MILWAUKEE — Jordan Lyles has proven that you can go home again.
Or at least to the Milwaukee Brewers at consecutive trade deadlines.
Only this time has been much, much better than the last, so good that it should probably have the Pirates a little concerned over what has transpired since the July 29 deal that sent Lyles to the Brewers for minor-league pitcher Cody Ponce.
In 10 starts with his new club, Lyles has gone 6-1 with a 2.35 ERA in 53 2/3 innings, becoming Milwaukee’s de facto ace with Brandon Woodruff lost for two months because of an oblique injury. (Woodruff returned Tuesday and starts Sunday against the Pirates.)
The Brewers traded for Lyles in 2018, and the 28-year-old right-hander pitched to a 3.31 ERA in 16 1/3 innings out of the bullpen.
“It was a breath of fresh air to come back to this clubhouse, to be with these guys again knowing that we had a chance to make a run like we did in ’18,” Lyles said before Saturday’s game at Miller Park. “Pittsburgh was heading in a different direction at that time. I was happy to join this group that had an opportunity to play meaningful games in August and September.”
Things definitely weren’t going the right way for Lyles in Pittsburgh, as he went 1-6 over his final nine starts with a 9.57 ERA. It was nothing like the way Lyles looked when he had a 4-1 record and a 1.89 ERA through his first eight starts.
What happened, you ask?
Who’s catching Lyles has seemingly had something to do with it. Lyles has relished working with Yasmani Grandal and Manny Pina here, for their ability to frame pitches.
Francisco Cervelli, when healthy, was very good at that aspect of the game in Pittsburgh, but Elias Diaz — last among Baseball Prospectus’ 110 qualifying catchers when it comes to pitch-framing — has been extremely bad.
When Lyles threw to Cervelli in Pittsburgh, he had a 1.96 ERA in 23 innings. When he threw to Diaz, he had a 6.58 ERA in 53 2/3 innings.
“A lot of credit goes to our catchers and getting us in the right situations,” Lyles said. “It’s been a lot more fun when things are going the right way.”
The easy thing here would be to make this another Gerrit Cole situation, but that’s not entirely true, even though the Astros reportedly tried to acquire Lyles at the trade deadline.
Lyles isn’t a drastically different pitcher now versus earlier in the season. Sure, he’s throwing his fastball 2.2 percent less and his curveball and slider a combined 5.1 percent more, but that’s hardly overhaul territory.
Lyles is also getting strikeouts at a lower percentage in Milwaukee (22.9) than he did in Pittsburgh (24.9), so it’s not a question of intent to where we need to start talking about pitching to contact.
It’s more with whom he’s working. Using those framing metrics, Grandal ranks second behind San Diego’s Austin Hedges, while Pina is 12th. The result has been Lyles getting more borderline pitches. He’s also able to execute his pitches better because he’s thinking less.
“Usage-wise, I think we’re pretty much the same as where I was earlier when I was struggling a little bit,” Lyles said. “We’re just making pitches and putting decent outings together.”
Off-the-field has been an easy transition for Lyles. The same as last year, he’s living in a hotel. He also joked that he knows the lay of the land around here, too.
“Obviously I know where the players’ parking lot and all that kind of stuff is,” he said.
Following the Pirates and how their season has come apart at the seams has been tough for Lyles, who said there are some “really good guys over there, for sure.”
“There’s a lot of stories coming out of that clubhouse,” Lyles said. “Overall, I enjoyed my time there. I enjoyed the guys there. It’s unfortunate a couple of those things have come up.”
That’s not Lyles’ problem anymore. For now, he’s anchoring a pitching staff that has helped produce an MLB-best 15 wins in September, on a team that seems to be making a late charge in the National League Wild Card race.
And he couldn’t be happier to be doing it here, in a familiar place.
“It’s been real fun,” Lyles said. “Kind of picking up last year when I came up here at the deadline. Winning series. Winning games. The clubhouse has been really good. It’s awesome here.”
Cabrera ailing
Clint Hurdle said that Melky Cabrera has “a little something going on,” although the Pirates manager would not reveal what it is.
“It would be a competitive disadvantage,” Hurdle said.
It’s unclear whether Cabrera would be an option off the bench for the Pirates. He last played in a game on Tuesday.
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: September 21, 2019, 10:37 p.m.
