Notes: Donnie In, Shelty Out; Moves & Injured Guys Getting Close, Snips; Minor League News

• Carmen Mlodzinski opened for the Bucs as they traveled to St. Louis. He did fine, giving up a pair and leaving with two gone in the fifth, oddly yanked at 88 pitches with the bases empty and an out away from qualifying for the win. No diff; Chase Shugart gave up four runs in the sixth and the Redbirds took the opener, 6-3.
• Paul Skenes had a good outing Tuesday night (six IP, two runs on three hits with six K) v the Redbirds, but it wasn’t enough as the Pirates posted just five hits and lost, 2-1.
• Kells gave the Bucs a solid mid-rotation start, but they were still swept at St, Louis by a 5-0 tally. They had four hits in losing their seventh straight game. 

Don Kelly after first win – 5/9/2025 KDKA image

• The Don Kelly era began with a bang as the Bucs won his first game as skipper, 3-2, over the Braves at PNC on Friday. Bailey Falter gave up two hits and no runs over six frames while Alexander Canario and Jared Triolo went deep. Still, the Bucs only had five hits; we’ll see how Donnie works around that glaring offensive abyss.
• It was back to Pirating Saturday as the boys dropped a 3-2, 11-inning affair highlighted by the usual fielding gaffes and a 2-for-18 RISP performance, stranding 14 runners. Oh, and Oneil Cruz left the game with a stiff back; he’s day-to-day.
• On Mother’s Day, Mlodzinski made mom proud by showing starter’s stuff, going 5-2/3 shutout frames with just four hits surrendered. But with two outs in the eighth, Donnie yanked Ryan Boricki for Tanner Rainey, who loaded the bases. That brought on Joey Wentz, and a double later, it was a 3-3 contest. But today they had a response. Dennis Santana put up a zero in the ninth, then Fraze and Key led off with singles, both on 0-2 pitches, to put Bucs on the corners. Joey Bart hit a one-out one-hopper toward short, and it had eyes enough to allow Frazier time to beat the throw and score the game-winner (Bart, btw, is riding a 6-for-9 streak at the dish). It was Joey’s second walkoff of the year (and his career).

MLB Stuff:

• The Padres picked up RHP Andrew Moore from the Reds for UT Connor Joe. Moore is a 25-year-old AA prospect while ol’ Bucco Joe was 0-for-9 in 10 games for San Diego.
• RHP Adrian Sampson, 33, who got his start in the Pirates system from 2012-15, when he was traded at the deadline from Indy to Seattle for JA Happ, is still around and signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nats.

Quinn Priester – 2024 Topps

• The Red Sox have acquired Class A RHP John Holobetz from the Brewers as the PTBNL in last month’s trade for ex-Bucco Quinn Priester, who’s 1-0/5.79 in five outings (four starts) for the Brew Crew. Boston also got a High-A OF’er earlier.
• Well-traveled RHP Vince Velasquez was outrighted by Cleveland. He worked for Pittsburgh in 2023 with a 4-4/3.86 line through May, but elbow surgery cost him the rest of the year.
• IF Vinnie Capra, who got into nine games for Pittsburgh in 2023, was DFA’ed by Milwaukee after an 0-for-32 slump led to a BA of .074.