MILWAUKEE — The Pirates’ pitching was always going to be in dire straits in Wednesday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Left-hander Steven Brault made his long-awaited debut, starting his first game since 2020 after a lat strain from spring training held him out for four months. At the same time, he was going to be limited in his first action of the season.
Plus, the Pirates’ bullpen is a patchwork group right now, anyway. They traded three MLB relievers at the deadline, dealt another minor league arm in left-hander Braden Ogle and designated right-hander Kyle Crick for assignment. On Tuesday, they used right-handers Chris Stratton, Duane Underwood Jr., and David Bednar more than an inning apiece. Those are the only three right-handers the Pirates have that at least been around for a while this season.
So the Pirates were up against it heading into Wednesday, and they actually held their own for a while. Brault allowed only one run in four innings. Right-hander Cody Ponce threw two straight 1-2-3 innings of his own. With a one-run lead, Kyle Keller secured the first two outs of the seventh inning without much trouble.
Then the wheels came off.
Keller walked the third batter he faced, Luis Urías. Manny Piña singled to put two on with two out. Pirates manager Derek Shelton turned to left-hander Chasen Shreve, who has also been pretty reliable this year, to face pinch-hitting lefty Rowdy Tellez. Shreve battled with Tellez, throwing six pitches before leaving a 2-2 fastball over the plate.
Tellez crushed it way out to right field, giving the Brewers the lead and an eventual 4-2 win.
“I mean, in that inning there were a couple things. We go 0-2 to Urias, and we walk him,” Shelton said. “So we extend that inning, and then we give up the hit to Pina. So the 0-2 walk there is, I think, something that stands out, and with Shreve, just too many balls over the middle of the plate. Haven't seen the replay, left on left, it just looked like too many fastballs especially, and too many fastballs in the heart of the plate.”
This is likely how things will shape up for the Pirates the rest of the season. When big spots arise in close games, Shelton’s options out of the bullpen are limited. Bednar, Underwood, Shreve and Stratton are the only remaining bullpen arms who have thrown more than 20 innings in the majors this season.
Tellez has hit better against left-handers than right-handers this season, but with two runners on and two outs, Shelton was choosing between Shreve, who had allowed a .137 batting average from opposing left-handers, and Keller, who has a 7.07 ERA in 14 innings of work this season.
The reality is that the Pirates don’t have many great options in front of them. Right-hander Shea Spitzbarth was promoted Monday, threw 2⅓ scoreless innings and was promptly optioned back to Class AAA Indianapolis after Wednesday’s game. In his place, left-hander Anthony Banda was activated to the roster. The Pirates claimed him off waivers this week from the New York Mets. Banda had a 7.36 ERA and a 2.045 WHIP with seven strikeouts in 7⅓ innings for the Mets this season.
Remaining in Class AAA Indianapolis, there are some options, like right-handers Tyler Bashlor and Tanner Anderson, who they just signed as a minor league free agent at the beginning of July. Both have been solid, with a 2.89 ERA in 18⅔ innings for Bashlor and a 1.64 ERA for Anderson through 11 innings.
If the Pirates do decide they need some replacements in the bullpen, none are sure things — at least no surer than the likes of Keller, Ponce or Spitzbarth have been.
It is more than likely something Shelton and the Pirates will have to fight through the rest of the season.
“I think one of the points of that is we've talked about opportunity, and it's not only opportunity with guys coming to the big leagues. It's opportunities in terms of the role you pitch in,” Shelton said. “And one of the things that we have to find out about people is what roles they can pitch in, and because we have taken some people out of our bullpen, guys are going to get opportunities in different roles than they had.”
Of course, the Pirates can also look at their offense for Wednesday’s loss. They strung together just four hits after the first inning, scratching together just the two runs in support of their pitching. Even in the first inning, when they had three hits, they couldn’t score a run after leadoff hitter Hoy Park, newly acquired at the trade deadline, was caught stealing for the second out of the inning.
The Pirates have certainly struggled to score runs all season, too. Still, when they score enough to take a lead into the seventh inning, the Pirates would like to have the arms in the bullpen to shut the game down from there.
On some days, they might. On Wednesday, they didn’t, and they will have to continue to work to find the best solution they can moving forward.
