A day's uncertainty leads to an unexpected Oviedo start, which goes horribly

Tyler Anderson was supposed to start Tuesday, but was scratched before the on-field workouts because he was close to being traded to the Phillies.

As it turned out, that trade hit an unexpected snag due to a medical report of one of the prospects the Phillies were sending over. That trade was eventually nixed, and Anderson instead was dealt to the Mariners. 

In his place, Luis Oviedo made his first big league start. It did not go well. He allowed eight runs, seven earned, on five hits, three walks and a home run. The offense mustered just four singles to counter, and the Pirates were clobbered by the Brewers, 9-0, in their series opener at PNC Park.

“It's a challenging thing for anybody when you get told about an hour and a half before the game that you're gonna start,” Derek Shelton said. “I just never thought he ever got into a really good tempo, and because of that, his fastball command was inconsistent.”

Almost all of Oviedo’s fastballs were either belt-high, over the heart of the plate or out of the zone. Very few pitches were on the edge of the zone or on a corner:

All five of his hits and two of his walks allowed were with his fastball, including a two-run shot by catcher Omar Narváez in the first inning that set the pace:

The 22-year-old Rule 5 pick, making his first big league start, was pulled in the second innings without recording an out.

“With a club like this, if you don't throw it on the plate, they're gonna start to realize that,” Shelton said. “They started to sit on pitches, and it turned into them scoring runs."

There was a misunderstanding and Oviedo left the ballpark before postgame Zooms. Anderson declined to do a Zoom due to the unusual circumstances.

All in all, not an encouraging first performance after the Pirates kicked off their trade deadline selling, sending Adam Frazier to the Padres Sunday and Clay Holmes to the Yankees Monday. There is still interest in Richard Rodríguez, too.

In their place, the Pirates promoted Rodolfo Castro and Cody Ponce from the minors. Castro got the start at second, going 0-for-3 and turning a couple of double plays. Ponce played the hero of the bullpen, giving five scoreless innings.

“He saved us,” Shelton said. “He saved our bullpen by giving us the innings and the scoreless innings that he did.”

So why Oviedo over Ponce for the start? Oviedo had been pitching out of that role during his recent rehab assignment and had looked good. Ponce had been starting in the minors and had made a few spot starts in the majors, so the idea was to mix it up, even if both pitchers were scheduled to pitch.

“We talk about giving guys different opportunities,” Shelton said. “Oviedo had been starting in his rehab, so we decided we were going to give him the opportunity to start.”

Giving players opportunities has been one of the overarching themes of Shelton’s time as manager. As the roster transforms this week, it will have ripples throughout the rest of the season. 

So expect the opportunities talk to ramp up.

“I think you guys know me well enough to know that I pretty much go day-by-day, and the ability to adapt and adjust is something I really feel that our staff learned last year,” Shelton said before the game. “So when you're at the trade deadline, whether you're the Pirates or any team, you're kind of in that mode every day. So right now we are adapting and adjusting and going with the guys we have and kind of moving forward that way.”

MORE FROM THE GAME

• Tuesday was probably Ponce's best major league outing, striking out five over five scoreless innings. He was working down in the zone effectively and got into a groove.

"I think it's probably the best tempo we've seen Cody have in two years," Shelton said. "With that, the execution of the fastball down was really good. I think the cutter was really sharp today. The cutter, was sharp, it was firm, it was 87-90. I thought he executed it really well, and I thought that's what separated it."

Ponce has bounced between the majors and minors the last two seasons, but with Anderson traded, Chase De Jong on the injured list and Steven Brault still on a rehab assignment, he could get more consistent playing time down the home stretch.

He says he's ready for a chance like that.

"I had come to a conclusion in an evaluation of myself that just knowing, hey, whatever I need to do to be able have a ... is what I’m going to do," Ponce said. "Whether it’s being the 27th man like I was last year or throwing out of the ‘pen like today or being a starter like I’ve been a couple times. You know what, it’s whatever the guys need. Tonight, it was, 'Hey, we need your help to try to give them as much leeway as you can for the next couple games.' That’s what I had to do, and I just tried to do that to the best of my abilities.”

• The Pirates mustered just four hits against the Brewers: Two singles each for Jacob Stallings and Ben Gamel.

That's all that will be said about the offense's performance.

• In addition to Castro and Ponce, Max Kranick was at PNC Park, presumably in case the first Anderson trade was completed before first pitch.

Also, there's a Castro banner at PNC Park now:

There's no guarantee about how long he'll be in the majors or what his playing time will be, at least for now.

"I think he's going to be a very good major league infielder," Shelton said before the game. "I don't know if it's going to be at second or at third or where it's going to be, but we see a bright future for him. As of right now, I think it's something that we will get through the deadline and then just decide how we're going to allocate at-bats."

• Before the game, the Pirates announced the signing of outfielder Braylon Bishop, another player who was considered a top 100 draft prospect. More on that here.

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Kevin Newman, SS
2. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
3. Bryan Reynolds, CF
4. John Nogowski, 1B
5. Ben Gamel, LF
6. Jacob Stallings, C
7. Gregory Polanco, RF
8. Rodolfo Castro, 2B
9. Luis Oviedo, RHP

And for Craig Counsell's Brewers:

1. Kolten Wong, 2B
2. Willy Adames, SS
3. Omar Navárez, C
4. Avisail Garcia, RF
5. Rowdy Tellez, 1B
6. Luis Urias, 3B
7. Lorenzo Cain, CF
8. Jackie Bradley Jr., LF
9. Brett Anderson, LHP

THE SCHEDULE

The Pirates haven't announced yet who will start the second game of this three-game set Wednesday. The Brewers are going with Adrian Houser (6-5, 3.88). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

IN THE SYSTEM

• Indianapolis
• Altoona
• Greensboro
• Bradenton

THE CONTENT

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