The Pirates are turning back to a familiar left-handed arm as they open their series with the Cardinals.
Pittsburgh recalled Evan Sisk from Triple-A Indianapolis ahead of the Aug. 28 matchup at Busch Stadium, while right-hander Noah Murdock was optioned to Indianapolis to clear a spot on the 26-man roster.
The move gives the Pirates another southpaw in a bullpen that has leaned heavily on lefties over the past month. Mason Montgomery has settled in as the closer and thrived in that role, while Gregory Soto has handled most of the high-leverage work and has been effective lately. Beyond Sisk, the only other left-handed options on the 40-man roster are rookie Hunter Barco and Brandon Eisert.
Barco profiles more as a middle reliever or bulk arm, and Eisert’s time with Pittsburgh didn’t go well. He posted a 7.71 ERA over seven outings and has spent most of the past month back at Triple-A.
The rest of the bullpen is all right-handed, with Lake Bachar, Camilo Doval, Carmen Mlodzinski, Yohan Ramírez, Luke Weaver and Kirby Yates filling out the group. Bringing Sisk back gives the Pirates a different look and another weapon to mix into that relief mix.
Murdock appeared in the Pirates’ 3-0 loss to the Padres in the series finale at Petco Park on Aug. 26, tossing five pitches and recording the final out of the eighth inning. Even with the off day, Pittsburgh wanted a fresh arm.
The Pirates are hoping this version of Sisk looks more like the pitcher they had earlier in the year. In his first stint with the club, he posted a 2.23 ERA across 32 outings and 36.1 innings, with 43 strikeouts, 13 walks, a .231 batting average allowed and a 1.18 WHIP.
Sisk first came up from Indianapolis on April 13 and remained with the Pirates until he landed on the injured list in early July because of left elbow inflammation. He worked his way back, returned on Aug. 5, and then ran into trouble in four outings over the next week. He allowed a run in each of his final three appearances and let all five inherited runners score.
That slump sent him back to Triple-A on Aug. 13. In Indianapolis, he gave up three earned runs over 5.1 innings in five outings, with all of those runs coming in one appearance.
For Pittsburgh, the path is clear: get Sisk back to the version that was fooling hitters early in 2026. His deception, extension and ability to get ahead in counts gave him a real edge, and he also produced some of the weakest contact rates in baseball. If that shows up again, the Pirates will have another useful lefty to work with the rest of the way.
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