'It feels amazing': Liover Peguero delivers a no-doubt homer in best performance as a Pirate

Liover Peguero knew the moment he connected with Steven Cruz’s slider that it was gone, so the Pittsburgh Pirates rookie admired the ball as it sailed 416 feet into the seats just below the scoreboard in left field at Kauffman Stadium.

Pirates players watching from the visitor’s dugout looked at each other in awe of Peguero’s no-doubt, three-run homer in the top of the ninth Tuesday night that provided the cushion in a 6-3 win over the Kansas City Royals.

THAT BALL WAS BARBECUED. pic.twitter.com/UEhC9IbFTZ

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) August 30, 2023

“I think it’s more just the approach of what you should swing at,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said on the AT&T SportsNet postgame show. “The fact that he got it and got it as clean as he did, that’s something that really stands out.”

After going 0 for 9 with six strikeouts in the previous three games, Peguero snapped out of his funk in a big way. The 22-year-old middle infielder was 3 for 4 with three RBIs and two runs scored in his most complete performance for the Pirates.

“We’ve been working really hard,” Peguero said. “Seeing it happen, it makes me feel a lot more confidence and makes me have a lot more hope. As long as I keep working and putting that trust in my work, I’m going to keep doing this. It feels amazing.”

It marked the second three-hit game of Peguero’s career, with the first coming in a 7-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on July 29 when he blasted a 412-foot homer. It also was the second three-RBI game for Peguero, who did so on the night he hit his first major-league home run in an 8-4 win over the San Diego Padres on July 24 at Petco Park.

That was the same night Tucupita Marcano suffered a season-ending ACL injury, opening the door for Peguero to stay in the majors. Peguero has played 21 games at second base and 17 at shortstop since being promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis on July 17, committing only one error after having 13 at Double-A Altoona this season.

The Pirates love the thunder in his bat, as Peguero has six home runs and 20 RBIs in 33 games. He improved his slash line to .248/.300/.446 with Tuesday’s performance, increasing his batting average by 21 points, his on-base percentage by 17 points and his slugging by 44 points.

Peguero is trying to take his struggles in stride.

“This game is hard,” Peguero said. “All I need to do is recognize that and work through. I’ve been working really hard, and I just trust the work I’ve been putting in. I feel like I’ve got nothing to be scared of.”

After going down looking at a called third strike on a changeup below the strike zone in his first at-bat against Royals lefty Cole Hagans — Peguero’s seventh strikeout in 10 at-bats — he got the Pirates’ first hit by driving a 97.4 mph fastball at the top of the strike zone for a two-out single to right field in the fifth inning.

“He got the ball up,” Shelton said. “The ball away from him looked like it gave him some trouble. He got the ball up and a little bit closer to him and was able to capitalize on it. The first hit, the fastball up at 97, just a really nice, short stroke to it.”

Peguero started the eighth inning by reaching on a bunt toward third, scoring on Ke’Bryan Hayes’ two-run homer. Peguero, who joked that he and Jared Triolo refer to Hayes as “Dad,” called it “a privilege” to play alongside Hayes on the left side of the infield.

“I feel like having someone like him in the infield gives me a lot of confidence,” Peguero said. “It makes everything more fun.”