After making splash in right, Pirates' Jared Triolo gets shot at 2nd in Nick Gonzales' absence

Venturing into the most important and difficult days of the season, the Pittsburgh Pirates don’t need Jared Triolo to play right field.

Yet they needed him there Sunday in the ninth inning when his diving catch of a looping fly ball by Jake McCarthy sent the game into an extra inning and helped the Pirates escape Chase Field with a 6-5 victory against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

They need him even more now to play his more natural position, second base, with Nick Gonzales out with a left groin injury. General manager Ben Cherington said Gonzales will be unavailable “weeks, not days.” Triolo likely will share the position with Ji Hwan Bae and Alika Williams.

The injury to Gonzales, who is third on an offensively challenged team with 39 RBIs, comes at a most inopportune time. The Pirates (53-52) are in the middle of a tight race with the Diamondbacks and St. Louis Cardinals for the third and final National League wild-card spot held by the New York Mets. Every game matters for the Pirates, who are two games behind the Mets and start a three-game series Monday against the Astros in Houston, the first of 18 consecutive games against teams with a winning record.

Triolo is no stranger to the starting lineup, having started 34 games at second base this season. He has committed only one error in 144 chances at second, and he has played all four infield positions — third base (27 starts), shortstop (eight) and three games as a substitute at first base. His total errors at all five positions in 234 chances: That one at second base.

In his second big-league season, Triolo’s bat hasn’t kept up with his glove, however. He’s hitting .198 with four homers and 25 RBIs.

Nonetheless, Triolo prides himself on “being ready” when called upon, even if it means playing a position such as the outfield, which he hasn’t manned since his freshman season at the University of Houston seven years ago.

“When I was put into the utility role, they said, ‘Always be ready to go out and play the outfield,’ ” Triolo said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. “Wherever they need me, I’ll be ready.”

Now that he’ll be back at second base while Gonzales recovers, his season has a more normal feel to it.

“I’m pretty comfortable over at second base,” he said.

Before Triolo went to right field for the ninth inning Sunday, first base coach Tarrick Brock gave him a quick briefing on what to expect and where to station himself. After Triolo caught McCarthy’s looper on the tip of his glove while diving and rolling over, Triolo said, “(Brock) had me in good spots.”

Later, in the 10th inning, he had trouble securing Corbin Carroll’s triple, but Carroll was stranded at third base as the game ended.

“Just play with no fear out there. Just fly around and catch balls you’re supposed to catch,” Triolo explained of his mindset in the foreign setting.

Said manager Derek Shelton: “The kid’s a baseball player. He made a really nice play in a really big moment.”

Catcher Joey Bart praised Triolo for his versatility.

“Playing a different position in the big leagues is really hard,” Bart said. “Everyone thinks you can just play anywhere, but it’s really not easy.”

Triolo made the catch so close to the ground that the Diamondbacks challenged the out call. It was upheld, but not before Triolo and the Pirates experienced some anxious moments.

“I got a little nervous, but we got it,” he said.

The delay gave him a chance to admire his glove work.

“It did look really cool (watching it on the scoreboard),” he said. “I didn’t think that was me on the screen.”