Catchers pitching is the trend as Erik Kratz takes the mound again
This new trend of catchers pitching really seems to be catching on. Backstop Christian Bethancourt has pitched twice this year for the San Diego Padres, once at the beginning of June, and once in mid-June. Now Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Erik Kratz has matched him, notching his second pitching appearance on Tuesday night.
With the Pirates losing to the San Francisco Giants 15-3 in the top of the ninth inning, manager Clint Hurdle called on his trusty back-up backstop Erik Kratz to give the bullpen some much needed rest. It wouldn’t be easy, though. The first batter that Kratz faced was Brandon Belt, who was hitting .304 for the Giants before Tuesday’s game.
Kratz waged a seven pitch battle, which included a 52 mph knuckleball (that was WAY outside) and an 82 mph changeup. With the count full, Kratz threw Belt a pitch at 79 mph, and Belt just swung clean through it, giving Kratz his only strikeout. Kratz would face four more batters in that inning, giving up two singles but zero runs. Only one other Pirates pitcher accomplished that on Tuesday night: Jared Hughes. And Hughes faced just two batters in 1/3 of an inning.
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The highlight of Kratz’s outing was definitely his strikeout of Belt, and the MLB GIFS twitter account had to take advantage.
If Belt didn’t have a sense of humor, he might be upset about that tweet. Thankfully, Belt does have a sense of humor, and he knew just what to say.
Belt shouldn’t feel too bad about striking out against a catcher, since Kratz had a little practice earlier in the season. His first time on the mound was back in April, when he was with the Houston Astros. He was the first position player to pitch in 2016, but he gave up two runs on three hits. His appearance on Tuesday had a much better result. Perhaps Kratz will celebrate with a hearty helping of turkey bacon.
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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher
