Pirates veteran catcher Yasmani Grandal finally finds footing, gets in a groove at the plate

There was a heightened level of concern for Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton when Yasmani Grandal came to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning against Cincinnati Reds closer Alexis Diaz.

With Joey Bart leaving the game in the first inning with left hamstring discomfort, Shelton had no choice but to keep the Grandal in the game instead of using a pinch runner for the 35-year-old catcher.

Admitting that Grandal isn’t the most “fleet of foot,” Shelton worried that a ground ball could set up a game-ending double play. Instead, Grandal blasted a two-run home run for a 4-3 walk-off win Sunday at PNC Park.

“He ended it himself,” Shelton said, “so not going to have to worry about that.”

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Now, the Pirates (62-68) might have to worry about what to do at catcher. The expectation is that Bart’s injury will require a stint on the 10-day injured list and 2021 No. 1 overall draft pick Henry Davis will be recalled. Grandal called losing Bart’s bat a “big hit” — he has 12 homers, 39 RBIs and an .844 OPS in 63 games this season — but Davis is batting .307/.401/.555 with 13 homers and 43 RBIs in 57 games at Triple-A Indianapolis.

“The fact that he went down, it’s next man up now,” Grandal said of Bart. “I’m here to do my job. I’m here to fill in wherever the team needs me. If they want to put me back there for the next 20, then go right ahead.”

The Pirates can take some comfort in knowing that Grandal has finally found his groove at the plate.

After missing the majority of spring training with plantar fasciitis and starting the season on the injured list, Grandal’s 13th major league season has been a struggle. He was batting .163 after 32 games on June 11 and had only raised his average to .171 by July 4.

Since then, however, Grandal has become one of the Pirates’ most consistent hitters. He had a .281/.349/.561 slash line with four doubles, four homers and six RBIs in his previous 18 games, and the on-base percentage most closely resembles his career numbers (.343).

“He’s very important to us and he’s been very important to us all year,” Shelton said. “I know at times he struggled offensively and he’s a little bit older, but he’s smart. He’s very smart. If you (research on) Baseball Reference this guy and look at his offensive numbers through the course of his career, he’s been an elite hitter.”

It took time for Grandal to find his footing and make adjustments to how his body was moving and what he needed to do to start becoming productive at the plate.

“That was the hardest part,” Grandal said, “actually getting my legs underneath me.”

Meantime, Grandal has focused on his pregame preparation with the starting rotation and pitch calling that has made him the personal catcher for Pirates phenom Paul Skenes. Grandal has been behind the plate for all but two of Skenes’ 17 starts this season. The rookie right-hander noted that he almost never shakes off his catcher’s pitch calls as an indicator of his trust in Grandal.

“He’s done a lot for me,” Skenes said. “Just between outings, teaching me about my stuff and how to pitch. He sees things. He knows things about my stuff that I don’t even know about it. There will be times where I’m out there, and I don’t exactly know why he’s calling a pitch, where he calls it or something like that. Then it works perfectly. I’ll come in and ask him why. He’ll tell me. That’s pretty much how it’s been the whole year. Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have my rookie year and be able to pitch to a 13-year vet like him.”

Shelton credited Grandal’s penchant for coming up with clutch hits, citing his three-run home run against the Chicago Cubs in the fifth inning of Skenes’ debut on May 11 as a perfect example. His two-run shot off Diaz for the walk-off win over the Reds illustrated the point.

“I was just looking for a pitch that I can get in the air,” Grandal said. “Obviously, a ball on the ground there is not good for me. He gave it to me and I put a good swing on it.”