Pirates Catcher Shines Behind and At Plate
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates got a great performance from their catcher, who not only worked with his two pitchers, but led the way offensively as well.
Pirates catcher Joey Bart opened up the game for his team with a deep shot over the center field wall for a solo shot, giving his team a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
Joey Bart BLAST 💣 pic.twitter.com/Qtss1dpacA
— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) April 7, 2025
Bart came through again in the eighth inning, as he almost hit another home run, but came just slightly short of it getting into the center field seats. He still brought home designated hitter Andrew McCutchen, making it an 8-3 lead by that point.
A fan actually interfered with the ball, touching it before it hit the wall with their glove, the umpires still kept him at third base with a triple, despite ruling interference.
“I feel like that’s happened to me a couple times in my career and I asked the guy what the ruling was and he said that they would’ve deemed it a triple anyway," Bart said. "They didn’t think the guy was gonna catch it. I was like, “Here we go, they’re probably going to call me out or something.” Thought I had a homer there. Don’t know what happened there, but I guess I need to get a little stronger.”
Bart had his second multi-hit game of the season, as he had three hits in a 5-4 loss to the Miami Marlins in 12 innings on March 29.
He's put in a great amount of work on his hitting and against the Cardinals, his progress showed.
“Taking advantage of good pitches to hit," Bart said. "Just really trying to grind everyday, regardless of how the game goes. Trying to dive in to find out what I can do to get the right swing off and be looking for the right pitch to hit. That’s what I enjoy. I enjoy the game as well, but I really enjoy the preparation before the game, trying to go out there and solve the puzzle.”
The Pirates would defeat the Cardinals 8-4, scoring their highest run total of the season and getting consecutive wins for the first time in 2025.
The run total played a big role for the Pirates pitching, as right-handed pitchers Carmen Mlodzinski and Thomas Harrington put in solid performances in the win.
Mlodzinski allowed just one run in five innings with six strikeouts, while Harrington struckout five batters and earned the first four-inning save for the Pirates in 27 years in just his second MLB appearance.
Bart said that an important part for those two pitching was the great run support, which made a big difference from behind the plate for him too.
“Any time you’re pitching with a lead, it’s awesome, but you just got to stay on it," Bart said. "That was the word. We needed more runs, we knew we needed more runs and to keep pushing it and we did and Harrington stepped up for us and picked up the bullpen for us. It was good for us tonight.”
Mlodzinski, who set a career-high in strikeouts in his longest start of his MLB career, praised Bart for his work ethic and also for not just helping him, but with Harrington as well, who is just a rookie.
“He’s probably the first person here every day," Mlodzinski said on Bart. "You have full trust in a guy who really puts in the work, day in, day out and that gives me and Harrington to just shake your head, “Yes,” and to be able to work with him. He just does a lot of things right. He’s obviously a really, really good player and when you see the work he puts in, scouting, physically, mentally, communication-wise, you can really trust a guy like that behind the plate. And Endy as well, they both do a great job."
While the Pirates are just 4-7 on the season, Bart has high hopes for his team this season and wants to do what he can to win.
That's why he's putting in all the work he has, from both behind and at the plate, as he works towards a level of preparation that readies him for every pitcher he catches/faces.
“It’s just kind of how I was raised, it’s how I came up in the game," Bart said. "I don’t want to go out there and put anybody in a situation, unless I feel fully confident in it and I take it seriously and I also enjoy it, I really do. The preparation of the game and being ready and just trying to be the best I can for the guys on the mound, for myself, all the way across the board.
"They always give me hell and tell me to go home and stuff like that, but I’m here in Pittsburgh, I want to win. I’m going to do everything on my part to make that happen."
