Pirates turn to Josh VanMeter at catcher after starter Roberto Perez injured, backup ejected
Share this post:
The Pittsburgh Pirates endured a double whammy when starting catcher Roberto Perez went down on the bases in the eighth inning Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds, leaving them without a backup.
Perez collapsed while rounding second base on a Ben Gamel single and exited the game with left hamstring discomfort. Complicating matters, it happened two innings after backup catcher Andrew Knapp was ejected by home plate umpire Will Little for criticizing a call from the dugout.
Narrator: something happened to Roberto Perez https://t.co/MipmisDr0d
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) May 7, 2022
As Perez was helped off the field by trainers Rafael Freitas and Tony Leo and limped through the visiting dugout, second baseman Josh VanMeter quickly realized that the Pirates were about to break the glass on their emergency catcher.
“It was pure panic,” said VanMeter, who quickly put on a protective cup and borrowed Knapp’s catching gear and a glove from Perez. “Then the inning was over, it felt like, and I had to be out there.”
Home plate umpire Will Little just ejected Pirates backup catcher Andrew Knapp from the visiting dugout, apparently for something he said. Just in case you're wondering what the Pirates would do if something happens to Roberto Perez …https://t.co/tomBrN4ZTR
— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) May 7, 2022
It proved disastrous for the Pirates, as the Reds scored seven runs for a 9-2 win in the first game of a doubleheader at Great American Ball Park to snap a nine-game losing streak. Between games, the Pirates placed Roberto Perez on the 10-day injured list and selected the contract of catcher Michael Perez from Triple-A Indianapolis. To make room on the 40-man roster, they designated lefty reliever Sam Howard for assignment.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton gave VanMeter “a ton of credit” for going behind the plate for the first time since he was 14 to catch the bottom of the eighth inning.
“It’s not an easy thing to do, and Wil Crowe’s not an easy guy to catch because his stuff is really good,” Shelton said, noting how Crowe had retired the first five batters he faced. “That was the unfortunate thing. The unfortunate thing was Wil Crowe because now, all of a sudden, you have to change your gameplan.”
With the help of Pirates gameplanning and strategy coach Radley Haddad, VanMeter did his best to call pitches and cover the strike zone but said communication was an issue.
“The pitchers did a good job of working with me and didn’t bounce too many balls, which made it easy,” VanMeter said. “It sucks that we lost and it unfolded that way, but it’s just part of the game. We needed somebody to step up, and I said I’d do it.”
Knapp, who started the second game of the doubleheader, took full responsibility for his ejection and how it forced the Pirates to turn to VanMeter when Perez left the game with the injury.
“It was a horrible feeling,” Knapp said of his ejection. “You feel terrible. It shouldn’t happen. I feel bad for the guys who came into the game to pitch, I feel bad for Josh, I feel bad for the whole team. It falls on me to be smarter than that. There’s really no excuse.”