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Pirates starting pitcher Rich Hill, right, is greeted at the dugout steps as he leaves the baseball game during the seventh inning against the St. Louis Cardinals in Pittsburgh, Sunday, June 4, 2023.
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‘The perfect guy’: Rich Hill helps Pirates punctuate stellar weekend with sweep of Cardinals

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

‘The perfect guy’: Rich Hill helps Pirates punctuate stellar weekend with sweep of Cardinals

No current MLB player knows more about how much things can change in a week than Rich Hill, who has experienced more than 600 seven-day stretches in the major leagues since making his debut during the George W. Bush administration.

As recently as last Monday, when Hill ceded six earned runs in six innings during a 10-run loss to the Giants on Memorial Day, it was not a pretty picture for the Pirates, their hot start reduced to a faint flicker.

Yet after this weekend’s three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals — punctuated by a terrific performance from Hill during a 2-1 victory on Sunday at PNC Park — the conversation surrounding the Pirates has shifted.

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Sunday’s victory marked five in a row, Pittsburgh’s longest winning streak since stacking seven straight wins in April. The Pirates completed their fourth sweep of the season and first against the Cardinals at home since April 27-29, 2018.

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“That,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said, “is what veteran starters do.” And he’s not wrong.

The Pirates bullpen was taxed, having covered 12 innings the past two nights, in large part due to Saturday’s rain delay. Hill, at 43 MLB’s oldest player and in his 19th season, has been around and knows when it’s time for a starting pitcher to step up.

Not only that, the start time of Sunday’s game was shifted to 11:35 a.m. because of MLB’s partnership with Peacock. A younger pitcher might’ve struggled to prepare for such an odd time. Not Hill, who was drafted for the first time (1999) the same year five of his current teammates were born.

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“Whatever the time or moment, it’s the perfect condition to go out there and pitch,” Hill said. “You have to go out there with the same attitude.”

There’s plenty of truth here. While Hill on a non-start day might make fun of himself for getting up early or his desire to do odd things like walk golf courses on the road, there’s a seriousness to his preparation that goes unmatched on the Pirates pitching staff.

Austin Hedges talked about Hill arriving hours before he’s supposed to throw a bullpen session. Approached for an interview earlier this season, Jason Delay said he couldn’t talk and risk being late to catch Hill.

When other Pirates pitchers throw, Hill will sit and watch, quietly offering notes and observations. After three years of the Pirates badly needing a presence like this, Hill has provided it.

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And did so in a more public way Sunday.

“Every time he picks up a baseball, I know he feels blessed to be able to continue to do this for a living,” Hedges said. “I think that’s one of the best things he can teach our young guys.

“He was the perfect guy to go out there. The energy that he brings, I think the boys fed off it and got us the win.

Despite all of that, early traffic on the bases could’ve shifted the outcome in an undesirable way. Hill walked the leadoff man in three of his first four innings. He didn’t enjoy a 1-2-3 frame until the fifth. The Cardinals went twice through the order in four innings. Yet nobody scored.

Two of the first four innings ended with strikeouts, as Hill deftly throttled his fastball, curveball and cutter up and down at the appropriate times. A vintage performance from a vintage performer.

“He just needed to settle into each inning,” Hedges said. “Obviously the results were outstanding.”

With a record of 31-27, the Pirates remained only a half game back of the Brewers in the NL Central. It’s looking more and more like May was a fluke. They might not be 20-9 good, but they’re also not 8-18 bad. The truth should be somewhere in the middle.

Sort of like Hill, if you think about it. He had allowed 11 earned runs over his last two outings but got back to normal with 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball, walking three and striking out six.

“We know we have a very good team,” Hill said. “We know if we continue to put in the work, it'll start the show every night on the field."

ON THE MOUND

After a sizable dry spell where he did not have a save chance from May 5-28, David Bednar has enjoyed an avalanche of opportunities lately — and has made good on them.

Bednar has picked up saves in each of his last four games dating back to the Giants series, lowering his ERA to 1.13 in the process. The Mt. Lebanon-born, Mars-raised Bednar continues to rank in the top-five of nearly every meaningful stat.

“It's huge,” Bednar said of the sweep. “They're a division rival. We started the month off strong, and now we're just going to try and keep it rolling."

Dauri Moreta, who began the day ranked 10th among National League relievers in ERA (1.69), sixth in batting average against (.133) and fifth in strikeouts (37), stranded a runner in the seventh.

Yohan Ramirez, who’s tied for the fifth-lowest ERA (1.35) among NL relievers, then delivered a 1-2-3 eighth to get the ball to Bednar.

AT THE PLATE

Ji Hwan Bae supplied all the offense the Pirates would need, as they rallied in the first inning against Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas. The Pirates utility man, who was batting .359 in his previous 11 starts, knocked a 2-1 fastball up the middle for a two-run single.

“He’s toned everything down,” Shelton said of bae. What a quote, too. Bae (2 steals) has been more cautious on the bases. He’s leaning into a more contact-based approach, which he should be doing.

Also notable was the continued resurgence of Ke’Bryan Hayes, who had three hits. The Pirates third baseman is now 9 for 16 over his past four, with a double, triple, two home runs and seven RBIs. Hayes’ 14 RBIs since May 19 at the fourth-most in the National League during that time.

“I think what we’re seeing is the hard work paying off,” Shelton said. “He continues to be in the right spot with his mechanics.”

QUOTABLE

“That’s a good team over there, regardless of their record. To win three in a row against any team is tough, but against them, it’s real sweet.” — Hedges

UP NEXT

Johan Oviedo will start against the Athletics on Monday. The right-hander is averaging 6.83 runs of support this season.

Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.

First Published: June 4, 2023, 5:55 p.m.
Updated: June 5, 2023, 9:34 a.m.

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