7 years agoPittsburgh Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a 9-3 loss to the Washington Nationals on Wednesday. The long ball was his fifth of the season, matching his 2017 total in 56 fewer games. The 32-year-old is well on his way to smashing his previous career high of seven homers in 2015. The power surge appears more legitimate than fluky. Coming into Wednesday's game, his hard-contact rate sat at a career-best 37.3 percent. Cervelli seems to be the latest player to buy into the launch-angle movement, as his fly-ball rate has also skyrocketed to 49.3 percent, significantly higher than his career average of 30.1 percent.--Matt Wilkes
Source: MLB.com