Hurdle goes all-in, gets rewarded with a win

PITTSBURGH -- Trailing by one run in the sixth inning with two runners in scoring position, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle made a series of aggressive moves that nearly emptied his already short bench. As rain poured down on PNC Park, that felt like the Bucs’ best chance to get back in the game.

When they didn’t score, it seemed as if they had taken their shot and missed. But the urgency of those moves caught the Pirates’ attention, said Kevin Newman, one of the players called into action in the sixth. And it was Newman who came through in the seventh, knocking a go-ahead triple to right field in the Pirates’ 6-4 win over the A’s.

“All those moves, rain coming down and everything, we were all-in right then -- and we knew it,” Newman said. “It’s a good little jolt, took us through the rest of the game, and we were able to pull it out.”

Batting with nobody out in the sixth, Francisco Cervelli dropped a sacrifice bunt to move Bryan Reynolds to third base and Colin Moran to second. Within about 45 seconds, Hurdle summoned three of the four hitters available on Pittsburgh’s bench.

Newman entered as a pinch-runner for Moran. Hot-hitting veteran outfielder Melky Cabrera pinch-hit for shortstop Cole Tucker, only to be intentionally walked. (Hurdle later said he wished he had been able to guarantee a spot for Cabrera to hit.) Then, with one out and the bases loaded, Jung Ho Kang pinch-hit in the pitcher’s spot and struck out against reliever Liam Hendriks. Adam Frazier popped out, ending the inning with the Pirates still trailing by a run.

“We pushed all the chips in,” Hurdle said.

But the Pirates cashed in on their next opportunity.

Gregory Polanco, who misplayed a few balls in right field during the game, blasted a one-out double off the Clemente Wall. Josh Bell (retired) was intentionally walked -- an understandable decision after he went deep twice in his first career multi-homer game. After extending his career-opening hitting streak to 11 games in the third inning, Reynolds slapped a grounder that left runners on the corners with two outs.

Up came Newman, fresh off the injured list and brought into the game for his speed on the bases, against righty J.B. Wendelken. The rookie fouled off a first-pitch fastball, took Wendelken’s second pitch for a ball, then launched a 1-1 fastball into the right-field corner for a two-run triple that put the Pirates ahead, 5-4.

For all the moves Hurdle made in the sixth, it was the one player he didn’t send up to bat who came through with the biggest hit of the night. It was Newman’s second game-winning hit of the season -- he had ripped a walk-off double on April 6, only a few days before he was sidelined by a lacerated middle finger.

“I like to be the guy that goes up there in that situation,” Newman said. “I want the bat. I want to come through for my teammates. To get a couple of them this early is definitely awesome.”

Cervelli, who began the night batting just .169, then smacked an RBI single to left to give the Bucs a two-run lead. With only backup catcher Elias Diaz remaining on Pittsburgh’s bench, pitcher Joe Musgrove pinch-hit for reliever Michael Feliz -- who had entered the game in an emergency for injured reliever Keone Kela and recorded three key outs -- and laid down a perfectly executed bunt single that further energized the Pirates even though their rally stalled after that.

“That was perfect,” Newman said. “We were all fired up in the dugout.”

Kyle Crick worked a clean eighth inning, and closer Felipe Vázquez worked around a two-out single in the ninth to pick up his ninth save of the season. Just like that, the Pirates had made the most of a day that began with yet another dose of bad injury news and washed away the sour taste of Friday night’s ugly, 14-1 loss.

“We’re a team that understands the sun’s going to come up the next day regardless of what happened the night before,” said starter Trevor Williams, who worked through a three-run first to pitch six innings. “We’re a gritty bunch, and we showed it today.”

Injury update

Kela exited the game due to right shoulder discomfort after throwing seven pitches in the seventh inning. The right-hander gave up a double to A’s rookie Skye Bolt then waved toward the Pirates’ dugout. Head athletic trainer Bryan Housand came out to the mound to check on Kela, who walked to the dugout without throwing a warm-up pitch. Hurdle did not provide an update on Kela’s status immediately after the game.