Training. Crick walked Erik Gonzalez and gave up a double to Adam Frazier then faced Josh Bell in a long at-bat before hitting his pitch limit.

“It was good to see him back, good for him to get some work off the mound,” Shelton said. “I think now we’ve had everybody [who’s active in camp] off the mound.”

• The Pirates had a lighter day on Sunday after moving up their workout to the morning and early afternoon to avoid the threat of rain. Most position players didn’t play defense for all 5 1/2 innings of their scrimmage, and veteran center fielder Jarrod Dyson was given the game off after playing in Saturday night’s game.

Left-hander Derek Holland put in six innings’ worth of work for Team Black, while right-hander JT Brubaker (three innings) and lefty reliever Nik Turley (one inning) followed Crick for Team Gold. Bryan Reynolds had the biggest hit of the day, a first-inning homer to left off Holland.

• While the players had the day mostly off their feet, the Pirates’ coaching staff spent a lot of time in the field Sunday afternoon. Special assistants David Eckstein and Jamey Carroll played all over the diamond. Bench coach Don Kelly stepped in at first base. Mental strength coordinator Tyson Holt took a shift in the outfield. Hitting coach Rick Eckstein manned third base. Bullpen catcher Jordan Comadena moved behind the plate.

Major League assistant Tim McKeithan, who works with Pittsburgh’s hitters, provided the defensive highlight of the day at shortstop with a slick play and a strong throw across his body to retire Maile. Perhaps it should’ve come as no surprise: McKeithan was the everyday shortstop during his last two years at Brown University.

“How good did he look out there?” Shelton said of McKeithan. “Rick struggled early bending over, but once he got loose, he was pretty good -- and it’s always tentative for a hitting coach [because] you don’t want to make a play on your guys. … Everybody knows Donnie’s good. I mean, it’s Donnie. It was cool to see. I appreciate those guys getting out there.”

• Shelton said he and general manager Ben Cherington spent time at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ facility several weeks ago. They had lunch with Steelers GM Kevin Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin and talked about a variety of topics, from conducting a virtual Draft to the passion of Pittsburgh sports fans.

“Any time you get a chance to sit down with Mike Tomlin and talk to him, I am going to take that opportunity, as much success as he’d had,” Shelton said. “It’s such a cool building, and you walk around the one corner and the Super Bowl trophies are all sitting right there. It’s something that kind of makes you step back and realize it’s really kind of a special place to be.”