Colin Moran quells concerns over hand injury by powering Pirates since his return from IL

Colin Moran couldn’t hide his frustration when he was hit by a pitch in the left wrist by Colorado Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland, a fracture that would sideline the Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman for five weeks.

Moran already had missed 24 games with a left groin strain earlier this season, so he knew he faced another round of recovery that started with working with the team’s medical staff and trainers and ended with a rehabilitation assignment at Triple-A Indianapolis.

“When it happens, you’re a little disappointed, but you try to give yourself a couple days and just look forward to … working on what you need to do to try to get better and just try to look forward,” Moran said. “Once I started feeling better, I didn’t put much thought into how it would hinder me.”

Moran was batting .297 with four home runs and 19 RBIs in his first 32 games, so Pirates manager Derek Shelton worried the fracture of the left pisiform bone — located on the outer half of the base of his hand — would affect not only his swing but the grip strength of one of the Pirates’ top power bats.

“You’re always concerned about anything that involves the hand,” Shelton said. “He’s been hit on both of them this year, so that is something that is concerning. Grip strength is a big thing, and sometimes it can come and go when you get hit, so you are concerned about that. As long as he’s taking good swings, he’s gonna impact the ball because he’s a strong guy.”

The injury hasn’t hindered the lefty-hitting Moran, who is batting .304 (17 for 56) with two doubles, three home runs and nine RBIs since returning from the injured list Aug. 6. Those numbers were boosted Thursday night when he went 4 for 5 with a two-run homer in the 11-7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

“Colin has a really good feel for what he wants to do with the barrel of the bat in his swing,” Shelton said. “Sometimes, guys will lose that and they’ll need to do some work. He was out there (early) making sure he stayed underneath himself and had a good idea of where the barrel was, and it translated into a really nice night.”

It marked Moran’s fifth multi-hit game in August. Moran’s 394-foot, two-run shot to right field in the third inning was his first home run since a two-homer, four-RBI performance against the Cardinals on Aug. 12.

Moran’s .286 batting average, .437 slugging percentage, seven homers and 32 RBIs are all tied for fourth among current Pirates players this season, despite playing in only 67 games.

“Trying to look for ways to leverage my power the best,” Moran said. “Trying to hit the ball where it’s pitched, but also really trying to drive the ball as well as I can has been the focus. I think it’s been good and bad, but I’m improving and trying to make adjustments as we go and try to always get better.”