Gonzales trusts instincts to come through in clutch

Nick Gonzales was facing an 0-2 count with two outs and runners on first and third in the eighth inning, so the Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman was looking for a pitch to hit.

Even though he wasn’t expecting one. “I thought he was going to throw something in the dirt, but something in the back of my head was like, ‘I think he’s going to throw a strike,’” Gonzales said of St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Ryan Fernandez in an on-field postgame interview with SportsNet Pittsburgh. “I just stayed as if it was a 2-0 count or an 0-0 count.”

Gonzales trusted his instincts and it paid off.

Fernandez left a slider over the middle and Gonzales roped a single over the reach of leaping second baseman Brendan Donovan to drive in Oneil Cruz from third base for a 3-2 win Thursday night at Busch Stadium.

“Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t,” Gonzales said. “But it worked there.”

Gonzales went 2 for 4, scoring the game’s first run after hitting a triple and driving in the decisive run for his team-leading 10th game-winning RBI of the season. By batting .317 (26 for 82) with nine multi-hit games since returning from the injured list Aug. 26, Gonzales is showing conviction at the plate, especially in clutch situations.

“It’s very important,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “That shows preparation. It shows the ability to follow a plan.”

Gonzales showed off his speed with the one-out triple in the fourth inning, when he hit a 1-1 sinker outside for a line drive to the right field corner that bounced away from Jordan Walker. Gonzales then scored on a sacrifice fly by Bryan De La Cruz to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.

Shelton was as impressed by Gonzales hitting a 2-1 sweeper at the bottom of the strike zone for a 99.9-mph lineout to center in the sixth, then driving in the winning run on a 101.3-mph liner to center.

“Overall, just really consistent at-bats, big at-bats,” Shelton said. “I thought Nick had really good at-bats.”

And Gonzales was good with the glove, too. He turned a crucial 4-6-3 double play in the fourth inning and made plays to end the third, sixth and ninth innings, fielding a grounder by Pedro Pages behind the bag and throwing to shortstop Isiah Kiner- Falefa for a forceout at second to end the game and help the Pirates avoid a sweep in the four-game series.

It was a night where everything seemed to work for Gonzales.