Gameday 145: Carmen Mlodzinski pitches in bullpen game against Marlins
Carmen Mlodzinski vs Adam Oller
Paul Skenes picked up his 10th win after striking out nine batters in six innings of one-run baseball. He also only walked a single batter.
Colin Holderman and Dennis Santana bridged the gap to Aroldis Chapman in the ninth, where he registered his seventh save of the season.
Oneil Cruz hit his 19th home run of the season, a towering shot to center field. Bryan Reynolds drove in a pair on a single. He’s up to 82 RBI on the season now.
The Pirates can at least clinch this series against the Marlins as they opt for a bullpen-style game. Carmen Mlodzinski will get the opening nod.
They will face Adam Oller, a 20th-round pick of the Pirates back in 2016. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 pm ET.
Pirates Lineup
SS - Isiah Kiner-Falefa
LF - Bryan Reynolds
CF - Oneil Cruz
DH - Andrew McCutchen
C - Joey Bart
1B - Rowdy Tellez
2B - Nick Gonzales
RF - Billy Cook
3B - Jared Triolo
Marlins Lineup
SS - Javier Sanoja
3B - Connor Norby
RF - Jesus Sanchez
1B - Jake Burger
2B - Otto Lopez
LF - Griffin Conine
DH - Jonah Bride
CF - Kyle Stowers
C - Jhonny Pereda
Pitching Matchup
PIT - Carmen Mlodzinski (2-5, 3.73 ERA, 41 IP, 15 BB, 36 K)
MIA - Adam Oller (1-2, 4.15 ERA, 21.2 IP, 13 BB, 22 K)
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I'm not going to pretend like he was a big loss or I had anything to do with helping him succeed, but the day that the Pirates released Adam Oller, I wrote him and gave a "pep talk", mostly saying I was surprised that they got rid of him because they weren't in the place to get rid of a player with a legit big league shot. I really liked the progress he was making in looks that I got between the 2017 and 2018 seasons. I was going to push for him to be a top 50 prospect, but he was cut before the list was finalized.
While I hate to see the Pirates whiff on a future big league player, I did like that a hidden gem I saw who no one was talking about, made it to the majors. He has played parts of three seasons, helped out by being with the A's for part of that time. He just passed a year of service time. Not bad for him either. He went from a meager bonus and being released, to making about $1M in salary the last three years (majors/minors combined) and a nice little guaranteed pension down the line. He's not set for life yet, but I'm sure money won't be an issue any time soon.
He's a good guy, so I'm glad to see it. Hope he loses today, don't tell him I said that :)
Billy Cook in RF, batting eighth. This lineup today feels like they are going for the "drive for 75" goal, but then they have a bullpen game. It makes me think they might bring back Tellez, which I don't understand. He's going to be 30 years old next year. He's a career 0.7 WAR. This is who he is.. He not going to come to camp next year 50 pounds slimmer and nimble at first base. He's going to hopefully hit just enough to offset his lost value on defense and on the bases, which won't get better on the wrong side of 30. If current players weren't as fragile as glassware in an earthquake, he would be a great full-time pinch-hitter, occasional start at DH, but there's no room for pinch-hitters anymore apparently, especially since pitchers don't hit.