The Pirates' youth movement sure has been fun. It's had its painful moments, but it's easier to embrace watching young kids trying to find their place in the major leagues than watch journeyman players try to revive their careers.
The former is exciting. It promotes the future. The latter is ... what happened on Wednesday night.
With Zach Thompson going on the 15-day injured list, the Pirates needed an arm and called upon journeyman Jerad Eickhoff, up from Class AA Altoona, for the spot start with the team fresh off three wins. Eickhoff allowed a leadoff single and hit a batter, but escaped the first inning unscathed and only threw 15 pitches. But by the time the second inning concluded -- after Eickhoff hit two more batters, gave up exit velos of 101.5, 108.1 and 107.7 mph on run-scoring hits -- the Pirates trailed by seven, and fans had every reason to mentally check out.
All that momentum from two nights of Oneil Cruz and Bligh Madris creating special moments like these:
It all came to a screeching halt, with moments like this taking its place:
The biggest reaction from what was left of the 14,083 that attended the game came with Diego Castillo, a position player, pitching to David Robertson, a career relief pitcher.
These moments should not be celebrated. Going from excitement over the rise of a young crop of players to the catastrophe that played out on Wednesday night is not something anyone should have to watch -- and it could have been avoided.
Nothing against Eickhoff. He's just a veteran pitcher trying to revive his career. And his handling of getting rocked for 10 runs in 4 1/3 innings -- becoming the first pitcher in Pirates history to give up that many runs in their debut with the team -- came with expected maturity.
"You’ve gotta take something from it or else you can’t grow from it," Eickhoff said. "I’m going to watch it back and process some pitch selection, some location and go from there. This doesn’t change who I am as a pitcher, as a player or as a person. It’s just one of those games. It’s going to make me better. It’s gonna make me sharper as a pitcher. I’m just gonna keep moving on and learn from it what you can.”
He can take this, too:
Jerad Eickhoff is the first pitcher to allow 10 ER in consecutive starts since Chubby Dean in 1940. https://t.co/uQdBJejik5
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 23, 2022
All this goes against what the Pirates have actually gotten better about doing in recent weeks. They had two pitchers in Class AAA Indianapolis who could have pitched. Cody Bolton last pitched on June 18, and only pitched three innings. So far, he's put up solid numbers for Indy, posting a 3.05 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over 14 appearances and nine starts.
Mike Burrows, who was recently promoted to Indy from Class AA Altoona, last pitched on June 19, and clearly had nothing better to do at his Indy apartment than to join the AT&T SportsNet broadcast of the 14-5 stomping even as it was occurring:
Prior to his callup to Class AAA, Burrows posted a 2.94 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 12 starts with Altoona.
Neither one of these guys couldn't get a shot to cover four innings?
Derek Shelton was asked after the game if this choice Wednesday revealed the lack of depth and -- more importantly -- the need to develop pitching that can contribute at the big-league level:
“We do have to continue to develop," Shelton said. "We’re in a situation right now where losing [Max] Kranick hurts in this situation because of the fact that he’s not available. We’re going to have to continue to build depth, whether it’s externally or internally with the group of pitchers. We do feel like we have some guys coming, just not ready to impact our major league club right now. Especially starting pitching, you can never have enough depth. When you lose Thompson, you lose Kranick and [Miguel] Yajure is still building up, things like that."
Prior to the game, Shelton said they would re-evaluate how long Eickhoff should supplement the rotation until Thompson returns. Maybe after taking this one on the chin, the Pirates will think twice and further consider their youth, even if it's just for one start.
• After Eickhoff was chased from the game, Chase De Jong provided some much needed innings out of the bullpen. He took the ball until Castillo pitched the ninth inning, logging 3 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and one walk.
"That saved our butts tonight," Shelton said. "I think the thing you can say about him is he's always prepared. He's a professional, and he's able to execute pitches. But yeah, he saved us tonight, and he's efficient, which is important for us as we move forward, because we're going to need him to pitch again probably at some point. The fact that he threw 42 pitches was really good."
Naturally, with how well De Jong pitched, Shelton was asked if the team considered a bullpen day instead of calling up a player such as Eickhoff.
