Opening day
Veteran right-hander continues comeback from Tommy John surgery
The Pirates pick right-hander Chad Kuhl to open against the Chicago Cubs.
BRADENTON, Fla. — If it didn’t already seem like he hit it, perhaps Chad Kuhl should consider playing the lottery.
It’s been an impressive 10- day stretch for the Pirates right-hander, witnessing the birth of his first child and Monday receiving another (admittedly less) important appointment, this one as Pittsburgh’s opening day starter.
After watching good friends Joe Musgrove and Jameson Taillon take the ball on Game 1 the past two seasons, new dad Kuhl will get his turn when the Pirates open the season Thursday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
“You never know where they’re going to go with everything, how it’s going to line up,” Kuhl said. “I was just fortunate, obviously, to have a happy, healthy baby and an amazing wife who’s taking care of him right now.
“Then to be fortunate enough to be on an opening day roster and for them to have confidence in me to hand the ball to me for Game 1 … yeah, it’s been a pretty good stretch of time here.”
Manager Derek Shelton made the announcement on the AT&T SportsNet broadcast Monday during a game against the Minnesota Twins, adding that Kevin Newman will start at shortstop and Adam Frazier will bat leadoff.
It’s the first opening day assignment for Kuhl, 28, who last season returned from Tommy John surgery. In 11 games (nine starts), Kuhl was 2-3 with a 4.27 ERA, striking out 44 and walking 28 in 46.1 innings.
The move made plenty of sense, as Kuhl’s next turn in the rotation comes Thursday, though it’s unclear how many innings will be expected out of him.
“I’m going to go as long as I can, until Shelton takes the ball from me,” Kuhl said. “I’m sure there’s a number, but that’s not really in the back of my mind at all.”
Kuhl has thrown just eight innings this spring and only once went three — March 16 at Minnesota. A big reason for that was a good one — named Hudson Everett — but that did at least marginally affect Kuhl’s ability to build up arm strength.
Nevertheless, it’s an assignment that makes a lot of sense given how effective Kuhl has been in the past. It also will likely allow Mitch Keller to start a week later for the Pirates’ home opener at PNC Park.
This particular opening day will be special, Kuhl admitted. When Musgrove took the ball last year, there were no fans in the stands. Because of Tommy John surgery, Kuhl said he hasn’t had family members watch him pitch since 2018.
So even though it might be in the low-30s on Thursday, the Delaware- born Kuhl said he was hardly fazed by the prospect of pitching in cold weather.
“A lot of wind, a lot of cold,” Kuhl said. “It’s going to be a fun game.”
Kuhl should be one to watch this summer for the Pirates. His curveball and slider have looked good in spring training, while his fastball command has been a little spotty, the pitcher skewing more toward a twoseam but occasionally struggling to locate it.
When Kuhl has done that, and stayed in rhythm, he has looked good.
Newman won the threeman shortstop competition by hitting over .700 for much of the spring to beat out Erik
Gonzalez and Cole Tucker. As Shelton talked on TV, Newman made an out.
“We might have to revisit that,” Shelton said. “He’s not hitting over .700 anymore.”
Frazier had gotten off to a terrific start in spring, hitting well over .500 with 10 extrabase hits, one shy of the major league lead.
The opening day assignment is exciting and humbling at the same time, Kuhl said, emphasizing that only 30 guys get to do it. At the same time, it’s just one of what he hopes will be numerous successful starts this season.
“You want to look at all these games, and if you look at the schedule, it’s daunting,” Kuhl said. “It’s long. Six months of playing ball, so really trying to simplify things for myself is where I feel like I’ve gotten the best results.
“If I feel like I’ve got 100 bullets that day, that’s how many pitches I have that day, and I execute. How many game situations can I handle that day? That’s really where I kind of set goals for myself and kind of let the stats end up being what they end up being.”