Not long ago, the Pirates probably felt fairly comfortable with their starting pitching depth. It’s doubtful that holds true now.
For while there has certainly been improvement this season, what happened Wednesday was the latest bit of bad news for the group, as Roansy Contreras recorded just one out while giving up seven earned runs during a 9-5 loss to the Athletics at PNC Park.
The outing raised Contreras’ season ERA to 5.19. It also exacerbated some previous command issues, with Contreras clearly tentative with his mechanics and either missing the strike zone entirely or finding way too much of it.
“For some reason [Wednesday], it was hard for me to get into a rhythm,” Contreras said, with major league coach Stephen Morales translating. “I felt like my body wasn’t connected to my arm. It was hard for me to make pitches.”
Give Contreras credit for his honesty. However, that doesn’t make the solution any easier to find. And the Pirates absolutely need to do that right now.
It’s actually something the Pirates (32-29) pursued by shifting Contreras to the bullpen, but Vince Velasquez leaving his return start in Seattle early with right elbow discomfort scuttled those plans.
Contreras pitched once in relief before allowing five earned runs over four innings in his last start.
Should the Pirates continue to allow Contreras to make starts when clearly he needs additional work? Though it doesn’t feel like it after dropping two of three to Oakland, they’re still relatively close in the division race.
Manager Derek Shelton was noncommittal on what the Pirates will do with Contreras, citing off days on Thursday and Monday before a stretch of 13 straight and 26 in 27 days heading into the All-Star break.
If Mike Burrows were available, this might’ve been the perfect opportunity for him. But the same as JT Brubaker, they’re out for the year (and more) because of Tommy John surgery.
Could Quinn Priester get a shot? Maybe. He was really good aside from one start in May but also allowed four runs over five innings on Wednesday. His ERA is 4.63. The only other conceivable option from Triple-A is probably Osvaldo Bido. It’s unlikely that inspires much hope.
While we await news on Velasquez on Friday from director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk — the former’s return is hardly imminent — the Pirates seemingly have more questions than answers in the starting rotation — especially when you consider Mitch Keller has allowed 15 earned runs over his past three starts and Johan Oviedo has alternated between really good and really wild.
“It’s been tough this year to find myself on the mound,” Contreras said. “But I’ll continue to work hard and be the Roansy I know I can be.”
Oakland’s seven-run first all but sealed this one about a half-hour after it started. This marks just the third series victory this season for the Athletics and snapped a two-series winning streak for the Pirates.
Aside from strong games from Rodolfo Castro (double, homer, three RBIs) and Ke’Bryan Hayes (three hits), one of the only other redeeming storylines involved Andrew McCutchen’s seventh-inning single, which brought his career hit total to 1,998.
It felt for a brief moment like the Pirates might actually make something of this; however, a sequence in the sixth and seventh innings ensured they would indeed lose.
After Hayes tripled into the North Side Notch — he’s hitting .483 (14 for 29) during a seven-game hitting streak, with a double, two triples, two home runs and seven RBIs — Castro and Josh Palacios struck out, stranding Hayes at third.
“We had 22 walks in three games,” Shelton said.”We were patient. We just didn’t get the big hit the last two nights.”
ON THE MOUND
The problems for Contreras were plenty obvious from the jump.
Designated hitter Brent Rooker lined an elevated heater into left-center for a 1-0 Oakland lead. Second baseman Jace Peterson, who Tuesday night went 5 for 5 with two homers and five RBIs, found another four-seamer and laced a two-run double into the right-field corner.
Third baseman Jonah Bride singled on a slider that was actually a touch out of the zone for a 4-0 advantage before center fielder JJ Bleday hammered a middle-middle changeup over a leaping Hayes.
Rob Zastryzny issued a pair of bases-loaded walks to bring home two of Contreras’ baserunners.
“Learning experience here,” Shelton said. “We have to sit down and talk about it.”
AT THE PLATE
Entering the game with a 1.091 OPS against lefties (fifth in the National League), Castro got a 2-0 fastball from Athletics southpaw Hogan Harris that was up and out over the plate, crushing it 430 feet into the Pittsburgh bullpen for his sixth of the season.
In the fourth, Castro ambushed a first-pitch heater from Harris and drove it into the left-center gap to bring the Pirates to within four at 7-3.
“As hitters, that’s what you look for: production,” Castro said, with Morales translating. “It feels good, for sure. Hopefully more to come.”
In addition to his hit, McCutchen walked twice in the game and seven times in the series. It marked the third consecutive game McCutchen has recorded two-plus walks, the first time a Pirates player has done that since Jordy Mercer on May 2-5, 2017. McCutchen actually had multiple walks in four straight from Sept. 20-23, 2015.
QUOTABLE
“You definitely feel uncomfortable coming out of the game so early. That gives you room to think about all the stuff that you did or you could do, but it’s part of the game. Just continue to work hard, and we’re going to be a lot better.” — Contreras
UP NEXT
The Pirates are off on Thursday before starting a three-game series with the Mets over the weekend. Rich Hill gets the ball Friday. The veteran left-hander has a 6.69 career ERA against them.
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: June 7, 2023, 7:45 p.m.
Updated: June 8, 2023, 10:04 a.m.