DENVER -- With Martin Perez and Quinn Priester still on the injured list recovering from their respective ailments, the Pirates elected to deploy an opener and rely on its bullpen for the second time in six days. And, after a 5-2 victory over the Rockies in the opener of a three-game series at Coors Field Friday night, the Pirates have now allowed just two runs through 18 innings in a pair of bullpen games.
Similar to what they did in a 4-0 win over the Twins last weekend, the Pirates relied on Carmen Mlodzinski as the starter and turned to Luis Ortiz in the second inning. Mlodzinski, who pitched 1 2/3 innings against Minnesota, struck out a pair and allowed a hit in a scoreless first before being lifted following a leadoff walk in the second. Mlodzinski threw 24 pitches and attacked with 15 fastballs, generating three whiffs and getting the benefit of four called strikes.
"In an opening role like today, you know you're not expected to go five or six innings," Mlodzinski said, "so you want to be super aggressive and just leave it all out there with the short amount of innings you're going to have."
Ortiz took over with a runner on in the second and never wavered, escaping a few pressure situations and ultimately surrendering one run on seven hits with three strikeouts over the next five innings. His 69-pitch outing featured a balanced usage of 26 sliders, 18 sinkers, 13 fastballs and 12 cutters.
"Being able to have that zero in the first inning, I think, always helps any team," Mlodzinski said. "Being able to hand the ball off to Luis there and let him do his thing was really cool to watch."
Derek Shelton said the decision to start with Mlodzinski and then transition on to Ortiz has to do in part with the comfortability he shows against both right-handers and left-handers. The five batters Mlodzinski faced in the Rockies' lineup were a mix of three lefties and a pair of right-handed hitters.
"Carmen's started before, so we know his heartbeat is going to be fine," Shelton said. "And then Louie has done a really nice job. He's come in, he's executed, he's thrown strikes and he's put the ball on the ground. He had the first and third situation (in the third inning), the second and third with nobody out when we got the throw out (in the fifth) and he just continues to execute pitches. I think we're seeing signs of him getting more confident in that bulk role."
Colin Holderman, Aroldis Chapman and David Bednar closed things out in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. The only blemish on their collective line was Charlie Blackmon's solo homer off Bednar in the ninth.
"The numbers speak for themselves and we all have the capability to throw the ball well," Mlodzinski said. "I think everybody in our bullpen can go out there and get the job done."
