Johan Oviedo had gotten off on the wrong foot, allowing a run before recording his first out, but he was now just one pitch away from ending the first with only one Blue Jay touching home. It was far from an ideal start, but one that would keep his team in the game.
Ahead in the count 1-2 to Brandon Belt, Oviedo went to his go-to pitch this year, the slider. Austin Hedges called for it low and inside to the lefty. Instead, it hung down the middle, and Belt roped it into the right field corner for a two-run double:
The Blue Jays were able to get four runs in that first inning off of Oviedo, and seven in total off of the Pirates' struggling right-hander, in an 8-2 Pirates loss at PNC Park Saturday. With the loss, the Pirates' losing streak that started with Oviedo on Sunday against the Nationals has now batted around the rotation, reaching six games.
That Belt double was indicative of what's been troubling Oviedo of late. Early in the year, he would throw his slider early and often, making it a pitch that got whiffs and could be used to put away batters. But when he used it with two strikes Saturday, it usually caught too much plate.
Take a look at how those at-bats ended when he threw a slider with two strikes:
Three hits, two doubles, zero strikeouts.
“Just too many balls in the middle of the plate," Derek Shelton said. "You cannot leave balls in the middle of the plate against this club. I think they’ve shown over the last three or four years with the hitters they have, and they add [Daulton] Varsho into it and [Kevin] Kiermaier into it, that if you miss in the middle of the plate there’s going to be damage. Today, with two strikes, we missed way too much in the middle.”
Talking postgame, Oviedo said it's now been three straight games where he has not been able to execute the slider the way that he wants to.
"It was in every situation," Oviedo said. "Even if I'm getting outs with the slider, it’s still missing. The other pitches are good right now. It’s just the slider that I need to [improve]."
On Saturday, his slider averaged less spin than usual, was down 0.6 mph in velocity and had a different movement profile than he did most of the season. Compare the movement profiles of Oviedo's slider Saturday compared to his seven-inning gem against the Cardinals last month:
He's getting more vertical movement at times, but he isn't getting that consistent horizontal movement. It's a depth pitch, but Oviedo does his best work whenever he locates the fastball to his arm side. That gives him the ability to have curveballs and changeups drop off of that look and have the slider cut over the plate to the glove side. That's not happening right now.
Coming into the game, Oviedo was throwing his slider 42.7% of the time compared to just 31.7% with his four-seamer. On Saturday, 43 of his 89 pitches were four-seamers (48%), while just 29 were sliders (33%). He's fearlessly thrown it this year, using it more than all but six starters across the league.
But without that feel to execute, he had to resort back to the four-seamer, taking him away from what had made him successful his first few turns through the rotation.
"We need to make an adjustment and get it back working with the depth that we saw over the course of the first three or four starts,” Shelton said.
Oviedo has now allowed 19 runs over his last three starts, totaling 12 2/3 innings pitched. In his three starts before that, he allowed two runs over 19 2/3 innings. That's the difference between having that feel and ability to consistently execute your best pitch and not. There's plenty of season remaining, and given the Pirates' rotation depth questions, he should have runway to try to right what has gone wrong.
Until then, he said he's going to spend his time between starts trying not to worry.
"It’s still early," Oviedo said. "We’ve only played a month. I’m trying not to get frustrated or think too much about what’s going on right now. There are still a lot of games left. I’m trying to keep my mind straight, even if things aren’t going right for me. I’m trying to keep a good vibe so we can move it forward from where we’re at right now."
JUSTIN K. ALLER / GETTY
Bo Bichette reacts after his second inning double Saturday.
• You really want more from this game?
José Berríos took a perfect game into the fifth inning, with the only thorn in his side all night being Jack Suwinski, who homered, walked twice and barreled up a deep fly out. Bérrios worked the slider to both sides of the plate and had his fastball going, and while the Pirates would end up scraping together two runs against towards the end of his 6 2/3 innings, the Blue Jays already had a more than comfortable lead.
The Pirates have managed just eight runs during this six-game losing streak, but Shelton is trying to focus on the positives in this down spot.
"I thought from the sixth inning on we had better at-bats," Shelton said. "We hit the ball hard. They made a couple good plays. Yes, it gives me confidence. We’ve kind of got to find our groove a little bit. We’ve been inconsistent over the last six games but I know our guys can hit. I know our approach can be good."
• That was a pretty quiet postgame clubhouse. Understandable.
• Six in a row.
I guess get a streak like this out of the way early?
“I would say it’s never a good time," Shelton said. "But I do think we’re better equipped to crawl out of these than we were in the past.”
• Attendance for this one: 34,882, the most for a May crowd at PNC Park since May 24, 2015. The Blue Jays travel well and it was a fireworks night, but that is a good sign.
• Before the game, Shelton said that Ji Hwan Bae and Andrew McCutchen, both of whom suffered ankle injuries Friday, were trending in the right direction Saturday. Bae likely would have been available, while McCutchen was still receiving treatment and his status was less certain. Regardless, it appears both are on the mend.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• 15-day injured list: RHP Vince Velasquez (elbow), Rob Zastryzny (elbow)
• 60-day injured list: 1B Ji-Man Choi (Achilles), RHP Wil Crowe (shoulder), RHP JT Brubaker (elbow), SS Oneil Cruz (ankle), LHP Jarlin Garcia (elbow), RHP Max Kranick
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Tucupita Marcano, SS
2. Bryan Reynolds, LF
3. Connor Joe, 1B
4. Carlos Santana, DH
5. Jack Suwinski, CF
6. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
7. Miguel Andújar, RF
8. Rodolfo Castro, 2B
9. Austin Hedges, C
And for John Schneider's Blue Jays:
1. George Springer, RF
2. Bo Bichette, SS
3. Daulton Varsho, LF
4. Matt Chapman, 3B
5. Whit Merrifield, 2B
6. Brandon Belt, DH
7. Alejandro Kirk, C
8. Cavan Biggio, 1B
9. Kevin Kiermaier, CF
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates will try to salvage the finale and snap this six-game skid Sunday at 1:35 p.m. Roansy Contreras (3-2, 4.09) will take the bump against Yusei Kikuchi (4-0, 4.02). DK and I will brave the Pittsburgh Marathon traffic and have you covered.
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