PITTSBURGH (AP) Jacob Stallings has 19 hits in parts of three major league seasons, and the rookie third-string catcher has made a some of them count.
Stallings hit a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning to rally the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 7-6 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night.
It was Stallings’ second career game-ending hit. The catcher also had one on Sept. 23, 2016, against Washington as a pinch hitter.
After Jordan Luplow grounded into a double play, Kevin Kramer walked and moved to second on Kevin Newman’s single. Stallings then singled into left field off Ben Lively (0-3) for his third hit of the game, scoring Kramer.
Stallings was not in the original lineup. He was told 2½ hours before the game he would be subbing for ailing Francisco Cervelli.
“It was pretty similar to my other one, same spot and same kind of pitch,” Stallings said. “It was good to help the team on short notice. It was fun to come through for the guys.”
Stallings has spent the last three years shuttling between Pittsburgh and Triple-A Indianapolis while stuck on the organizational depth chart behind Cervelli and Elias Diaz.
“The biggest thing for me is staying ready,” said Stallings, whose father, Kevin, was the University of Pittsburgh’s basketball coach for two seasons before being fired in March. “On a day like today, when I’m not ready to play, I’m still ready. You get paranoid because you never know what might happen.”
Stallings has made a good impression on Pirates manager Clint Hurdle.
“He puts his foot down early and hits the ball hard where it’s pitched. Old-school hitting,” Hurdle said. “He’s done a very professional job on everything he’s done.”
The Pirates scored twice with two outs in the eighth inning to tie the game at 6-all. The first run scored when first baseman Ryan O’Hearn failed to handle a throw from third baseman Hunter Dozier on a grounder by Pablo Reyes. Starling Marte followed with an RBI triple.
