The Pittsburgh Pirates’ bullpen took another hit on Sept. 3, when the club placed right-handed reliever Kirby Yates on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder impingement, retroactive to Aug. 31.
To cover the loss, Pittsburgh brought up rookie right-hander Khristian Curtis from Triple-A Indianapolis. The move came as part of a second round of roster shuffling before the series finale against the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park, after the Pirates also recalled rookie right-hander Wilber Dotel and optioned left-hander Evan Sisk to Indianapolis.
Yates arrived in Pittsburgh at the Aug. 3 deadline in a deal with the Los Angeles Angels, with right-handed pitching prospect Kyle Robinson going the other way. Since joining the Pirates, he has been one of their most reliable arms out of the pen, going 2-0 in 13 appearances with a 2.19 ERA across 12.1 innings. He has struck out 11 while walking five, and opponents have hit just .239 against him with a 1.30 WHIP.
His biggest moment in a Pirates uniform came Aug. 24 at Petco Park against the San Diego Padres, when he escaped a bases-loaded jam in the 11th inning with a strikeout on three pitches and a lineout. Pittsburgh won that game 3-2 in 12 innings, snapping the kind of skid that had been threatening after a sweep by the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium from Aug. 21-23.
Yates’ final appearance before the injury came Aug. 30 against the St. Louis Cardinals, when he threw a scoreless sixth inning in Pittsburgh’s eventual 5-4 win.
Even with Yates sidelined, the Pirates still have plenty of arms to sort through. Their bullpen now includes seven right-handers - Lake Bachar, Curtis, Dotel, Camilo Doval, Carmen Mlodzinski, Yohan Ramírez and Luke Weaver - along with three left-handers in Brandon Eisert, Mason Montgomery and Gregory Soto.
Bachar started against the Giants in Pittsburgh’s bullpen game, which filled in for Mitch Keller, who is out for the season. The Pirates are expected to have both Dotel and Curtis available against San Francisco, with Dotel having thrown an inning on Sept. 1 and Curtis logging 3.1 innings on Aug. 28, giving each a bulk role option. Pittsburgh should also have Ramírez and Weaver ready, along with all three lefties if needed.
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