Deadline addition De La Cruz settling in to produce for Pirates

PITTSBURGH – Bryan De La Cruz's first couple of weeks as a Pirate did not go as planned. He was one of the team’s Trade Deadline splashes, as Pittsburgh hoped to finally get a big right-handed power bat into the lineup, but he started just 4-for-34 in his first eight games, all of those hits being singles.

Reflecting on it now, he has a pretty good idea why the hits -- and the extra-base hits -- weren’t coming.

“I tried to do too much, because when you get traded and you hit 18 home runs, that's a little bit of pressure because they traded for a guy that they know that can hit home runs,” De La Cruz said Thursday, via interpreter and coach Stephen Morales. “I was trying a little bit too hard at the beginning."

Things might finally be starting to swing back his way. After his first three-hit game as a Pirate on Thursday, De La Cruz played a pivotal part in the Pirates’ 6-5 win over the Reds at PNC Park on Friday, looping an RBI double that served as the big hit in a four-run fifth inning before lifting a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the sixth that proved to be the winner.

The double was De La Cruz’s third of the series, and he’s now batting .351 over his past 10 games (13-for-37). Manager Derek Shelton noted several times in those first two weeks that he thought his new outfielder was putting too much pressure on himself. Now, by De La Cruz’s admission, he is swinging with more confidence.

"I think when we acquired him, we knew he was a run-producer,” said Shelton. “He went through a tough stretch, but … even going back to the second game in Texas where he had the two-out base hit, that's six, seven RBIs [in four games]. So yeah, that's very important for us."

Talking postgame Friday, De La Cruz mentioned that he was using his hips more, which is contributing to his recent success. He’s also feeling more like himself when working in the cage, rather than struggling like he did when he first arrived.

With those first extra-base hits out of the way and after a couple of key RBIs in a one-run win, he’s looking more like the player the Pirates had long coveted and the guy he wants to be to help his team.

“Knowing your teammates have your back and going out there and producing for your teammates, showing them that you have their back, too,” De La Cruz said, “it feels really good."

De La Cruz’s efforts were definitely needed Friday. Starter Bailey Falter fell out of sync in the fourth and allowed five runs in five innings, and by the time he made his final out of the evening, the Pirates had yet to put a runner on base. But Joey Bart broke through with a bloop in the fifth to spark a four-run rally, and he would eventually drive home the tying run in the sixth before scoring on De La Cruz’s sacrifice fly.

August has been a trying month for the Pirates, which included losing their first eight one-run decisions this month. But on Friday, instead of mailing it in after falling behind big, they ended up matching their largest comeback of the season.

“Packing it in is not in our dictionary,” Falter said. “We’re always battling no matter what -- every pitch, every at-bat -- so we’re just trying to finish the year strong, and I feel like we’re doing pretty well right now.”