After swing adjustment, Pirates 3B Jared Triolo was ready for return to starting role

When the Pittsburgh Pirates placed third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes on the 10-day injured list with low back inflammation, it thrust Jared Triolo back into a starting role against the Texas Rangers.

This time, Triolo was ready.

After swinging and missing at Dane Dunning’s first knuckle-curveball, low and away, Triolo connected when the Rangers right-hander left his next offering over the middle of the plate.

Triolo drilled it down the left-field line, and it stayed inside the foul pole for a three-run homer in the third inning of a 4-3 loss to the Rangers on Monday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

“It felt good,” Triolo said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. “He missed a pitch right there, and I put a good enough swing on it to keep it fair and keep it between the lines.”

It was his second home run in a three-game span, a show of power that Triolo attributes to an adjustment he made in his approach. Working with Pirates hitting coach Andy Haines and integrated performance coach Jonny Tucker, Triolo said he created a “different setup (to) get in a better position when I make my move.”

Pirates manager Derek Shelton credited Triolo for taking “good swings” and for making the adjustment in his approach.

“I think we’re kind of seeing the benefits of it,” Shelton said. “He’s made a nice adjustment and having better at-bats. And with Ke’ being out, he’s going to get more at-bats.”

Triolo knew it was necessary, given that his bat cost him a starting job. He won the spring training competition at second base but switched to third when Hayes’ back bothered him in May.

Triolo batted .187 that month, dropping his season average to .203, and Nick Gonzales seized the starting role. When Gonzales went on the IL with a groin injury, the Pirates acquired Isiah Kiner-Falefa to play second base and left Triolo in a super utility role.

“Obviously,” Triolo said, “the results weren’t there at the beginning of the season.”

Although Triolo’s .201/.287/.295 slash line remains below average, his eight doubles, six homers and 31 RBIs in 278 plate appearances over 90 games are better than what Hayes was producing.

Hayes had a better batting average (.233) but only one more double, two fewer homers and six fewer RBIs in 365 plate appearances over 96 games. And Hayes was 1 for 24 in his last six games before his back troubles required a fifth IL stint in three years.

Where Hayes won the NL Gold Glove last season and ranks second among all third basemen with nine defensive runs saved, Triolo isn’t much of a downgrade at the position. A former minor-league Gold Glove winner, Triolo has recorded five DRS while playing first base, second base, third base, shortstop and even right field this season, including one DRS in 266 1/3 innings over 30 starts at third.

“I’m just trying to step in,” Triolo said, “and fill a spot right now.”