MILWAUKEE — The fact that Bryse Wilson even allowed one run in his Pirates debut felt unlucky.
The newest Pirate, who came to Pittsburgh this week in the trade that sent closer Richard Rodriguez to the Atlanta Braves, threw five snappy innings in the team’s 6-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday. He allowed two hits the entire time, and they traveled a combined six feet in the air, according to Statcast.
The first was a swinging bunt from Brewers center fielder Lorenzo Cain that dribbled toward third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. Hayes tried to barehand it and throw to first but couldn’t corral it, and Cain reached safely.
Cain stole second as Brewers pitcher Eric Lauer stepped up to bat, then Lauer laid down an actual bunt down the third base line that the Pirates couldn’t field quickly enough. So Lauer reached, too, and suddenly there were runners on the corners with no outs. The next batter, second baseman Kolten Wong, hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Cain, and the Brewers took a 1-0 lead.
That was really all Wilson permitted. No other Brewers got a hit against him. The only other baserunners came on two walks, one to lead off the second inning and another to lead off the fourth.
And it wasn’t like Wilson was particularly dominant, blowing away Brewers hitters with electric stuff. He was just solid. The Brewers had five hard-hit balls all night, measured by a 95 mph exit velocity or higher. Two of those were groundouts, two were routine flyouts and one required an acrobatic sliding catch from center fielder Bryan Reynolds.
The larger point is that Wilson limited damage effectively. If there was any frustration to be had with the outing, it would be that he didn’t go deeper. Manager Derek Shelton pulled Wilson after five innings and 74 pitches. It was the most he had pitched in the majors since May, though, so Shelton opted to be cautious and turn to the bullpen.
Unfortunately for him, that’s when things really got out of hand. Right-hander Kyle Keller entered in the sixth. After two quick outs, he allowed a walk, a triple, hit a batter, issued an intentional walk to load the bases, then walked in another run before getting out of the inning.
Right-hander Nick Mears pitched the seventh and gave up a three-run bomb to Brewers infielder Eduardo Escobar.
That may end up being a sign of things to come for the Pirates’ bullpen down the stretch. It is essentially an entirely different group of players than the one that started the season. David Bednar, Chris Stratton and Chasen Shreve are the only ones who have been reliable for much of their appearances. Right-hander Duane Underwood Jr., has had his moments, but even he has been up-and-down.
If the Pirates are planning on running that group like a meritocracy, there may be a few new faces seen between now and the end of the season. That started Monday night, with right-hander Shea Spitzbarth making his MLB debut. He pitched 1⅓ innings in clean-up duty and gave up a walk and a single in an otherwise scoreless effort.
It is fair to point out that the bullpen struggled mightily, but it would be unfair to leave out that the Pirates’ offense was essentially absent. Through the first eight innings, they totaled just four hits. Only a fourth-inning double from first baseman John Nogowski went for extra bases in that time.
The Pirates only rallied in the ninth against 38-year-old John Axford, who has not pitched in the majors since 2018. The Pirates loaded the bases against him with two singles and a hit batter, then plated a run on a bases-loaded walk to pinch-hitter Ben Gamel. Axford left after that, and the Pirates scored one more on another bases loaded walk but bowed out shortly thereafter.
That is the way things have gone for the Pirates this season. When one facet of their team plays well, the others haven’t held up their end of the bargain too often. That’s why they are 40-66.
But if one were looking for a silver lining, Wilson provided it. The 23-year-old, former top-10 prospect in the Braves’ system, showed promise for his new club. Surely, he will get every opportunity to follow up on that over the last two months of the season.
