The Pirates’ offense couldn’t break through against Tampa Bay and they ended up wasting another great effort by Paul Skenes on Sunday. Greg Brown has the story.
Manager Derek Shelton says Skenes adjusted to the Rays attacking his fastball early, and that set him up for the heater later in the game.
Shelton says the Rays got the breaks in the 8th inning, and the Pirates did not.
The Pirates hit the road for a Monday night NL Central Division game in Cincinnati. Left-hander Bailey Falter [3-5, 3.74 ERA] starts for the Bucs against the Reds’ righty Carson Spiers [0-1, 3.20 ERA. His loss came last week against the Pirates. 6:45 airtime, 7:10 first pitch on WCCS.
Closer David Bednar landed on the 15-day injured list yesterday with a strained left oblique, retroactive to last Thursday. Reliever Justin Bruihl was recalled from Indianapolis to take his place in the bullpen.
On The Ben Cherington Show on WCCS yesterday, the Pirates’ general manager said the team is taking a cautious approach to Bednar’s health.
Cherington also said that the Pirates are going to do whatever it takes to remain in contention for the playoffs, including making trades…if a trade makes sense.
The GM even said the Pirates are willing to trade prospects for established Major Leaguers.
Other Pirates injury news over the weekend included starter Martín Perez making a rehab start in Indianapolis on Saturday, going five innings and giving up two runs. Cherington said yesterday that Perez’s next start could be his return to the Pirates rotation.
Catcher Joey Bart and utility man Ji Hwan Bae also started rehab assignments in Indy. Another catcher, Henry Davis, is close to returning and Cherington said he will begin in Indy on a rehab assignment before the Bucs decide whether he’ll stay there or return to Pittsburgh. Pitchers Marco Gonzalez, Quinn Priester, and Ryan Borucki all threw live batting practice over the weekend. Priester is ready for a rehab assignment and Gonzalez and Borucki will throw another live BP session.
Director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said catcher Endy Rodriguez is hitting from both sides of the plate and is playing catch now, but the team does not anticipate him getting any game action this season.
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