The Pirates are turning to one of their rookies to finish off the Brewers series.
Wilber Dotel will get the ball for Pittsburgh in the Sept. 17 finale at PNC Park, giving the Pirates a young arm as they try to take the last game of the set against Milwaukee. It will be Dotel’s second MLB start, following his debut in the 12-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sept. 11.
Dotel’s first start had a little of both. He worked a scoreless first inning against the Cubs before running into trouble in the second, when he allowed three runs and exited after what had started as a promising outing. He also appeared in the sixth inning of the Pirates’ 5-1 loss to the Brewers in the series opener on Sept. 15, surrendering a two-run single after coming in for left-handed reliever Gregory Soto.
The Pirates have leaned on this kind of patchwork pitching all year, and injuries are part of the reason why. With Braxton Ashcraft and Mitch Keller sidelined, Pittsburgh has two bullpen games built into its five-man rotation.
Dotel has already shown he can handle bulk work. He has five scoreless outings of three innings or more, and if he can give the Pirates three innings against Milwaukee, that would help stretch the bullpen deeper into the night.
Khristian Curtis is another rookie the Pirates may need to use in a similar role. He followed Dotel against the Cubs and had his roughest MLB outing, giving up six runs over three innings while battling command. Curtis hasn’t pitched since that game, so Pittsburgh will likely ask him to work in bulk against the Brewers as well.
The relief corps should otherwise be in decent shape. Luke Weaver and Mason Montgomery, Pittsburgh’s top high-leverage options, have not appeared in this series and are expected to be ready. Soto and Camilo Doval should also be available.
There are, however, several arms the Pirates won’t use. Antwone Kelly threw three innings in the opener, Carmen Mlodzinski logged two innings in the Sept. 16 5-4 loss, Yohan Ramírez has pitched in the past two games, and Lake Bachar and Brandon Eisert each threw two innings in the series opener.
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