For about 95% of Saturday’s doubleheader, it seemed like an easy sweep for the Pirates of the Guardians. They easily handled the Guardians 7-1 in the first game, but the bullpen issues reared their ugly head yet again as they lost 5-3. There are many positives to take away from the two games, but much like the rest of the season, they get overshadowed by a bullpen that throws away winnable games. Instead of moving into a playoff spot, the team has to pick itself up and win tomorrow to salvage the series. Watch our two postgame shows attached below for further analysis.

Jared Jones is the Truth

Jared Jones is going to take the Braxton Ashcraft slot on the blog where I gush about him every time he starts if he keeps this up. In the month of July, Jones has an ERA of 0.90, 0.40 WHIP, and a .063 opposing batting average. Jones was dominant yet again over his 5 innings of work, and the Guardians simply had no answer for him. He threw 74 pitches, struck out 9, allowed only 4 base runners, and gave up a single run. He generated 11 whiffs and only gave up hard contact 4 times. Jones has done an amazing job keeping hitters off balance with his changeup and curveball over the past month. They made up only 12% of pitches thrown today, but they are used just enough that hitters cannot reliably sell out on the fastball and slider. When he does throw his 2 elite pitches, the results are beautiful. Both pitches had whiff rates above 35%, and his fastball allowed an average exit velocity of just 84.4 mph. The development of Jones has been an absolute pleasure to watch because you can see him developing into an ace right before our very eyes. His swagger on the mound makes every at-bat a battle. If Paul Skenes didn’t exist, he would be our most fun pitcher, and I know there is going to be a locker-room rivalry between the two over who can outperform the other.

Jacob Gonzalez You Have My Attention

Many Pirates fans (including myself) scratched their head at the acquisition of Jacob Gonzalez. Since the Rays got Bryan Baker for their comp pick in 2025, many assumed the Pirates would follow suit and acquire a much needed bullpen arm. Instead, Cherington chose Gonzalez to fill the Konnor Griffin sized hole on the roster until September. Gonzalez came through in some of his earliest at bats as a Pirate. He got the offensive party started against Gavin Williams with a run moonshot that gave the Pirates a 2-0 lead early in the game. He has displayed the easy power he gained in AAA this year, where he has already hit 17 home runs. The Pirates don’t need much out of the former first-round pick, but a league-average shortstop who can hit for power is worth its weight in gold for this team while Konnor Griffin nurses his injuries. Ben Cherington might have struck gold on another lottery ticket this year.

Khristian Curtis Gave a Hero’s Performance

Speaking of an unsung hero who has been in AAA until recently, what an outing from Khristian Curtis in his MLB debut. The Pirates chose to push back Ashcraft’s start following Friday’s delay and called up Curtis on very short notice. After Mason Montgomery shut down the side, Curtis came in and delivered an elite 5 shutout innings of his own. The rookie only needed 68 pitches over that frame to obliterate the Guardian’s lineup, and carried the Pirates’ 3-0 into the 7th inning. While Cleveland saw themselves forced to pitch over 6 relievers in the doubleheader, Curtis kept the Pirates in front and the bullpen reserved. His final line sits at 5 IP, 4 SO, 2 H, 2 BB while barely giving up any hard contact. There have been many small heroes who have helped contribute to the Pirates’ wins and success. If there is a DVD to be made about the ’26 Pirates, it will be hard to do so without Curtis’ amazing performance after the Canadian wildfires forced the team into a bullpen game.