After two disappointing games in Toronto, the Pirates turned to Mitch Keller to right the ship yesterday, and the veteran right-hander came up big.
Joe Block recaps the Pirates’ win.
The Pirates will open a seven-game homestand today with the first of four games against the Cubs. It’s a Memorial Day matinee with right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski (4-3, 3.96 ERA) facing Cubs’ righty Ben Brown (1-2, 2.09 ERA). Airtime is 1:10 on WCCS.
On Pirates Insider on WCCS yesterday, general manager Ben Cherington talked pitching, especially young right-handers Jared Jones and Braxton Ashcraft. Jones threw another rehab start for Indianapolis on Saturday and gave up three runs over four-and-a-third innings.
Cherington said Jones will throw a bullpen session tomorrow in Pittsburgh and they will evaluate him afterward. He could be activated from the 60-day injured list and be back on the active Major League roster for the first time since the 2024 season, and the GM says the team will decide how he’s going to be used after that.
Cherington says the Pirates are working out a plan for Ashcraft, who has been so effective this season. He is already approaching the number of innings he pitched in all of the 2025 season.
Ashcraft is scheduled to pitch tomorrow night against the Cubs.
Cherington also provided injury updates for Ryan O’Hearn and Joey Bart. He said O’Hearn’s return from a quad injury could be sooner than the original three to four week projection. Bart’s return from a foot infection could take longer. He will see a doctor on Thursday.
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