SAN FRANCISCO -- The Pirates are high on Cody Bolton and think the right-hander can be a quality major-league reliever.
That comes with an understanding that sometimes a rookie is going to get hit hard, though, as was the case Monday in the Pirates' 14-4 loss to the Giants, with Bolton being charged with eight runs while recording just one out.
A bunt single by LaMonte Wade Jr. may have been the catalyst to make a shaky start snowball, but it was this Patrick Bailey shot that left the bat at 104.8 mph that summarized his afternoon:
That was a 96 mph fastball Bailey turned on, but the slider and changeup -- two pitches I've had described as plus from a league source -- did not play Monday.
"Just from watching it, looked like everything was up, everything was flat," Derek Shelton said. "It looked like the breaking ball and changeup didn't have the action we had seen before. That's just one he's got to move on from and just flush."
Bolton is a rookie and some growing pains are inevitable. But for someone making his first appearance back after being recalled, walking a couple and giving up a tank in an eight-run, 38-pitch inning was close to the worst-case scenario.
