There were a few abnormalities at the ballpark today.
The first was an influx of kids at PNC Park today for a Thursday afternoon during the school year. The storm that swept through much of western Pennsylvania Tuesday night has left many neighborhoods and schools still without power.
What better way to celebrate the off day than by hanging out at the ballpark?
But the second change was in the dugout. Pirates manager Derek Shelton was absent, and unlike what many fans have hoped for, that change was only temporary. Shelton was off in Florida, attending the college graduation of his son.
In his place, bench coach Don Kelly became the acting manager. Contrary to my initial belief, today was not the managerial debut of Kelly. The ex-big leaguer was also the acting manager during a game in San Diego, while Shelton was serving a suspension.
In that incident, Pirates reliever Angel Perdomo was suspended three games for throwing at Manny Machado. Perdomo had allowed a home run to Juan Soto before that, and took exception to Soto’s celebration as he rounded the bases. Perdomo then fired a 98 mile per hour pitch at Machado.
Perdomo was tossed, and in one of the few times Shelton visibly challenged the umpires, he was also ejected. Shelton was assessed a one-game suspension later on, leaving Kelly as the manager for a July 26th, 2023 matchup with the Padres. Three solo homers helped Pittsburgh take the series from San Diego.
Almost two years later, Kelly was back in the manager’s spot in a rubber match with the Chicago Cubs. After Chicago touted them 9-0 on Tuesday, the Pirates came back to even the series with a 4-3 win last night.
Aside from it being a massive series against a divisional rival, it was also Kelly’s chance to show his managerial prowess in a game that the Pirates really needed.
Sitting in the 300 level, I was interested to see how Kelly approached this game.
This was the lineup the Pirates rolled out against the Cubs.
It was a rare start in left field for Alexander Canaria, and Henry Davis got a game behind the dish as Paul Skenes took to the mound for the Bucs.
From a pitching perspective, Kelly probably expected to have little to worry about. Skenes starting gave the Pirates the expected edge in starting pitching, and if he could be efficient with his pitches, Kelly could weigh his bullpen options more carefully.
But it was an uncharacteristic day at the office for Skenes. He struck out only two Cubs and walked four, including walking the bases loaded in the top of the third inning.
Still, he kept Chicago off the scoreboard until the fifth inning, when the dam finally broke. Skenes surrendered three solo home runs to give away Pittsburgh’s 2-0 lead.
At just 86 pitches, Skenes was taken out after the Chicago barrage ended in the fifth.
Bullpen management has been one of the most criticized aspects of Shelton’s management, especially as the Pirates have collapsed after hot starts over the last few years.
I was very interested to see how Kelly managed the relievers today. Was I expecting a major difference? Not really. It’s the same guys in the bullpen being looked over by someone of the same coaching staff…for just one game.
But I am still underwhelmed. Pittsburgh’s bullpen cost them any chance of a comeback.
Kelly called on the lefty Joey Wentz to pick up where Skenes left off. Wentz, who came into the game with a team-leading 13.2 innings of work among relievers, faced the minimum in the sixth.
Kelly left Wentz out there to start the seventh, where he recorded the first two outs before leaving the game. Wentz allowed one hit, to noted Pirate killer Ian Happ before Kelly made a second call to the bullpen.
Kelly pressed his luck went he gave Kyle Nicolas the ball. Nicolas, who was recalled on April 11th, is off to a miserable start. He has allowed nine earned runs and walked eight through 7.2 innings.
Seiya Suzuki almost immediately took Nicolas deep to left field, giving the Cubs a 5-2 lead. Though the righty would pitch a clean seventh, Suzuki’s bomb made a comeback for the Pirates quite the tall order.
The Pirates were able to get one back, but found themselves trailing by two in the ninth. At that point, Kelly went with Hunter Stratton on the mound.
Both Stratton and the team were looking for a bounce back performance after his season debut on Tuesday night saw him surrender a pair of hits, including a home run, and unable to finish the inning.
Stratton’s struggles continued. He allowed back to back singles to the eight and nine hitters for Chicago before Happ smacked a double that brought the sixth run of the day for the Cubs home. Stratton allowed three total runs in the ninth, putting any hope of a Bucco rally to bed.
The Pirates faded quietly in their final chance; Cubs reliever Ryan Pressly faced the minimum to give Chicago the series win.
The only pinch hitter Kelly used was Joey Bart, who took an at-bat for shortstop Jared Triolo. Kelly did have outfielder Matt Gorski waiting on deck to also pinch hit, but Bart’s fly out to right field ended the game.
In the closing innings, Kelly managed like he was waving the white flag. Ryan Borucki and Caleb Ferguson both pitched yesterday, but both kept their workload to under 20 pitches and had an off day on Tuesday.
The Pirates were in a one-run game when Nicolas came in. They were in a two-run game when Stratton came in. It was a winnable game. Bart and Isiah Kiner-Falefa were on the bench. If the Pirates could get a few guys on base, the top of the order could have powered them home.
It was not the situation to deploy either Nicolas or Stratton.
Look, it doesn’t super matter. For as much as fans want to see change at manager, the Pirates haven’t given many real indications that new personnel there is in the works. And until that happens, there’s no point in thinking too much more about it.
But Kelly is probably the man who would get the call if the Pirates fired Shelton and went with an internal hire/promotion. It was just one game, but it was more of the same from Kelly.
The Pirates now fall to 12-20. Buctober seems like a faint dream right about now.
Fifth Avenue Sports 
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