Konnor Griffin Building Steam As Pirates Hunt Winning Streak
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WASHINGTON — The Pittsburgh Pirates value Konnor Griffin incredibly high and are always cautious on any thing that might impede their rookie shortstop from becoming the best player he can be.
Griffin will start at shortstop for the third straight game against the Washington Nationals in the series finale at Nationals Park on July 5, where he'll try and help the Pirates earn an important road series win.
It marks the first time Griffin's started three straight games at shortstop since coming back from his arm injury near the end of June.
This is an encouraging sign for Griffin and the Pirates, who will eventually make him their everyday shortstop once again.
Griffin Making Progress with Injury Return
Griffin returned from a right forearm flexor strain on June 26 and the Pirates are being careful with his progression, as they don't want him re-injuring himself.
He missed 22 games with his injury, which saw the Pirates place him on the 10-day injured list on May 31 and send him down to Bradenton, Fla. on their previous road trip, as he improved his arm away from the team.
The Pirates previously had him start back-to-back games at shortstop in the series vs. the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, June 30 and July 1, and both the series opener and series finale vs. the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park, June 26 and June 28, while serving as designated hitter in the series opener against the Phillies on June 29.
Griffin has also had two days off since his return, the middle game of the series vs. the Reds on June 27 and the series finale vs. the Phillies on July 2.
"Yeah we're getting there," Pirates manager Don Kelly said pregame about Griffin getting back to the everyday shortstop role. "I don't want to say, 'Next week is gonna be six', but this is part of the plan of trending back towards being able to do it every day and he's feeling great, he's doing a great job and any time we get him in there, pumped to have him in there."
Griffin has played well since returning from injury, slashing .281/.324/.406 for an OPS of .730 in seven games, with nine hits in 32 at-bats, a double, a home run and an RBI.
He's also showed off his speed, with five stolen bases on five attempts, including him stealing home in the 7-1 win over the Nationals on July 4.
Griffin is happy with where he is right now with his game and his arm too, especially getting to field some double plays with second baseman Brandon Lowe again.
“Feeling healthy is really good," Griffin said after the last game. "Brandon had some really nice plays, especially the one where he flipped it with the glove. Just some big-time plays where we needed to get out of innings. We were able to get it done.”
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.