ST. LOUIS — When Ke'Bryan Hayes learned that Max Kranick was being promoted from Class AAA Indianapolis to start Sunday against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, he shot his good friend a text message.
Hayes and Kranick have known each other since instructional league in 2016. They share the same agency and have grown close throughout their respective minor league journeys.
Despite playing different positions, it’s hard to not link Hayes and Kranick after what transpired Sunday during a 7-2 Pirates victory, one that helped them take three of four from the Cardinals.
Kranick dazzled and gave the Pirates five perfect innings before it literally rained on his parade. And Hayes made a ridiculous, highlight-reel play to rob Yadier Molina, the fifth of 15 outs Kranick recorded on an afternoon he’ll never, ever forget.
One where he looked every bit as comfortable as Hayes last summer while debuting on baseball’s biggest stage.
“I felt like every pitch I threw was the biggest pitch of my life,” Kranick said. “I was tunneled in. It was a crazy feeling, an unbelievable feeling. I’ll remember this day forever.”
Before the game, manager Derek Shelton said the marching orders for Kranick, a Scranton native, were simple: pound the zone and have some fun.
Here’s guessing Shelton didn’t say anything about weathering the storm, although that’s what Kranick had to do during a first-inning downpour. No worries. He buzzed through the top of the Cardinals order on just seven pitches, a sign of what was to come.
“I learned a ton about his composure because the first inning, it was raining really hard,” Shelton said. “To be able to stay composed, couldn’t have been any better in terms of going right out, executing his fastball, going right after a good lineup. very impressive. Was unfortunate that the rain stopped him because he had five perfect innings and really did a nice job the entire time.”
Shelton said he did not think twice about keeping Kranick in after a 64-minute rain delay, and Kranick didn’t lobby to stick around. But with 50 pitches (36 strikes) thrown, it was way too big of a risk, especially given what Kranick could mean for the Pirates’ future now that he’s shortened his arm path and turned himself into a legitimate pitching prospect.
Kranick had an attack mentality from his first pitch and found success with his fastball and cutter. Prior to Sunday’s promotion, Kranick had been working on his curveball and getting a little more aggressive with its usage. His feel for the pitch wasn’t great early, but Kranick did an excellent job of plowing through.
“There were a lot of impressive things that he did out there [Sunday],” Shelton said. “The thing that impressed me probably the most — besides the composure in the first — was his tempo. He was in control of the game the whole time. That’s impressive not only for a young pitcher but a pitcher making his major league debut.”
Sound similar to Hayes? Because it should.
The Pirates scored three times in the first, thanks to four Cardinals walks and three Pittsburgh singles. In fact, Kranick actually took a swing before he threw a pitch, becoming just the second pitcher in Pirates history to hit before pitching while making his MLB debut. The only other was Paul Maholm on Aug. 30, 2005.
Did that help?
“I think so, yeah,” Kranick said. “Getting out there and officially being in the game, yeah, I think it helped me. It was definitely weird getting an at-bat in the first inning. I don’t think I’ve had that all year.”
In the bottom of the second inning and nobody on base, Hayes ranged to his right to field a grounder from Molina. While in foul territory and with his momentum taking him away from the bag, the third baseman somehow got off a throw hard enough to nail Molina for the second out of the inning.
The winner of three consecutive Gold Gloves in the minor leagues, we’ve come to expect terrific defense from Hayes. But this exceeded even the loftiest expectations. It’s a play that should be on his career highlight reel for a long, long time.
“I would be hard-pressed to say that’s not the play of the year,” Shelton gushed.
“Still speechless about it,” Ben Gamel added.
“It doesn’t really surprise me at this point,” Kranick said.
The offensive output was encouraging for the Pirates. Adam Frazier, Hayes and Bryan Reynolds combined to go 7 for 14 with three RBIs and four runs scored atop the order. Gamel had three hits, including a homer, two RBIs and two runs scored. Gregory Polanco homered for the second time in as many days.
But as much as this one meant to the current Pirates, who have been playing much better baseball while winning six of nine following a 10-game losing skid, it's also important for the big picture.
They’re going to need players like Hayes and Kranick to come up here and impress. They’re going to need players who are capable of seizing on this sort of opportunity and are undaunted by it all.
Kranick proved that Sunday, as the only thing capable of getting in his way turned out to be Mother Nature.
“He's grown a lot as a pitcher over the last year and a half, two years,” Hayes said. “He's been putting in a lot of work and effort on being consistent with his offspeed pitches. This year, it seems to be going well for him. Excited for him.
“Whenever I heard he was coming up, I texted him and told him congratulations first off. Then the other thing that I told him was to come up and just be Max, soak it in and pitch the way you know how to pitch."
Around the horn
Reynolds extended his hitting streak to 12 games, the longest active one in the National League. He’s hitting .429 (21 for 49) in those 12 games with three doubles, three home runs and 13 RBIs. … The Cardinals have issued an MLB-high 337 walks, including five Sunday. … What Kranick did felt a lot like Nick Kingham taking a perfect game into the seventh against the Cardinals at PNC Park on April 29, 2018.
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: June 27, 2021, 10:16 p.m.
