In the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday, Wil Crowe crossed paths with Chad Kuhl inside an empty and quiet Pirates clubhouse.
The two Pirates pitchers, at various stages of completing their post-throwing work, had watched the Pirates offense scuffle for much of the afternoon when Yoshi Tsutsugo stepped to the plate with a pair of runners on against Cardinals closer Alex Reyes.
“Chad walked by and said, ‘How about a Yoshi bomb here?’ ” Crowe recalled. “We were like, ‘Yeah, that would be awesome.’ ”
Hopefully Crowe and Kuhl played the lottery, as their wish almost instantly came true — Tsutsugo smacking a first-pitch slider from Reyes over the right-field seats and onto the concourse to deliver a 4-3, walk-off victory over St. Louis in the final game of this four-game series at PNC Park.
As the 422-foot shot sizzled off Tsutsugo’s bat at 105.8 mph, Crowe and Kuhl saw and heard the excitement emanating from the AT&T SportsNet broadcast. Crowe eventually checked the high-home camera in time to see the on-field celebration that ensued, teammates mobbing the heavy-hitting newbie.
“Yoshi is awesome,” Crowe said. “We're locker mates, and we talk a little bit. He’s a really good teammate, and it's good to see him start off and get going with us. He’s hot. It's awesome to watch a good player. It's fun to have him in that lineup.”
The about-face Tsutsugo has done since the Pirates signed him on Aug. 16 has been impressive. In 13 games with the Pirates, he’s now hitting .333 with a 1.424 OPS that includes two doubles, a triple, five home runs and 11 RBIs. Only one of his hits has not gone for extra bases.
What Tsutsugo has become for the Pirates is certainly worth discussing, and we’ll get there. But not without an appreciation for what his powerful blast did to lift the Pirates on another slow day at the plate against a Cardinals club that has given them fits.
Before Tsutsugo’s home run, the Pirates had combined for three singles Sunday — all in the fourth inning, all in a row. Kwang Hyun Kim, making his first start since Aug. 7 due to left elbow inflammation, and a parade of Cardinals relievers basically pitched like they were related to Adam Wainwright for eight innings.
Furthermore, the Pirates had lost Ke’Bryan Hayes to right hand discomfort. At some point earlier, Hayes suffered a contusion and was removed after the seventh inning. Backup catcher Michael Perez pinch hit and struck out when that spot came up in the eighth.
After Tsutsugo ended it, helping the Pirates improve to 6-4 over their past 10, they got some good news when Derek Shelton said X-rays on Hayes’ hand revealed no fracture; Hayes is day to day, and nothing more, the manager added.
As for Tsutsugo, the early returns since he joined the team a couple weeks ago in Los Angeles have been nothing but positive, especially at it relates to the Japanese star’s previously latent power.
“It’s been extremely impressive, and I think it’s a credit to Yoshi,” Shelton said. “This is a guy who had a really good career in Japan. He’s come over to the big leagues and scuffled at times, went down to the minor leagues and worked on things and made adjustments. We’re reaping the benefits of that.”
Chances are you know Tsutsugo’s story by now. Signed by the Rays in December 2019 for two years and $12 million. Middling results in Tampa before being designated for assignment, then a brief MLB stint with the Dodgers.
There was some beneficial work in the minor leagues with Class AAA Oklahoma City, where Tsutsugo hit 10 home runs, collected 32 RBIs and had an OPS of .868 in 43 games, before L.A. released him Aug. 14.
What Tsutsugo did down there wasn’t terribly complicated, he has insisted. Some minor mechanical tweaks and better syncing his swing to hit high-velocity heaters. Whatever he has changed, it has worked, with the left-handed hitter showing all kinds of power in his time with the Pirates.
“It’s really comfortable for me,” Tsutsugo said through translator Brian Tobin. “The manager, staff, my teammates, we joke around a lot and make it a really nice environment for me. It was really easy for me to transition to this team.”
The fascinating thing here involves what happens next. Tsutsugo will be a free agent this offseason and probably profiles best as a designated hitter in the American League. It’s also true that the Pirates need a lot more talent than they have now, and they could conceivably have a spot for Tsutsugo to play.
If, of course, he improves his defense some and continues to crush the ball the way he has through the first couple weeks of his time here, using a strong core and plenty of torque created with his hips and legs to quickly become one of the Pirates’ most powerful hitters.
“He’s going out and getting the pitch he thinks he can drive and impact, and he’s done a really nice job and been consistent with it,” Shelton said. “Fortunately for us, he’s gotten some of those balls in the air that have gone out of the ballpark.”
Before Tsutsugo’s home run, it looked like a two-run bomb from Pirates-killer Tommy Edman would be the difference. Edman went down and got a fastball from Crowe and drove it over the center-field fence to give the Cardinals a 3-1 lead.
Edman finished the series 9 for 18 (.500) in four games with 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 9 RBIs and 7 runs scored.
Tyler O’Neill’s triple off the Clemente Wall — and past Tsutsugo — scored Edman for the Cardinals’ first run. The Pirates tied the score via Tsutsugo’s sacrifice fly in the fourth.
Reyes walked Bryan Reynolds, struck out Colin Moran and walked Jacob Stallings before leaving that slider over the heart of the plate to Tsutsugo, who knew he got it the moment the ball left his bat.
“Obviously I’m happy about that,” Tsutsugo said of collecting his first walkoff home run and RBIs. “But I’m really happy that I was able to help the team win.”
Around the horn
Moran went 1 for 4 and hit .424 in nine home games against the Cardinals this season. … Terrific job by the bullpen Sunday. Kuhl, David Bednar and Chris Stratton combined to work four scoreless innings. They allowed one hit, walked one and struck out seven. Kuhl looked especially good in a 1-2-3 seventh that featured a pair of strikeouts. “Our bullpen was outstanding,” Shelton said.
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: August 29, 2021, 8:13 p.m.
