Ortiz hit hard in final start of breakout year

ST. LOUIS -- It wasn't the finish Luis Ortiz wanted. It's why when Derek Shelton took him out of the game, he sat with him on the bench to talk about the year he had as a whole.

"This is a guy that 18 months ago was pitching in Bradenton," Shelton said. 

Ortiz's rapid rise through the farm system gives the Pirates a young fireballer for their 2023 rotation, but in his final start of the season Saturday at Busch Stadium, he could not complete the first inning and allowed six runs, setting the pace for a 13-3 Pirate loss to the Cardinals.

It's one start, and Ortiz had already made his good first impression over his first big-league three outings. In a recent chat with the site's readers, FanGraphs' Eric Longenhagen said that Ortiz will even be listed as one of the publication's top 100 prospects in their next update.

But Ortiz also showed why he's still raw, walking three and allowing a grand slam to Corey Dickerson. In the process, he became the first non-opener Pirate starter to fail to complete the first inning since Jordan Lyles on July 13, 2019.

"He had trouble finding his arm slot," Shelton said. "This kid’s had a really good year, at all levels. He had a bad outing and had trouble finding his arm slot. This is one club in the National League that you have to throw the ball over the plate to. We didn't do that."

The right-hander agreed.

"One thing I learned — not just this year in the big leagues but everywhere — is just be ahead in the count," Ortiz said via interpreter and minor-league coach Stephen Morales. "When you’re ahead in the count as a pitcher, you have a lot more weapons to work with.”

One bad start is hardly reason to overreact, but if there was one nitpick from his first three major-league outings, it was that he was working almost exclusively with just the fastball and slider. That can work in the minors, especially when you pump triple digits, but developing the changeup into a more competitive pitch can help in games like Saturday where he doesn't have the same control and slightly lesser velocity than usual.

"The encouraging sign of that is he's been able to pitch really well with just the two pitches," Shelton said. "We just need to decide as a pitching group and an organization, how we're gonna complement his repertoire." 

And as for bouncing back from a sour final chapter in a breakout season?

"Obviously you don't want an outing like that, but there's a lot of things you can learn about that outing that can make [me] a better pitcher and stronger," Ortiz said. "Take it as a learning experience and a learning process to get better."

MORE FROM THE GAME

• Well, there's not a lot to say about this one.

Zach Thompson gave up four more runs in the second, stemming from a failed double play attempt where they failed to beat the runner on either second or first. By that point the Cardinals built up a 10-2 lead and coasted from there.

Thompson pitched 5 1/3 innings of four run ball. Cal Mitchell doubled a couple times, and Jason Delay had two RBI.

• Before the game, the Pirates placed right-hander Wil Crowe on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation. 

Shelton said it's "nothing that we're concerned about," and that his IL placement is due in part to the season being almost over.

Crowe had been struggling of late, allowing 14 runs over his last nine outings, totaling 9 2/3 innings, raising his ERA from 3.12 to 4.38.

Junior Fernández, who had been with the team on the taxi squad and was claimed off waivers earlier this month, was recalled from Class AAA Indianapolis. He hit triple digits on the gun, but walked three and threw a wild pitch in his one inning of work. He did not allow a run.

• Pirate City is in one piece after Hurricane Ian, Shelton confirmed before the game. 

• Man, has this place been rocking these last two days. I mean, look at this line outside the stadium three hours above first pitch:

Yeah, it was Yadier Molina bobblehead night, but that's not the only reason why. This is a baseball town.

• Saturday was the 10th time this season the Pirates lost by 10 or more runs, according to Baseball Reference's Play Index. That's the most in franchise history, breaking a tie they had with the 2021 and 2019 teams (nine losses each season).

To repeat, omitting the shortened 2020 season, that's three straight years of losing by 10+ at least nine times a season, something that had never been done in the history of Pirates baseball to that point.

• With the loss, the Pirates fall to 59-99 on the year. They need to win their final four games or they will suffer a second straight 100-loss season.

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard

THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE INJURIES

• 7-day concussion list: C Tyler Heineman

• 15-day injured list: RHP JT Brubaker (right arm inflammation), RHP Wil Crowe (right forearm inflammation) LHP Eric Stout (low back discomfort)

• 60-day injured list: Yerry De Los Santos (lat), OF Canaan Smith-Njigba (wrist), RHP Colin Holderman (right shoulder), RHP Blake Cederlind (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow), C Roberto Pérez (hamstring)

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
2. Bryan Reynolds, CF
3. Rodolfo Castro, 2B
4. Miguel Andújar, LF
5. Kevin Newman, SS
6. Diego Castillo, 1B
7. Jack Suwinski, RF
8. Jason Delay, C
9. Cal Mitchell, DH

And for Oliver Marmol's Cardinals:

1. Brendan Donovan, 2B
2. Lars Nootbaar, CF
3. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
4. Nolan Arenado, 3B
5. Albert Pujols, DH
6. Alex Burleson, RF
7. Corey Dickerson, LF
8. Yadier Molina, C
9. Paul DeJong, SS

THE SCHEDULE

One more road game this season. Roansy Contreras (5-5, 3.72) will go for the Pirates, while the Cardinals go to the infamous Adam Wainwright (11-11, 3.51)/Molina tandem one last time. First pitch will be at 2:25 p.m. I'll cover it and then fly home that night for the final series starting Monday.

THE CONTENT

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