Where Things Stand
Happy Hump Day, everyone! I hope that your week is going well. The Pirates managed to win the second game in this four-game series against the Nationals by a score of 5-1. It was a pretty good overall performance. Bailey Falter got the start and looked pretty good through six innings. He allowed only one run while striking out five. The bullpen was solid behind him as well. The offense was able to get things going again. Palacios, Rodriguez, Suwinski, and Hayes all had multi-hit games. Palacios had the team’s only home run with a two-run shot in the second to open the scoring. This was the kind of game that you want to see the Pirates playing against a bad team. I was pleased. I’ll leave it to DiNardo and Neil to break down all of the finer details for you.
Up Next
Game three of the series will be tonight at 6:35 P.M. EDT. I want to go on record as approving of these 6:35 P.M. EDT starts. They start the season out with a lot of them and now they’re closing the season the same way. I know it’s only 30 minutes earlier than the regular start time, but it feels like it frees up so much of my evening. I would like to see that become the official home start time. If any of you have Bob Nutting’s ear let him know, please. The MLB website currently shows both starting pitchers for tonight at TBD. Jason Macky reported that it will be Colin Selby starting and likely opening for Quinn Priester who they added to the taxi squad. This will give an extra day of rest to both Keller and Oviedo. They’ve both earned it. Can the Pirates win tonight and guarantee at least a series split? Do you, like me, love the 6:35 P.M. start time? Let me know in the comments.
Quick Hits
We’ll file this under ‘Don’t get too excited about this’. The Pirates were in attendance to scout top international pitching prospect Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Orix Buffaloes of the Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan. You probably recognize the name from the World Baseball Classic where he was one of Japan’s top pitchers en route to their championship.
With the expectation that he is posted to MLB teams this offseason, Yoshinobu Yamamoto had a career defining performance. He would go onto pitch a no hitter, notching eight strikeouts, en-route to a 4-0 win for the Orix Buffaloes of the Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan, with several MLB team representatives in the stands.
Yamamoto had not seen enough service time to be eligible for free agency in Japan, but his contract could be offered up to Major League teams this winter. Amongst the teams in attendance for this incredible performance were representatives from the Yankees, Angels, Phillies, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Blue Jays and the Pirates and possibly others.
The prospect of adding a player of this caliber to any team could be a move that changes a franchise. This season in Japan, Yamamoto is posting a stat line of 145 strikeouts, 24 walks, with an ERA of 1.26 and a record of 14-5 with a scoreless streak that spans 42 innings after his latest outing. He is far in a way one of the most dominant pitchers in all of Japanese baseball.
In some not-very-surprising news, Oneil Cruz will not play again this season.
PITTSBURGH -- With time running out in the regular season, Oneil Cruz was ruled out of a return in the 2023 campaign by manager Derek Shelton on Tuesday afternoon. But he’s already as confident as ever that he’ll be back to his best self in ‘24 -- if not sooner.
Cruz sustained a fractured left ankle when he slid awkwardly into a collision at home plate with White Sox catcher Seby Zavala on April 9. The Pirates projected a return to action in four months shortly after the injury, and Cruz appeared to be tracking well when he began a running progression in early August -- one of the final steps before getting fielding reps and swings in batting practice.
However, director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said on Aug. 23 that Cruz’s rehab had “plateaued” due to left foot soreness during his running progression, which began in early August. Still, at the time, Cruz expressed optimism that he could return, saying setbacks like the soreness were a frequent occurrence with his type of injury.
Though Cruz won’t suit up again this season for the Pirates -- who, at 66-78, are outside of the postseason picture -- he isn’t letting the finality of it hurt his spirits.
“Mentally, I’ve been in a good spot the whole time,” Cruz said via interpreter Stephen Morales. “I’m always a positive guy. Physically, we’ve got some setbacks, but we’re going to overcome those and I feel a lot better now.”
There’s no doubt that Cruz’s early departure from the lineup made a mark on this year’s team. His blend of raw power, arm speed, sprint speed and an improving strike-zone recognition pointed toward a breakout season. FanGraphs’ ZiPS Projections for the 2023 season had Cruz tied with Ke’Bryan Hayes as the second-highest fWAR producer (2.7) on the team behind Bryan Reynolds (3.5).
“When you lose a guy in the middle of the diamond that you’re counting on, it’s a significant blow to our team,” Shelton said, “and it changed the whole complexion of our lineup right from 15 games in.”
“I’m the type of player that I don’t like to lose,” Cruz said, “and when I go home now, I think at home like, ‘How could I help my team in that situation?’ But I think we’re going to be a lot better next year. We’re thinking about the playoffs and all that next year when I get back.”
Alright. That wraps us up for today. We’ll be back here again tomorrow looking at the third game of the series. As always, #LetsGoBucs!
No Cruz is such a bummer