Francisco Cervelli teased Pablo Reyes after a popup fell between them, but he offered a hug too
By
Andrew Mearns
On Tuesday night, Clint Hurdle tabbed infielder Pablo Reyes to make his first career start in the Pirates' 7-3 win over the Reds. Having merely debuted as a pinch-hitter on Sunday, Reyes was definitely stoked about the opportunity for a bigger role. Through the first five innings, everything seemed to be going well. Reyes singled for his first MLB hit and had handled a pair of grounders without a problem. Things went slightly awry when fellow rookie Gabriel Guerrero lifted a popup in foul territory along the third-base line. Catcher Francisco Cervelli took a few steps to his right to track the ball and seemed to have a beat on it when he heard Reyes charging in behind him and calling for it. Cervelli deferred ...
... only to see Reyes miss the catch and get charged with an error. Ouch. Thankfully, Joe Musgrove struck Guerrero out anyway and there was no harm done. After the inning, Cervelli went up to Reyes in the dugout to give him a little ribbing, but also a reassuring hug:
That's just a nice moment between a veteran and a rookie. Kudos to Cervelli for lifting the weight off Reyes' shoulders. Perhaps encouraged by the pep talk, Reyes went on to notch his first RBI in the eighth inning, a double that nearly sailed over the right-field wall:
