Gameday 65: Pirates go for sweep of Twins with Jared Jones on the mound
Jared Jones makes the start with a chance to sweep the Twins
The Pirates’ bullpen combined for a shutout of the Minnesota Twins, guaranteeing a series victory for the home team.
Six pitchers combined to hold the Twins to six hits and zero runs, with Luis Ortiz doing the bulk of the work (4.1 innings pitched).
Offensively, the Pirates were carried by Rowdy Tellez, who picked up two hits—one of which was a home run—along with three RBI. It was his first home run since March 31.
The Pirates will now turn to Jared Jones to try and pick up the sweep. Bailey Ober will be on the mound for the Twins to try and prevent that.
First pitch will be at 1:35 pm ET.
Pirates Lineup
RF - Andrew McCutchen
DH - Bryan Reynolds
LF - Connor Joe
SS - Oneil Cruz
2B - Nick Gonzales
1B - Rowdy Tellez
3B - Jared Triolo
CF - Jack Suwinski
C - Henry Davis
Twins Lineup
1B - Carlos Santana
DH - Trevor Larnach
SS - Carlos Correa
RF - Max Kepler
3B - Jose Miranda
LF - Alex Kirilloff
CF - Bryon Buxton
C - Ryan Jeffers
2B - Willie Castro
Pitching Matchup
PIT - Jared Jones (4-5, 3.25 ERA, 69.1 IP, 15 BB, 76 K)
MIN - Bailey Ober (5-4, 4.94 ERA, 62 IP, 16 BB, 60 K)
Yesterday’s Feature
I go over a group of players that have gotten off to a fantastic start in the month of June—which is headlined by Po-Yu Chen.
Today’s Feature
Injuries have slowed the start of Braylon Bishop’s career. He’s healthy and starting to show some power out of the lead-off spot for the Bradenton Marauders.
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Went to the game yesterday and was expecting to see the bullpen get shelled, but was pleasantly surprised by the performances of Carmen and Ortiz. Initially though Shelton was a little quick pulling Carmen with how effective he was up until that point, but Ortiz gave them the length they needed. Turned into a pitching duel for the most part until Rowdy broke the game open. I’ve never seen someone completely win a crowd over like he did yesterday. Went from obnoxious boos during his first two at-bats to chanting his name by the end of it. What a game.
If a team throws 2 shut-outs in a row and don't have enough pitchers for the next game, I say the problem is bullpen usage.
There are always days when a pitcher doesn't have their stuff, but this is at least the 4th time we've done this to a reliever this year because we are no prepared. Bednar, Nicolas, Mlodzinski and now Heller have all been hung to dry.