The ‘pirate captain’ broke away, but the crew remained calm.
The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Seattle Mariners 7-2 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Wednesday (Korea time). With the victory, the Pirates recorded two consecutive wins and confirmed their victory in the series.
The victory was meaningful. The victory came at a time when Andrew McCutchen, who was serving as the team’s No. 1 designated hitter, was out. The game on the day was a demonstration of how Pittsburgh would handle the game without McCutchen.
Chances are high that Isaiah Kiner-Palepa will be the main hitter. Kiner-Palepa was the first hitter again on the day, and led the team’s offense with three hits, including a leadoff home run in the first inning.
Head coach Derek Shelton said, “The leadoff position will be mainly taken by IKF (Kainer-Palepa’s nickname),” signaling that Kainer-Palepa will mainly play the role of the first hitter today.
“As if my position is a utility (to enter any position), I feel comfortable no matter where I come from in the batting lineup. I will do whatever position my team wants comfortably,” Kiner-Palepa said. “I will not be tied to batting order.”
The position of designated hitter is a bit complicated. Shelton said, “We will take turns using players as designated hitters,” adding, “We will not have a built-in designated hitter.”
He believes that he will use it as a means to manage players’ physical strength and injuries. O’Neill Cruz, who injured his ankle while running on base on the previous day, played as the designated hitter in the game.
“I’m not used to the designated hitter position,” Cruz said, but added, “I think it’s especially helpful in the second half of the season like now. If I come out as a designated hitter like this once in a while, I’ll get a chance to take a rest,” adding that the appointment of a designated hitter will be helpful.
Brian Reynolds, who failed to play on the day due to a back injury, is expected to be a designated hitter more frequently if he continues to be in poor physical condition. Coach Shelton said, “I could have come out if I wanted to come out as a substitute, but I thought it would be beneficial to give the day a good rest.” He said the game was fully rested.
Shelton said, “We’re playing 13 consecutive games now, so I think it’s important to give the players a proper chance to rest,” adding, “It will help the main players to manage their physical strength to have an equal opportunity for designated hitters.”
As such, McCutchen’s role has been replaced by someone. But it will not be easy to replace the mental pillar of the team and his upward trajectory with a batting average of 0.367 in August.
“It will be a challenge for us,” Shelton said. “It will not be easy to fill in McCutchen’s vacancy.” Kiner-Falefa also said that a player like McCutchen is irreplaceable.
McCutchen, who has been suffering from knee pain recently. Did he need more careful management?
In this regard, Shelton said, “We gave him a three-day break at the end of the last home series, and we continued to manage him by replacing the runner. The batting was going really well, so I talked to him every day and checked his condition. I told him honestly that one of the things he did really well was that he was in bad shape,” stressing that he did his best to manage the players.토토사이트 모음
McCutchen ended the season early last year due to an Achilles tendon injury in his left foot in early September. “This is a completely different injury from September last year,” Shelton said. “The situation is different from last year.”
He added, “If you are a 38-year-old player who has played outfield most of your career, you will be sick.”
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