The Pirates drop yet another agonizing game as they waste 6 perfect innings from Jared Jones tonight. Despite Jones producing one of the best starts of his MLB career, the bats fell silent and couldn’t muster an extra-base hit, let alone a run. The Pirates had no answer for Grant Holmes over 5 innings and then got shut down by one of the best bullpens in baseball. The Bucs are now back to 1 game over .500 (47-46) and continue to fall behind the Marlins in the Wild Card race. Watch Jim and I break down the game further in detail here:

Jared Jones Has Arrived

Jared Jones struggled mightily when he came back to the Majors from his long rehab stint. However, despite those struggles, he was showing off two good breaking pitches in his changeup and curveball that paired very well with his elite fastball/slider combo. His main issue as a rookie was being overly reliant on said combo, and hitters could sit on those pitches and hammer them. It has taken a while to adjust, but his last month’s worth of starts is showing that the elite talent can produce results. Tonight he might have just had his best start in the majors, throwing 6 perfect innings and striking out 8 along the way. He generated 14 whiffs, and the Braves had 0 answers for his devastating fastball, which got a 65% whiff rate. It was a good reminder for everyone that Jones has true ace potential, and it really sucks that he had to be pulled at 77 pitches, even if it was the smart move from a health perspective.

Mlodzinski is the Real Mismanagement

Pirates fans were understandably upset when Don Kelly chased Jared Jones down the dugout steps to tell him he was done after 6 perfect innings. The fan yearns for greatness and perfect games are amazing to witness. However, in the long run protecting Jones’ health is far more important than chasing perfect games. The offense is the real reason the Pirates lost this one. There is one thing that Pirates fans can be upset with Don Kelly for, and that is not having Carmen Mlodzinski available to pitch tonight. Mlod has been the best right-handed arm the Bucs have had since he was moved to the pen against his will. Yet he was used for multiple innings last night in a blowout where the Braves had no chance of winning. There is simply no reason for Mlodzinski to not be the first RHP option so that Kelly has to rely on Dennis Santana and Isaac Mattson in high-leverage situations tonight. Santana cannot be trusted to hold leads or keep games tied, as he showed tonight getting obliterated by Joey Bart, which sealed the team’s fate.

The Pirates Are the ’08 Chargers

Despite the Pirates having one of the best offenses in baseball and some of the best starters in the entire sport, they cannot escape .500. The Pirates finally won 3 straight games for the first time since May, and they have not won a game without scoring 5 runs since mid-June. All of these wacky stats point to this extremely talented team that cannot stop losing games they should win. With how good the offense is, you should never lose a game where your starter goes 6 perfect innings. The team could’ve won 4 straight, been three games over .500, and won a series against one of the best teams in baseball. Instead, they are in an eternal chase to 8-8 like the ’08 Chargers because they cannot get out of their own way. The team is top 5 in baseball in terms of WAR, yet there is a very good chance they waste it all and miss the playoffs despite all the talent here.