Notes: Bad Week On The Field, Pitching Staff Musical Chairs, Bruises, Moves & News

Pirates Stuff:

• 2022 first-rounder RHP Thomas Harrington was called up Tuesday. He’s a Top 100 (#73) Baseball America/(#78) MLB Pipeline prospect and the third-rated rook in the Pirates org. The club optioned RHP David Bednar to Indy and DFA’ed C Jason Delay to open up active and 40-man slots for Harrington. The Renegade ran out of rope and it’s hoped a trip to Indy will kickstart him while Delay was a victim of a catcher’s logjam; he was sold to the Atlanta Braves.
• The NY Mets sold the contract of OF Alexander Canario, who they had DFA’ed, to the Pirates. The 24-year-old plays all three spots in the pasture (primarily the corners) and interestingly enough was getting some offseason work at first. He’s hit .286 in 45 MLB PAs and was a .252 hitter with some pop in AAA to go with swing-n-miss issues. He was added to the active roster on Thursday, and INF/OF Ji Hwan Bae has been optioned to Indy. Jared Jones was bumped to the 60-day IL to clear 40-man space.
• IF Jared Triolo was scratched from the Sunday lineup with lower back discomfort. The club announced his status as day-to-day.

Jack-of-all-trades Jared Triolo (image Pirates)

• RHP Chase Shugart was recalled from Indy and RHP Colin Holderman went on the 15-day IL on Sunday with a right knee sprain. 
• If you’re wondering why he’s been DH’ing, Bryan Reynolds is dealing with right triceps soreness, which is not a problem batting but affects his throwing.
• Paul Skenes made the 25th start of his career on Wednesday, posting a 1.92 ERA with 183 strikeouts over that span to become the first pitcher in MLB history with 175+ strikeouts and a sub-2.00 ERA over his first 25 games.
• OF Josh Palacios refused his assignment to Indy after clearing waivers last week and opted for free agency, signing a minor league deal with the White Sox..
• Pirates have been featured in a whole host of sports and local media, but Paul Skenes took it to another level when he and galpal Livvy Dunne were the stars of April’s GQ story “Mr. & Mrs. Rizz.” The article chronicled their relationship intermeshed with a fashion photo shoot.
• The club suits remain tone deaf…they removed the Roberto Clemente 21 Tribute Marker in the RF corner and replaced it with an ad. The Pirates response was that the marker was meant to be temporary (it was put up in 2022) but it will go back up on the Clemente Wall.

Game Stuff:

• Carmen Mlodzinski’s surprise start Monday didn’t work out so well; he gave up four runs in 3-2/3 innings (three good innings, but the fourth was a bridge too far). Although he was the victim of some soft but well-placed dinks, it lent support to keeping him in a bullpen, once around the order, role. It led to a 6-1 ho-hum win for Tampa.
• RHP Thomas Harrington was called up to debut against the Rays the next day. Maybe nerves were in play, but he gave up three runs in the first and six total in four frames. It ended up 7-0.
• When in trouble, give the ball to Paul Skenes. He went seven three-hit innings with six K, giving up one unearned run after 102 pitches and left with a 3-1 edge. The Bucs then traded runs and snapped their four-game cold snap, 4-2, with Dennis Santana getting the save, replacing optioned closer David Bednar, and Oneil Cruz driving home a pair.

Paul Skenes – image SportsNet Pgh

• After an off day, the Bucs and Mitch Keller opened the home season against the NY Yankees Friday with Marc Fogel tossing out the first pitch. It didn’t go well; Kells couldn’t make it through the fourth, giving up a seven-spot, and the NYY ran away with a 9-4 win in front of 36,893 fans. Bryan Reynolds and Ke’Bryan Hayes homered for the Bucs; Key’s shot was worth three runs.
• Bailey Falter/Colin Holderman couldn’t slow down New York on a drizzly Saturday; the Yanks rolled again, 10-4.
• Andrew Heaney was en fuego v NY, going seven innings and giving up a run on five hits with 10 K. But Ryan Borucki blew a 4-1 ninth inning lead to take it into extras, though the Bucs did salvage a 5-4, 11-inning victory. Tommy Pham broke out of an 0-for-17 slump with a drive to the wall with a runner on third to give the Bucs and Joey Wentz the dub. Mlodzinski takes the hill Monday night as the Cards open a three-gamer at PNC.

MLB Stuff: