Rookie RF Billy Cook shines on Roberto Clemente Day as Pirates top Royals

All of the Pittsburgh Pirates wore No. 21 in celebration of MLB’s Roberto Clemente Day, but rookie Billy Cook paid tribute in ways that captured the essence of the late Hall of Fame right fielder’s style of play.

Cook prevented the Kansas City Royals from scoring a run, turning a would-be sacrifice fly into a double play by firing a perfect one-hop throw to get Tommy Pham out at home plate in the third inning.

“Sometimes,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said, “the angels watch over you.”

Then Cook singled and raced from first around the bases on Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s single to score the go-ahead run in the fifth, when the Pirates added another run on a bases-loaded walk by Rowdy Tellez for a 4-3 win Sunday afternoon before 20,078 at PNC Park.

The Pirates (71-78) got several big defensive plays and a solid performance from the bullpen to prevent the Royals (82-68) from sweeping the three-game series.

“That’s a good baseball team, and they do a lot of things well,” Shelton said. “They make you work, and we played a good game.”

Jared Jones struggled with fastball command and was inefficient in throwing 97 pitches over four innings and allowing two runs on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts in four innings. But the rookie right-hander stranded runners in scoring position in the second, third and fourth innings.

“He had the opportunity that he could have given up more runs, and he was able to pitch out of jams,” Shelton said. “Even though it was only four innings, even though it was only five punchouts, he got out of two jams that didn’t allow runs to score that allowed us to stay in the game.

“I think that’s a growing moment for him, and that’s what I told him when he came out: He kept us in the game. I know it wasn’t what he wanted to do. I know it wasn’t as efficient as he’s been, but sometimes when you’re a starting pitcher and you don’t have your best stuff, your goal is to keep the team in the game and he did that.”

The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Kiner-Falefa hit a leadoff single to center and scored on a Bryan Reynolds double to the left-field corner.

After striking out the first two batters he faced in the first, Jones started the second by loading the bases with no outs after sandwiching walks of Michael Massey and Adam Frazier around a Paul DeJong single.

The Royals tied it at 1-1 on Yuli Gurriel’s sacrifice fly on a line drive to center that Oneil Cruz chased down to make an underhand catch. Jones finished with two more strikeouts, getting Maikel Garcia looking and Garrett Hampson swinging.

Tommy Pham started the third with a triple, blasting a ball off the Clemente Wall that bounced past Cook. Bobby Witt Jr. worked a nine-pitch at-bat before hitting a slider for a fly ball down the right-field line for an apparent sacrifice fly.

But Cook caught it and fired a one-hop throw to catcher Joey Bart, who tagged a head-first sliding Pham in the face for a double play. It was a reminder of the rocket-armed Clemente, a Hall of Fame right fielder who was a 12-time Gold Glove winner for the Pirates. The Royals challenged the call, but it was upheld after video review.

“The throw he made,” Shelton said, “was kind of fitting on Clemente Day in right field.”

Cook said he just wanted the throw to give the Pirates a chance.

“I mean, just tried to put it on the money,” Cook said. “Sometimes, you keep it on a line, sometimes you get a one-hop. But, yeah, just give him a shot.”

Back-to-back doubles by Gurriel and Garcia gave the Royals a 2-1 lead in the fourth.

Jones compounded his problems by making an errant throw to second in a pickoff attempt, and Garcia advanced to third. Hampson drew a full-count walk to put runners on the corners, but Jones struck out Pham and got Witt to fly out to center.

Nick Gonzales’ RBI groundout tied the score in the bottom of the fourth, and Cook broke the tie in the fifth. He hit a leadoff single to left and scored from first on a hit-and-run when Kiner-Falefa singled a on a ground ball through short as he was waved home by third-base coach Mike Rabelo.

“That’s a great send by Rabs,” Shelton said. “But he’s allowed to make the send because Billy never hesitates, he never breaks stride. We get a run on a ground ball to center field just because of the fact of his awareness. Outstanding.”

Royals starter Brady Singer (9-11) had six strikeouts in allowing four runs on six hits, but it was the four walks that doomed him. He walked Cruz on four pitches and Bart on a full count before Tellez drew a bases-loaded walk to give the Pirates a 4-2 lead.

The Royals rallied in the sixth, when Colin Holderman loaded the bases when Gurriel walked, Garcia singled and Kyle Isbel was hit by a pitch. When Witt drew a two-out walk to score Gurriel and cut it to 4-3, the Pirates turned to Dennis Santana to get Perez to fly out to right. Santana then pitched a scoreless seventh.

Shelton called it “probably the biggest out of the game.”

“We got Salvador Perez up with a 4-3 game and to get a pop-up and then be able to go out and give us the next inning, too,” Shelton said. “It was the highest-leverage situation of the game. Dennis continues to do a really effective job for us.”

After Roberto Clemente Award nominee David Bednar pitched a clean eighth, Aroldis Chapman faced the heart of the Royals order in the ninth and got Witt to ground to short, struck out Perez and got pinch hitter Robbie Grossman to ground out to third to earn his ninth save.

For Cook, acquired from Baltimore in late July, having a standout performance in right field was the best way to honor Clemente on a day when his No. 21 was stenciled into the grass in right field and adorned the backs of the Pirates’ home white jerseys.

“It was awesome seeing the 21, and I think even more special because it was just out in right field,” Cook said. “And he played an amazing right field. So, just being able to play the game the right way out there as a tribute to him while wearing the number, really special. Again, that’s my first ‘Clemente Day.’ So having the privilege to be at home, in right field today was very special.”