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With short-handed bullpen, aggressive approach backfires on Pirates

Originally posted on DK Pittsburgh Sports
By Corey Crisan | Last updated 4/25/24

Michael A. Taylor confirmed after Thursday afternoon's 7-5 Pirates loss to the Brewers at PNC Park that he was given a bunt sign to move Oneil Cruz over in the eighth inning. But, it was on for only one pitch.

That lack of execution after a lead-off double to set things up is a topic in and of itself, but it was this approach that ultimately led to the Pirates' loss, a split with the Brewers, and a renewed .500 record at 13-13.

"There was a thought on that," Derek Shelton said regarding the potential for Taylor to bunt Cruz over. "I mean, with where we were at with our bullpen, it was going to be challenging for us because (Roansy Contreras) threw 35 pitches yesterday. So we took a shot and went for the win instead of going for the tie there. I know sometimes you can go one way or another on it but we were really thin today in our bullpen."

Shelton knew his bullpen was going to be thin with four relievers being used in Wednesday evening's loss. He had his $77 million arm Mitch Keller on the mound, but Keller's wild command led to 104 pitches being thrown in five innings. Shelton made the call for the Pirates to maintain aggressiveness and play for the late lead and a potential win rather than chance a marathon game against the Brewers, and this approach cost them.

Cruz laced a double down the right-field line to lead off the penultimate inning with the Pirates trailing by one. Taylor stepped in, looked to third-base coach Mike Rabelo for the sign, and he saw it was on for a swing and not a bunt. It remained that way until Taylor went up 2-1, when he was given the OK to flash a bunt to get the tying run over to third base. But, the pitch missed inside, making the count 3-1. Taylor was then given the swing sign, and he offered at a high-and-tight fastball and popped out to second base.

"I went up there knowing it was a bunt situation," Taylor told me. "I made sure to pick up the signs. Gave me hit until I got to 2-1 and then he gave me the bunt sign. So I squared around and it was a ball. (Then at) 3-1, gave me a hit, so I was looking to hit something the other way to move the runner."

The Pirates would not have been in this position if not for Gary Sanchez's pinch-hit two-run home run off of Aroldis Chapman in the eighth inning, which gave the Brewers a 6-5 lead:

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— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSmedia) April 25, 2024

Sanchez took an 0-2 tailing, up-and-outside fastball to the opposite field. All of Chapman's pitches to Sanchez clocked in at 99.7 mph or faster and were spotted relatively in the same area. Shelton said he thought Chapman threw too many fastballs in that situation, but Chapman praised Sanchez for the at-bat.

"Maybe, but I think he just took a really good at-bat and just made a really good connection with the ball there," Chapman said through translator Stephen Morales. "It happens, you know. He had a really good at-bat."

Keller's command was erratic on a day where the Pirates needed him to extend. He ran into his most trouble in a 31-pitch third inning. Both batters he walked -- Sal Frelick and William Contreras -- scored off of RBI singles by Jake Bauers and Rhys Hoskins. Hoskins' single tied the game at 3 and erased a three-run home run from Joey Bart in the first inning.

It didn't help that, on Bauers' RBI single, Rowdy Tellez cut off the ball and hesitated to throw to third base to try to get William Contreras in a rundown.

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— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSmedia) April 25, 2024

Keller ran back into trouble in the fifth. William Contreras singled, stole second, and scored on Hoskins' double that barely went outside of Jack Suwinski's range.

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— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSmedia) April 25, 2024

Suwinski would make up for that with an RBI double off of the right-field wall in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at 4. He scored on Jared Triolo's single to give the Pirates a 5-4 lead. By that point, though, Keller's day was done and Shelton had to tap into his short-handed bullpen.

"Obviously, I know the situation and what’s going on, but you try not to think about that," Keller said. "Of course today is the one day I throw a lot of pitches in five innings. But I was willing to go back out for the sixth just because I knew the situation. We were losing at that point but then once we took the lead, it was kind of a no-brainer to take me out because obviously I wasn’t on top of my stuff today.”

Ryder Ryan walked two and struck out one in 1 2/3 innings and Colin Holderman allowed a hit and struck out one in one-third of an inning before Shelton gave the ball to Chapman in the eighth. Roansy Contreras threw 15 pitches in the ninth but allowed an RBI single to Oliver Dunn.

"We used the bullpen, for sure, the previous game," Chapman said. "But today, I feel like we were in a regular spot ... (The result) wasn't the way it was supposed to be."

Shelton confirmed that David Bednar was available to pitch Thursday. On Wednesday, Shelton opted to throw his bullpen and push Quinn Priester to Friday's game at San Francisco. Josh Fleming started and Luis Ortiz, Roansy Contreras, and Hunter Stratton each followed by pitching at least two innings.