After dropping two of three in St. Louis, including a frustrating loss in the rubber match, the Pirates continued their midwest roadtrip with a visit to Coors Field in Colorado.
With a similar approach to last Saturday, the team once again patched together a bullpen game in their series opener vs the Rockies. On Saturday at home against the Minnesota Twins, Carmen Mlodzinski was the figurehead starter, but it was Luis Ortiz who took the bulk of the middle innings.
Mlodzinski was lifted after 1.2 innings of work in that Saturday affair, being taken out immediately after his first mistake, plunking a batter. This game saw a similar stat line; Mlodzinski officially pitched 1.0 innings, but after a leadoff walk in the second inning, the Pirates lifted him in favor of Ortiz.
Meanwhile, Bryan Reynolds, who is 100% hard, all the time, got the Pirates an early lead to work with, firing a no doubter deep into right field.
Ortiz did a very good job shutting down the Rockies’ offense. The righty tossed 5.0 innings, allowing 7 hits but only 1 earned run, putting him in line for the win as the Pirates were able to take advantage of the long ball in this game.
Ortiz had some really clean and efficient innings, with the bottom of the fifth being his only real trouble of the night. After two hits surrendered to open the inning, Ortiz was at the mercy of his outfielders to help him get out of it.
Connor Joe turned a terrific double play from right field, catching a flyout before rifling a ball to Henry Davis to get the out call at home.
However, a triple that was sent Bryan Reynolds’s way gave him trouble as he fell awkwardly into the wall, which scored a run.
That tied the game, but Andrew McCutchen made sure that tie didn’t last long. He blasted one into the center field layout and put the Pirates back on top.
After Ortiz exited following the sixth inning, the Pirates were able to comfortably go to their bullpen after they tacked on two runs courtesy of Jack Suwinski. The embattled slugger had been on a horrific run ever since returning from his stint in Triple-A but he got all of this one:
Colin Holderman earned his 11th hold of the season, getting three outs on four batters (he walked Charlie Blackmon) to lower his season ERA to an incredible 0.76.
Reynolds tacked on another RBI to make it a 5-1 game in the top of the eighth, which sent out Aroldis Chapman for a very Chapman-like outing. High heat, 3 strikeouts, and 2 walks accompanied an eighth inning that started with two quick outs before Chapman looked to be getting too fancy and walked back to back batters.
His final strike three call was definitely a generous call, but home plate umpire Rob Drake was very pitcher-friendly today in his calls.
David Bednar then came out for the ninth inning. He surrendered a solo home run to Charlie Blackmon, but limited damage after that as Pittsburgh won 5-2. For Bednar, it was his first time giving up back to back home runs since April 26th and April 27th.
It was very encouraging to see the types of pitching performances we saw from Mlodzinski, Ortiz, and Holderman. Luis Ortiz in particular has become a very underrated part of this Pirates team, with a 3-2 record and 2.51 ERA in 43.0 innings.
With Pittsburgh suffering injuries to their starting rotation, Ortiz has shifted to a more integral role on this team. He played nearly equally well in the last bullpen game for the Pirates, ensuring that the team is remaining competitive in an odd setting for them.
Mlodzinski also performed well in another game acting as the starter. His ERA has continued to deflate from a harsh start to his major league season; it now sits at 5.28 as Mlodzinski has allowed just 1 run in 7.2 innings through the month of June.
With Jared Jones on the mound tomorrow, it’s crucial that the Pirates find ways to take advantage of the worst pitching staff in Major League Baseball this season. Sunday’s look is still in flux, as the team is aiming to get Paul Skenes another day of rest before he starts again.
(Featured photo by Brett Davis/USA Today Sports)
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