ST.LOUIS -- After coming off the 10-day disabled list on Friday, Adam Frazier wasted no time testing the health of his healed right hamstring. In his first start off the DL, he put together a solid offensive performance that included an inside-the-park home run in the Pirates' 4-3 loss to the Cardinals on Saturday.
Frazier's hit went straight to center field; the Cardinals' William Fowler hit the wall attempting to catch the ball, resulting in a left knee contusion. Once Frazier realized that the ball had dropped and that Fowler was down, he turned up the speed.
"Off the bat, I thought it was either gone or caught," Frazier said. "Fowler's pretty good out there, just got over his glove, I guess, and I didn't see anybody around other than him laying there, so I took off."
Frazier's trip around the bases took 15.70 seconds, and the Cardinals could not get the ball back to the infield in time to even make a close play at home, allowing him to score without having to slide.
"I was just running and threw the helmet off and just kept going," he said. "[Andrew McCutchen was] saying, 'Stand up,' so I was pretty happy about that. I guess that was a pretty good sign that I'm good to go. ... Any time you get the chance to get an inside-the-park homer, I'm going for it. I'm just happy to come out unscathed."
Frazier's healthy run around the bases gave him his fifth homer of the season and the Pirates' first inside-the-parker since McCutchen hit one on Sept. 10, 2014, off Jerome Williams. It was also the first at Busch Stadium III since Edwin Encarnacion legged one out with the Reds on Aug. 31, 2007.

Frazier went 2-for-5 on the night, with an RBI ground-rule double in addition to the homer, and made the final out of the game after a tough 10-pitch at-bat against former teammate Juan Nicasio, who recorded his second straight save.

Frazier is slashing .285/.354/.399 this season and has now recorded an RBI in back-to-back games after a pinch-hit RBI single on Friday. Before going on the DL, he was hitting well in August, averaging .364 and recording a seven-game hitting streak.
"Against some tough pitchers, to have a couple fall in, it felt good," Frazier said of the success off the DL. "I feel like I'm in a good spot offensively."
Although both Frazier and manager Clint Hurdle like what Frazier has been accomplishing from the plate, Hurdle could have done without him testing his injury in such dramatic fashion.
"That's not what we're looking for, a trip around the bases like that," Hurdle said. "We'll see how he is tomorrow. ... That tested him, seemed to be OK, and then put [together] a 10-pitch at-bat late. He obviously swung the bat very well tonight."