PITTSBURGH -- At the plate with two outs in the eighth inning Wednesday at PNC Park, Gregory Polanco's powerful, looping left-handed swing connected with an 84 mph slider from Marlins reliever Vin Mazzaro and sent the ball crashing high off the Clemente Wall in right field.
After jogging toward first, Polanco broke into a long-striding sprint and sailed into third base for an easy standup triple -- the first of his career.
It was a glimpse of the player who tore through the Minor Leagues in 2013 and '14, the same one who burst on to the Major League scene last June with an 11-game hitting streak.