PITTSBURGH -- As soon as Kyle Crick saw his 81.9 mph first-pitch slider zip past Paul DeJong for a called strike, he felt like the at-bat was over. One pitch into his ninth-inning appearance in the Pirates’ 6-5 loss to the Cardinals on Monday night, Crick looked like he was back at his best.
Crick wound up striking out DeJong and Yairo Munoz while retiring the side in order. He needed only 13 pitches, nine of them strikes, to finish the inning. It was Crick’s second clean, efficient outing in as many days -- and his third in his last four appearances -- an encouraging sign that Pittsburgh’s setup man has worked his way out of a brief funk during which he allowed six runs on seven hits and seven walks in 4 1/3 innings over five appearances.
“It was more so just a control issue, maybe just commanding and getting ahead. It’s a different game when you get ahead,” Crick said. “I would rather force someone to get a hit than walk them. One thousand percent of the time, they’re going to get on if you walk them versus taking a gamble and making them hit the ball. I like that gamble.”
It wasn’t an issue related to his delivery, Crick said. The right-hander is not a fan of tweaking and altering his mechanics during the season, especially when that delivery has helped him dominate hitters for most of the season. It was more about his mindset.
“Just attacking and just getting people out,” Crick said. “From pitch one, I’m not trying to fish for swing and misses and stuff like that. Just pounding the zone.”
It played out perfectly in a high-leverage spot, the ninth inning of a tie game, on Monday. Crick got ahead of DeJong with that first-pitch slider, which put DeJong on the defensive. The Cardinals’ shortstop fouled off the next pitch, a 95 mph fastball down in the zone, then went down swinging at one of Crick’s trademark, sweeping sliders as it darted away from the right-handed DeJong.
“Usually if I throw a first-pitch slider to someone for a strike, I think that at-bat’s over,” Crick said. “For me, personally, that’s my thought process.”
Crick got ahead of Kolten Wong, the next hitter, and induced a groundout to end a four-pitch at-bat. He fell behind Munoz, 3-1, fought his way back into the count with a fouled-off fastball and then finished Munoz with a swing-and-miss slider.
Crick’s continued bounce-back underscored what was shaping up to be a nice night for the bullpen, which was without closer Felipe Vazquez after he pitched on consecutive days, before right-hander Clay Holmes gave up four runs in the 10th. Michael Feliz, Francisco Liriano, Richard Rodriguez and Crick combined to work four scoreless, hitless, walk-free innings.
Kela to be activated after suspension
The Pirates intend to activate Opening Day setup man Keone Kela before Wednesday’s game against the Cardinals, manager Clint Hurdle said. The team issued Kela a two-game suspension before Monday’s series opener due to an undisclosed violation of his contract.
Hurdle declined to elaborate on the cause of Kela’s suspension or the club’s level of disappointment in the right-handed reliever, who has not pitched for Pittsburgh since May 4 due to a right shoulder injury. According to Yahoo! Sports and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Kela was involved in an argument with a team official inside the Pirates’ clubhouse. The altercation that led to Kela’s suspension took place between him and Hector Morales, the Pirates’ director of cultural readiness and peak performance coach, according to the Yahoo report.
The Pirates did not confirm either report, as the club stated on Monday that it would not comment further on the suspension.
“All the conversations we’re going to have are going to be internal,” Hurdle said.
The Pirates will have to make a roster move before activating Kela to clear a spot on the active roster. Kela last pitched in a game on Thursday, when he struck out the side in a rehab outing for Triple-A Indianapolis, but he threw what Hurdle called an “aggressive” bullpen session on Friday. Hurdle said the Bucs may ease Kela back into action with low-leverage appearances before testing him out in a big spot.
“Obviously we could use the help,” Hurdle said. “If he shows what he showed there, his performance level when he’s been on the mound, he’ll be good to have back in the bullpen.”