“We talked through it," Shelton said. "The fact that we’re playing here, then we go to Tampa and then we go to Washington. I think we’re creative in any way. But we thought it was, in this situation, best to call up a fresh arm.”
• Oneil Cruz went 0 for 5 with an RBI that came in the ninth inning when he reached base on an error with the bases loaded. Bligh Madris had a quiet night until he cleared the bases with a three-run double to make it a 14-5 game. It was his only hit of the night.
• The Pirates clearly punted on the game after the seven-run second inning. Shelton sent out Eickhoff until he hit double digits in earned runs. So why was a key player like Bryan Reynolds still in a 9-1 game in the fifth inning to do something like this?
Imagine if Reynolds got hurt on that play ...
Reynolds was eventually lifted prior to the seventh inning. I asked Shelton after the game if Reynolds was in the clear and if he considered pulling Reynolds earlier:
"Yeah, he was fine, and actually the reason I let him hit in the sixth was because he had a single and a triple. Very honestly, he had a single and a triple, and I'm like, 'hell if he hits a double here we may see something special.' I was going to give him that third at-bat because of that. That was kind of what I was thinking. As soon as that happened, we were able to get him out."
• Speaking of injuries, Todd Tomczyk, the Pirates' director of sports medicine, provided updates prior to Wednesday's game regarding the many injuries in the the majors and minors alike.
Blake Cederlind is making strides from his Tommy John surgery and PRP injection. He'll begin throwing sides later this week. Nick Mears reported some forearm tightness after his rehab outing at Indianapolis Tuesday night. The club is still working through what it means for Mears and what to do regarding his rehab assignment.
Dillon Peters is recovering well from his lower back issue and could throw a live BP this weekend in Tampa Bay. Regarding Zach Thompson's recent trip to the 15-day IL with nerve inflammation in his arm, Tomczyk said they are "optimistic" Thompson will be on the IL for the minimum amount of time. Thompson won't throw for a couple days to allow the inflammation to subside.
Josh VanMeter, Yoshi Tsutsugo and Kevin Newman are continuing their rehab assignment at Indianapolis, and Ben Gamel flew out tonight to join them for his own rehab.
Greg Allen will not be available for major-league action until after the All-Star break. It's possible he could work out with the team while they are in Tampa Bay, but he is still not close to a return.
Nick Gonzales saw a foot and ankle specialist in Pittsburgh, and an injury to the plantar fascia was identified. He'll be in a walking boot for two to four weeks, then possibly re-image before a subsequent buildup.
Jake Marisnick has cleared COVID protocols and is back in the building, but was transferred to the 60-day IL. Duane Underwood Jr. has also been cleared, but has not entered the facility yet. Tucupita Marcano still has not cleared COVID protocol.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• 10-day injured list: OF Ben Gamel (hamstring), 1B Yoshi Tsutsugo (lumbar muscle strain), Josh VanMeter (finger)
• 15-day injured list: RHP Zach Thompson (forearm), LHP Dillon Peters (back)
• 60-day injured list: SS Kevin Newman (groin), OF Canaan Njigba-Smith (wrist), OF Greg Allen (hamstring), OF Jake Marisnick (thumb), RHP Blake Cederlind (UCL), RHP Nick Mears (elbow surgery), Roberto Pérez (hamstring, out for season)
• COVID injured list: INF/OF Tucupita Marcano, RHP Duane Underwood Jr.
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Oneil Cruz, SS
2. Bryan Reynolds, CF
3. Bligh Madris, LF
4. Daniel Vogelbach, DH
5. Cal Mitchell, RF
6. Diego Castillo, 2B
7. Michael Perez, C
8. Yu Chang, 1B
9. Hoy Park, 3B
And for David Ross' Cubs:
1. Rafael Ortega, CF
2. Willson Contreras, DH
3. Patrick Wisdom, 3B
4. Ian Happ, LF
5. Yan Gomes, C
6. Jonathan Villar, 2B
7. Nico Hoerner, SS
8. Jason Heyward, RF
9. Alfonso Rivas, 1B
THE SCHEDULE
These teams wrap up this four-game set Thursday, 12:35 p.m., matching lefties José Quintana (1-4, 3.66) and Justin Steele (2-5, 4.27). DK and I will have it.
THE CONTENT
Visit our team page for everything.
