With numerous injuries to the starting rotation, Derek Shelton has routinely relied upon his bullpen to contribute one collective start a week throughout the month of June. In recent weeks, the strategy has been successful, producing three victories in as many attempts.

Things, however, went differently against Tampa Bay Friday evening. The previously successful duo of Carmen Mlodzinski and Luis Ortiz had a notable stumble to begin the club’s weekend series against the Rays, allowing a combined seven runs en route to a 10-3 loss at PNC Park.

“Yeah, but we still have to execute pitches,” manager Derek Shelton said after the loss. “We still had some hard-hit balls in there. There were some balls that got through but you’ve got to give the Rays credit. They put the ball in play.”

While Mlodzinski started the game strong with a scoreless first frame, the Rays offense tagged him a run before he exited with an out remaining in the top of the second. The 25-year-old righty then handed the ball to Ortiz, who had allowed just one run in 12 ⅓ innings of work this month, prior to toeing the rubber.

Josh Lowe doubled that total in the third inning with one swing of the bat, smashing a towering home run into the high rows of the Clemente wall. Tampa added two more runs in the fourth on back-to-back RBI singles from Yandy Diaz and Brandon Lowe, and then three more in the sixth from another long ball from Josh Lowe. Ortiz’s day came to an end one at-bat later.

“I mean, Lowe hit the homer off him but they put the ball in play,” Shelton said. “There wasn’t a ton of hard contact, even with Carmen. There was not a lot of hard contact. Then, ultimately, the command wasn’t what we’ve seen over the last couple outings.”

“They made a lot of weak contact but were able to put the ball in play,” Ortiz added with major league coach Stephen Morales translating. “That’s part of the game.”

Ben Rortvedt gave one final punch to the gut in the top of the ninth, sending a thre- run homer to right field. The blast marked his second extra-base hit of the evening, and the third home run for his club.

While the Rays bats were active throughout the evening, Shetlon’s lineup was mostly quiet throughout the contest, tallying just five hits. Rays reliever Colin Poche was the game’s winning pitcher, earning his first victory of the season.

The Pirates first two runs came in the bottom of the fourth inning, making the contest close for a brief minute, before Lowe’s second homer. Bryan Reynolds then extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning for the club’s final tally of the night.

ON THE MOUND

Daulton Jefferies, a 28-year-old right-hander who was recalled Monday from Triple-A Indianapolis, looked sharp in his first two innings as a Pirate. But he too was eventually tagged for runs in the top of the ninth, surrendering the home run to Rortvedt. Jefferies relied heavily upon his sinker in his Pirates debut, a pitch he threw for 25 of his 53 pitches.

“He did a nice job,” Shelton said. “He hadn’t pitched in eight or nine days. We ran him out there for the third inning and I thought he did a good job. The first time seeing him, sinker-cutter mix, threw some good changeups. Obviously, he left a sinker up that Rortvedt hit out. But overall I thought he commanded the ball and pounded the zone.”

AT THE PLATE

Although the home run came when the game was all but decided, Reynolds’ big swing continued his dominant tear in the month of June. A 1-for-3 day at the plate improved Reynolds’ batting average to .342 this month. The homer marked his fourth of June and 11th of the season, each mark being a club best.

THEY SAID IT

“I don’t know if we can look throughout the league,” Shelton said when asked about the club’s bullpen game strategy. “I think we have to just kind of internalize it, in terms of the way we feel and what we feel the matchups are and how they go.”

UP NEXT

Saturday: Pirates vs. Rays, 4:05 p.m., PNC Park

TV, radio: SportsNet Pittsburgh, KDKA-FM (93.7 The Fan)

Probable pitchers: RHP Zach Eflin (3-4, 4.12) for Rays; RHP Jared Jones (4-6, 3.76) for Pirates

Key matchup: Andrew McCutchen entered this series with a career .318 batting average and five home runs against the Rays.

Hidden stat: Jones’ 85 strikeouts this season rank second among all MLB rookies, behind only Yankees RHP Luis Gil (97).

Sunday: Pirates vs. Rays, 1:35 p.m., PNC Park

Probable pitchers: RHP Aaron Civale (2-5, 5.42) for Rays; RHP Paul Skenes (4-0, 2.29) for Pirates

Noah Hiles: nhiles@post-gazette.com and @_NoahHiles on X

First Published: June 22, 2024, 1:42 a.m.
Updated: June 22, 2024, 3:03 p.m.