Jones strong again
Bullpen takes first step back of year in defeat
Throughout the Pirates’ strong start to the 2024 season, it was the bullpen that led the way, stepping up time and time again to either maintain the team’s lead or hold things down until a series of clutch hits could produce a comeback victory. But on Friday afternoon in the club’s home opener, the Pirates’ stable of reinforcement arms served as the lead culprit for their 5-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
Early on, pitching looked to be a non-issue for the Pirates (6-2). Headlining the North Shore excitement was rookie right-hander Jared Jones, who looked to build off his strong MLB debut, which included 10 strikeouts and a victory last weekend against the Miami Marlins. Jones was once again solid, striking out seven in six innings of work, allowing just two runs.
“His stuff plays,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of Jones. “That’s one of the best lineups in baseball right there. They grind through at-bats, they put the ball in play, which we saw in the seventh. They didn’t hit a ton of balls hard, but they put the ball in play. And he was very impressive.”
The Orioles (5-2) started the scoring in the top of the second on a solo home run from Ryan O’Hearn. Gunnar Henderson followed O’Hearn’s lead the following inning, sending a solo blast just above the glove of Michael A. Taylor, over the center field wall and into the shrubbery. Oneil Cruz provided Jones his lone run support with a solo shot to right field in the bottom of the fifth.
In the top of the seventh, with the score 2-1 and Jones out of the game, Brandon Hyde’s club jumped on the Pirates bullpen with two runs off four consecutive hits. Both runs were charged to lefty reliever Ryan Borucki.
“Borucki has been good,” Shelton said. “He kind of got groundballed to death. They made contact. That’s what they do. That’s why they win a lot of games.”
While Jared Triolo helped provide some hope with a solo homer into the bullpen the following frame, Cedric Mullins erased said momentum in the top of the eighth with a leadoff line drive off the right-field foul pole.
Jones was handed his first loss in the major leagues, while Grayson Rodriguez improved to 2-0 on the year after allowing two earned runs on six hits in 6 1/3 innings.
“He’s throwing the changeup to both right-handers and left-handers, then he’s topping it with 95-97 with pretty good control,” Shelton said of Rodriguez. “If you like baseball and you like young, big arms, you would really like to watch our game today.”
On the mound
Despite a losing effort, Jones gave Pirate fans plenty to cheer for throughout his second career outing.
The right-handed rookie once again kept opposing hitters off balance, getting each of his seven strikeouts off swings and misses. Swing and miss was the key for Jones, who has now generated 43
whiffs, tying Shohei Ohtani for the most a rookie has tallied in his first two starts since the figure was first tracked in 1988.
“Yeah, I think all four of them have been really good for me so far this year,” Jones said about his pitch repertoire. “All my stuff has just been working so far this year, and it’s been awesome.”
In addition to keeping batters on their toes, Jones was also proficient in high-pressure situations. This notion was highlighted multiple times throughout Jones’ outing, but none more in the top of the fourth inning, where after allowing a lead-off triple to O’Hearn due to miscommunication between Taylor and Bryan Reynolds, the rookie battled to provide a scoreless frame.
“I’ve seen him have two starts in the big leagues and spring training,” Shelton said of Jones. “... He continues to show us things that make us continue to realize why he’s going to be a good major league pitcher.”
At the plate
Oneil Cruz was one of the few bright spots in a rather quiet Pirates lineup, smacking two singles prior to his solo homer, both going to the left side of the infield. The effort marked Cruz’s first three-hit performance of the young season and accounted for half of the Pirates’ hits on the afternoon.
“I think it’s a concerted effort to make sure he stays within himself,” Shelton said of Cruz. “When you come to the big leagues, and you’re a guy his size and has the ability to hit the ball as far as he does, the natural reaction is to see how far you can hit the ball.
“Andy [Haines] and our group has done a good job making him realize that there’s a lot of the field to use and to go ahead and use it. If he uses the other side of the field, I think we saw with the one ground ball, you’re not going to throw him out — if he puts the ball on the ground and infielders have to go one way or another. It’s just the maturation of him as a hitter.”
Cruz’s home run, meanwhile, came on a 1-1 pitch from Rodriguez, who left a changeup over the middle of the plate. A big swing from the 6-foot-7 lefty sent the ball 377 feet into the right field seats with an exit velocity of 98.5 mph.
“It feels really good,” Cruz said with major league coach Stephen Morales translating. “That’s what we play for, for our fans out there. I’m pretty happy it went the way it went with the home run. That way, I give some joy to the fans like they deserve.”
While Cruz, along with Ke’Bryan Hayes (2 for 3 with a walk), provided a boost at the top of the lineup, the Pirates received no production from the middle of the batting order, as Jack Suwinski, Andrew McCutchen and Rowdy Tellez combined to go 0 for 12 with six strikeouts.
He said it
As has been the case with numerous home openers throughout the years, weather conditions were less than ideal throughout periods of Friday’s contest. Despite his team’s loss, Shelton managed to find humor in the inclement forecast following the game.
“It’s interesting,” Shelton said. “I’ve played in snow before. I’ve played in rain. I
don’t know if I’ve ever played in two hail storms. You just kind of adapt and adjust to it. Unfortunately, both hail storms happened when we were hitting. We need to figure out how we can maneuver that next time.”
Up next
The Pirates will be back
in action Saturday at 4:05 p. m. for their second of three games against the Orioles. Lefty Bailey Falter will face Baltimore righthander Tyler Wells on the mound.