PHILADELPHIA — Luis Ortiz bounded into the Pirates clubhouse with plenty of energy on Thursday afternoon. He flipped on the gigantic boombox that he keeps in his locker and yelled toward the far end of the rectangular room, later sharing a laugh with Oneil Cruz and Liover Peguero.
It might’ve been in a different language, but Ortiz’s mood was easy to translate on this particular day, his last start of the season, a chance to put an exclamation point on what has been a busy year.
After some turbulence with the first couple hitters, Ortiz did exactly that, delivering an impressive performance during Pittsburgh’s 3-2 victory at Citizens Bank Park, and one that should probably make the Pirates think about where he’s at in the development process.
Although he only went five innings, it was one of the few times this season where Ortiz actually pitched. His sinker was especially sharp. He used it to obtain quick outs and paired it nicely with a sharp slider, enough to retire 11 in a row at one point.
"I just wanted to leave a good impression," Ortiz said, with major league coach Stephen Morales translating. "I went at it and gave my best out there."
The biggest difference, Pirates manager Derek Shelton said, was Ortiz's tempo, something they've been working with him to improve this season. Early on, the 24-year-old did get a little sped up, perhaps wanting to do a little too much.
But a credit to Ortiz, he made a key in-game adjustment, which should be an important building block in his development as a pitcher.
"The tempo of his delivery was probably the best it’s been all year long," Shelton said. "He was working fast. He was consistent. That first inning was a real big key."
At 86 pitches, Ortiz likely could've gone back out for the sixth, but Shelton went to Dauri Moreta, maybe wanting to keep Ortiz’s confidence high.
After struggles with his control and another weird case of disappearing velocity, what has happened with Ortiz this year has hardly been linear. He has had to rework his mechanics while also facing a continual challenge to trust his stuff, a tweak that has occasionally caused issues with his control.
"This start was a really positive one, especially because the first inning, that could have gone awry," Shelton said. "He calmed himself down, then made an adjustment in-game, which I think is huge."
Ortiz made a mistake on the third pitch he threw, permitting a deep homer to designated hitter Kyle Schwarber. After getting ahead of Schwarber, 0-2, Ortiz left a fastball up. Schwarber crushed it 444 feet at 110.6 mph for his 46th homer of the season, matching his career-high.
Jared Triolo helped get the run back with his double in the third inning, connecting on a curveball below the zone. Facing Phillies starter Zack Wheeler, who was otherwise outstanding in his postseason tuneup, Triolo drilled one over third base to tie the score at 1.
The Pirates rallied for two more in the fifth against lefty reliever Matt Strahm, again getting a two-out, two-strike double from Triolo, who has now reached base in 10 straight.
During that span, Triolo is hitting .515 with five doubles, two home runs, five RBIs and nine walks. He entered the game leading all MLB rookies in batting (.372) and on-base percentage (.500) in September.
"The dude’s swinging it out there," Joshua Palacios said of Triolo. "He’s having good at-bats, a great approach. He’s doing everything."
After Bryan Reynolds singled to stretch his on-base streak to 26 games, Triolo drove an up-and-away fastball to the base of the wall in right-center, proof that the mechanical changes he made are leading to more power.
Another sign of improvement followed. Suwinski, whose struggles against lefties have been well-documented, singled home Triolo when he shot an inside fastball from Strahm into center field.
That run became important, shortstop Trea Turner doubled off Carmen Mlodzinski in the eighth and scored when Jason Delay sailed a throw into left field.
ON THE MOUND
There was an outside chance at one or maybe both pitching this weekend, but Shelton before the game threw water on the ice that Mitch Keller or Roansy Contreras could pitch again this season.
Keller could’ve pitched Sunday against the Marlins at PNC Park on five days of rest, although the Pirates have been having their ace pitch every sixth day instead. Shelton wasn’t interested in pushing anything further and informed Keller on Wednesday of his decision.
As for Contreras, Shelton and general manager Ben Cherington both hoped he would return to the big leagues after the Pirates sent the right-hander all the way down to rookie ball to work on his mechanics.
Contreras appeared in eight games (six starts) for Triple-A Indianapolis, pitching to a 4.96 ERA in 32 2/3 innings, his overall pitch mix supposedly better but the velocity on his fastball still lacking.
“We’re gonna maintain health,” Shelton said. “We’re gonna continue to work on the things that we think will help him be a really solid major league pitcher.”
STRONG TRIP
The Pirates should be proud of how they handled this trip, going 5-4 against the Cubs, Reds and Phillies. Even the two losses here, the Pirates didn’t play all that bad.
Pittsburgh improved to 75-84 on the season. Shelton’s club is also 34-30 in its last 64 games and hasn’t lost three in a row since the first series coming out of the All-Star break.
“Proud of our group,” Shelton said. “They played good baseball on this road trip.”
AT THE PLATE
Reynolds’ streak is the third-longest active one in MLB. The only longer streak for the Pirates since 2005 was Jason Bay getting on base in 29 consecutive games that year.
Palacios also had two hits to continue his strong month, one that likely has cemented on role on the team for him next season. Palacios began the game hitting .310 with four homers and 13 RBIs in September.
Alfonso Rivas (2) was the fourth Pirates player with multiple hits.
QUOTABLE
“That was key tonight, just to keep my tempo and my pace the way it was. That made them feel uncomfortable.” — Ortiz
UP NEXT
The Pirates open their final series of the season against the Marlins at PNC Park. They have not yet announced a starting pitcher.
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: September 29, 2023, 12:54 a.m.
Updated: September 29, 2023, 1:10 p.m.
