Carmen Mlodzinski showed again why the Pirates keep leaning on him in relief - and why Wednesday’s choice to use him early came with a price.
Pittsburgh called on Mlodzinski a day sooner than planned, and he answered with three spotless innings on only 30 pitches as the Pirates fought back from a two-run hole. He entered in the seventh, worked through the ninth without allowing a baserunner, and still had something left when his night ended. But once he was out, the Giants pushed across two runs in the 10th and beat the Pirates, 5-4.
“Probably if needed,” Mlodzinski said when asked if he could have gone another inning. “I think just based off of the rest that I had from the last outing on 3 1/3 [innings] on Saturday, probably asking for four there might have been a little too much. But I probably could have gone one more, just with how efficient I was.”
Don Kelly said the move was based on innings, not pitch count. That mattered because Mlodzinski had been stretched more in recent outings, even though he’s now settled into a relief-only role after bouncing out of the rotation, back in, and out again this season. Since June 10, he hasn’t gone beyond 3 1/3 innings, but in August he’s still been asked to shoulder real volume, throwing at least 47 pitches in each of his six outings.
Kelly’s willingness to turn to him a day early also said plenty about how much the Pirates trusted their offense to climb back. They were down 3-1, but Pittsburgh chipped away and tied it before the game slipped away in extra innings.
“Down 3-1, and felt that Carmen gave us our best chance to keep it right there,” Kelly said. “Believed in the offense and found a way to come back and tie it up, and felt like Carmen gave us the best chance to keep it there to score and win.”
“Willing to do whatever we need,” Mlodzinski added. “I think the way our offense has performed this year, we know two runs is something we can for sure cover, and we did.”
Kelly also had to weigh the 10th inning with limited relief options. Mason Montgomery and Luke Weaver had both pitched three of the past four days and were unavailable.
That left Camilo Doval, the former Giants closer, as the best arm if Mlodzinski was lifted. Kelly chose Doval, and San Francisco immediately cashed in with a double and a sacrifice fly to take control again.
The Pirates had already put themselves in a tougher spot than they should have been in. Bubba Chandler gave them five strong innings, with Rafael Devers’ first-inning solo homer the only damage through most of his outing.
But in the fifth, Chandler appeared to win an eight-pitch battle with Devers before a shallow popup fell between Oneil Cruz, Esmerlyn Valdez and Jared Triolo. The Giants followed with a sacrifice fly and a single, turning the inning into a 3-1 lead.
Pittsburgh’s comeback was real, but the offense left too much unfinished business. The Pirates stranded 10 runners, went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position, and left a runner at third base in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings.
The way Mlodzinski was used Wednesday also tightens the bullpen picture for Thursday’s series finale. Lake Bachar will open, but the Pirates are likely to cover the rest of the game without a bulk option.
Wilber Dotel, Thomas Harrington and Hunter Barco are all eligible to be called up, though each pitched within the past three days for Triple-A Indianapolis. Khristian Curtis, Antwone Kelly and Noah Murdock can’t be brought up yet because they were all optioned within the past 15 days.
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Pirates Suddenly Have A Bullpen Problem At The Worst Time
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Wilber Dotel also got the call back up as part of the same round of roster shuffling, while Evan Sisk was optioned to Indianapolis. The timing is less than ideal for a Pirates team trying to keep its late-game options intact, and Yates injury leaves the staff waiting to see how deep the bullpen hole becomes before the next stretch of games really settles in. [Read more 🡒]