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Polanco takes advantage of chance to hit cleanup
- Updated: August 10, 2016
PITTSBURGH — If Gregory Polanco’s body hadn’t barked at him Thursday in Atlanta, he would have found himself in the cleanup spot Friday night at PNC Park. But the soreness in his throwing shoulder persisted, so he sat out all weekend, limited to pinch-hitting in whichever spot the game dictated.
But Polanco’s shoulder felt better Tuesday morning, so he went through a full workout at PNC Park and was declared fit to play. And manager Clint Hurdle followed through on the plan he devised days ago, writing Polanco’s name into the cleanup spot for the first time in his Major League career. Polanco lived up to the position, slugging a tie-breaking three-run homer in the Pirates’ 6-4 win over the Padres.
“I like to hit in the middle of the lineup,” Polanco said. “I feel comfortable there. Hopefully I stay there for a long time.”
With the Pirates’ lineup struggling, Hurdle sought ways to shake things up. He wrote out four or five different versions, but he felt drawn to one more than the others.
So Hurdle put Josh Harrison back …
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