Polanco, Gonzalez put on a show in series opener

C Francisco Cervelli (John Heller/Post-Gazette)

Gregory Polanco and Carlos Gonzalez, the Pirates and Colorado Rockies right fielders, were sensational Friday night. The Pirates won, 5-3, but Polanco and Gonzalez both played pivotal roles in keeping the series opener close.

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Polanco continued his second-half surge with a 3 for 5 night. He singled twice, got a hustle double — in just ahead of Gonzalez’s bull’s-eye throw — scored twice, stole a base and drove in an insurance run.

Oh, and got two outfield assists — his eighth and ninth this season. The first came after a veteran read on Nick Hundley’s hard line drive off the Clemente Wall. Polanco turned and gunned the ball in so quickly Jordy Mercer had time to throw back to first to catch Hundley retreating.

We’ll get to Polanco’s second throw later.

To Gonzalez …

His 31st homer of the year was a moonshot to center, and it tied the game 3-3 in the sixth. Francisco Liriano laughed afterward and said, yeah, that’s not a guy you want to leave a slider up in the zone against.

In the sixth, after Polanco nailed Hundley, Polanco came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs, ready to break it back open. He got ahold of a fastball, ripping it to right, but Gonzalez made a diving catch to save extra bases, and extra runs.

The Pirates were in trouble in the eighth. Jose Reyes singled, took second on a sacrifice and stole third without a throw. He was 90 feet away with one out. Nolan Arenado lunged and got a ball in the air to right. Polanco came in to catch it, saw Reyes on the move and threw a perfect strike just out front of the plate. Francisco Cervelli caught the delivery and dived back toward the plate to nab Reyes, a guy who’s not used to getting thrown out anywhere, much less at the plate.

In the home half of the inning, Josh Harrison came off the bench to put the Pirates ahead with a pinch-hit single through the open right side, and Polanco followed with a full-count single to center. Good, solid swing. Great contact for the fourth time in the game.

All four balls Polanco put in play Friday night were fastballs. We’ve always known him to be an excellent fastball hitter. But he’s gotten much, much better at working to get into fastball counts. That’s a critical improvement. In five at-bats against the Rockies, he saw 25 pitches.

That’s the sort of number that helps explain why he’s batted .326 since taking over as leadoff man. He knows when to jump at the first pitch, and he knows how to waste a few.

The outfield assists don’t hurt, either. Earlier in his career, and earlier in this season, we saw Polanco look lost in right field, particularly at PNC Park — his arm action was too long, and his routes were messy. Now, he looks right at home.