Pirates Leave 17 on Base
The Pirates (0-2) fall in an extra innings loss 4-2 to the Mets thanks to 17, yes that’s SEVENTEEN left on base. The main takeaway here is the Pirates may be worse against left-handed pitching that we initially thought. They made Mets starter David Peterson, a career 4.12 ERA pitcher, look like Sandy Koufax at times. The Pirates had chances against him, but couldn’t buy a big hit. They had 12 hits in the game, but none of it was threatening with just one double by Jake Mangum in the 9th inning as the only base hit of the game.
Their best chance came in the 5th inning when they loaded the bases with two outs and Marcell Ozuna popped up to end the inning. But at any rate, if Jared Triolo is going to be your leadoff hitter against lefties, we have problems. Supposedly Oneil Cruz is going to play more against lefties this year, but Don Kelly stated this off day versus a southpaw for Cruz was planned. Cruz did pinch hit in the 9th inning against a righty and struck out.
Keller Solid in Season Debut
I wrote about first half Mitch Keller in the Bullpen Breakdown prior the game and what a 2026 for Keller in this one. Keller fired six shutout innings, allowing just three measly hits (all singles), walking none and striking out three batters. You couldn’t ask for much more from Mitch for an early road game against a good lineup. He was at 77 pitches and if it wasn’t the beginning of the season, he probably goes longer. We all know the story of first half vs second half Mitch.
I understood the thought of why you would possibly trade Keller in the offseason for hitting, but I throught they’d be foolish to deal him with such a young rotation around him. I’m glad he’s still here and this is why. A bonafide innings eater that has the capability of starts like this. This was the best of first half Mitch and as always, we hope he can string together consistency all season and help lift this rotation all season. Keller is scheduled to pitch again for the home opener against the Orioles next Friday.
Bullpen Problems and Hunter Barco‘s Surprising Role
This bullpen hasn’t had the greatest first two games to start the season. Gregory Soto and Dennis Santana were solid today. We hope we can include Isaac Mattson in that discussion as well, but besides those three I’m not sure who you can rely on in this bullpen. Justin Lawrence came in to pitch the 7th inning and immediately walked two batters which has been this team’s issues through two games. Lawrence then struck out the next two and Soto relieved him to strike out rookie Carson Benge for the final out. Soto pitched the next inning and then Santana pitched a scoreless 9th inning. But after that heading into extra innings, Don Kelly called on Hunter Barco.
The move was surprising to me because I had penciled in Barco to follow or piggyback Carmen Mlodzinski after his start tomorrow. That’s not the case. Barco came in and had a wild 10th inning. He hit a batter then allowed two singles to tie the game. Then got two force outs at home including a stellar play by him to move off the mound and shovel the ball to Henry Davis for the second out. Barco then got Bichette to fly out to end the inning. He came back out for the 11th inning, allowed a walk and then the walkoff home run to Luis Robert. Not the greatest outing and not the role I had envisioned for Barco. I questioned the decision to have him on the roster if he’s not going to be in the rotation in the first place and now I question why he’s not following Mlod tomorrow. I think it comes down to there’s really no one else to rely on in a tight game or high leverage spot. This bullpen is constructed with three bulk reliever types in Urquidy, Ramirez and Barco. Then the back end of the bullpen in Santana, Mattson and Soto and two question marks with potential in Lawrence and Montgomery. Montgomery threw 42 pitches on Opening Day and Mattson threw 36 and neither were effective. Neither pitched today and Kelly decided to go with Barco for the long haul in extras. It didn’t work, but the lack of hitting was still the main culprit in this game. But the bullpen had red flags to start the season and it’s still obviously very early, but this bullpen remains a major concern for me.
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