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» » Kevin Gorman's Take 5: Pirates manager Derek Shelton had a 'pretty good' day with first win - TribLIVE

Kevin Gorman's Take 5: Pirates manager Derek Shelton had a 'pretty good' day with first win - TribLIVE

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Derek Shelton entered the Zoom room for the postgame interview following the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 5-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, his first win as a major-league manager, shook his soaking-wet silver hair and slicked it back.

“How was your guys’ day?” Shelton said. “Mine was pretty good.”

Shelton was on the receiving end of a celebratory shower of beer, apple juice, orange juice and whatever else Pirates players could get their hands on to douse their new skipper.

How did it feel?

“Exhilarating. Glad I got it. Glad we got it,” Shelton said. “It was exciting. It was a really well-played game. It’s a credit to our guys.”

Shelton was right: The Pirates played well.

They got a good start from Mitch Keller, who allowed one run in five innings, and a solid effort behind the plate by Jacob Stallings. They got great relief from JT Brubaker in his major-league debut, Michael Feliz with a 1-2-3 eighth and Nick Burdi striking out the side in the ninth. They got home runs from Colin Moran and Jose Osuna, three hits from Phillip Evans, Erik Gonzalez moving a runner into scoring position and Josh Bell hitting a sacrifice fly.

“We executed all the way around,” Shelton said. “We caught the ball. We made plays.”

Perhaps Shelton said it best on social media, as a video captured him smiling while holding the lineup card: “There are too many people to think in one tweet, but for now I just want to say this means the world to me.”

1. Opening line: When Derek Shelton met with Steven Brault, he explained that the Pittsburgh Pirates lefty would be pitching a home opener like none other.

For one, Shelton plans to have Brault pitch in tandem in a potential lefty-righty matchup Monday night against the Milwaukee Brewers, with a right-hander to be determined.

And Pirates fans won’t be allowed to attend the first home game at PNC Park, so this one won’t have the cache of a traditional home opener.

Brault is stretched out to pitch three innings, so his piggyback pitcher (likely Chad Kuhl, returning from Tommy John surgery) would follow for the next few innings before going to the bullpen.

“It’s probably more of a scheduling thing, where Shelty felt it made the most sense,” Brault said. “So it’s not necessarily the same, but I will take the honor for sure, and I’m excited to throw a home opener.”

2. Fooled ‘em: The velocity on Keller’s fastball was lacking in the 5-1 victory Sunday in St. Louis, as the right-hander was at 91.7 mph in the eight-pitch first inning and 92.2 in the 24-pitch second.

Not quite what the St. Louis Cardinals were expecting in their first time facing the 24-year-old Keller, the Pirates’ top prospect. He’s known to throw his four-seamer in the mid- to high-90s.

“Definitely velocity wasn’t up, but I just trusted (Jacob) Stallings,” Keller said. “We had a good game plan and kept them off-balance. The heater played. It was playing up in velocity even though it wasn’t 97 or whatever it may be. Just saw the swings that they were having told me they were behind it because of the other stuff we were using.”

Keller did a nice job of mixing his pitches, throwing the changeup and slider to keep the Cardinals guessing.

“Maybe having the lower velo there and higher spin rate made it look, perceived, a little bit harder than it actually was,” Keller said. “It’s definitely an advantage for me since they haven’t seen me. The next time out, we’ll have to keep changing the game plan up on them and keep them on their toes.”

3. What a relief: Brubaker learned last Wednesday that he made the 30-man Opening Day roster, with the catch that it wouldn’t be as a starter but rather a multi-inning reliever.

Brubaker dazzled in his major-league debut, relieving Keller and firing four strikeouts (and allowing three hits) in two innings.

“To be honest, I wouldn’t have dreamt of it any other way, other than possibly making a start,” Brubaker said. “I’ve been a starter throughout the minor leagues. But to go out there and watch him have the command and the shutdown stuff that he had and then for me to come in behind him, I felt even more confident that he did what he needed to do to put me in a position to where I was able to have success.

“As a starter, yeah, you want to limit the runs. You want to go out there and have your good start. But also you want to be able to set up the bullpen for the back end of the game. Keller threw a hell of a game. It was awesome to watch him go out there and dominate (innings) four and five. It was just a momentum builder for me in the ‘pen to where it’s like, ‘Wow, he has set me up for a good position to have success. Now I just have to build off of that and go out there and pitch my game.’”

4. Hello, goodbye: Derek Holland might have made major-league history by getting tossed before ever pitching for the Pirates, for something he shouted to home plate umpire Jordan Baker from the seats in the stands in the first.

Third baseman Phillip Evans joked that Holland’s ejection sparked the Pirates, who had a three-run third inning after a leadoff homer by Colin Moran and a two-run shot by Jose Osuna.

“I think Holland’s going to tell you it was 100 percent him but I would say it was we took good swings,” Shelton said, crediting the Pirates pitchers and hitters for their play. “If Holland wants to say it’s on him, we’ll definitely let him say that. That’s fine.”

5. Fine with Phil: Shelton raised eyebrows before training camp when he repeatedly mentioned Phillip Evans in the mix at third base and designated hitter.

A non-roster invitee to spring training, Evans hadn’t even made the team yet. But he took advantage of a strong camp and the absence of top position prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes, who was out after testing positive for covid-19.

Imagine Evans’ surprise when he earned back-to-back starts at third base, especially after he went 0-for-2 and was hit by a pitch in Saturday’s 9-1 loss in St. Louis. Evans followed that by going 3 for 4 on Sunday, with two singles, an RBI double and a run scored.

“Definitely huge,” said Evans, who played 34 games with the New York Mets in 2017 and ‘18. “Not too many times I got back-to-back starts in New York. It’s pretty special.”

Evans did it twice with the Mets in September 2017, starting against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 19-20 and against the Washington Nationals on Sept. 24 and Atlanta Braves on Sept. 25.

The Mets lost all four games, so this was the first time Evans started back-to-back games and his team won. That it marked Shelton’s first managerial win .

“Stoked for Shelty. This team’s going to surprise a lot of people down the road,” Evans said. “Just trying to do whatever I can to help the team win every night I see my name in that lineup, and just having fun with the guys out there.”

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email at kgorman@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Categories: Pirates/MLB | Sports

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