DENVER -- When Josh Fleming's number wasn't called to pitch in relief in the first two games of the Pirates' three-game set against the Rockies, he kind of expected he'd eventually get the news that he'd be starting Sunday's series finale.
Fleming's expectations became a reality and he took full advantage of the opportunity to open yet another bullpen game for the Pirates, tossing four scoreless innings in what ultimately resulted in an 8-2 win over the Rockies at Coors Field.
"I think he did an outstanding job," Derek Shelton said. "I mean, the biggest thing is, and we've known this from the past, is he throws strikes. And when you're able to go back and forth and use both (the cutter and sinker) and throw the sinker into left-handed hitters, good left-handed hitters because the guys they have in their lineup are really good left-handed hitters, it was really impressive, the efficiency that he was able to maintain."
Making his first major-league appearance since he allowed six runs (five earned) in an inning of work against the Brewers on May 13, Fleming was efficient in keeping the Colorado hitters at bay. He surrendered four hits -- including two to Nolan Jones and Jake Cave that knocked him out of the game without recording an out in the fifth -- and struck out two. He threw 32 of 52 pitches for strikes and didn't walk a batter.
“Me and (Jason Delay) were locked in -- he was locked in behind the dish -- and we were on the same page for the whole game," said Fleming, who was recalled from Class AAA Indianapolis on Friday. "He caught me a few times in Indy so we kind of brought that up here. We were on the same page, and that helps. It goes a long way when you and your catcher are on the same page.”
When Fleming arrived in the Pirates' clubhouse to begin the series, he expressed having a heightened sense of confidence in his entire arsenal after a short seven-appearance stint in Indy. He made some mechanical adjustments with his windup to ensure he'd be in a better position to throw strikes, and two days later, he put it all on full display.
“I was just trusting my stuff, trusting what I worked on in Indy was going to carry me through," Fleming said. "I didn’t try to think too much out there. I kept it simple, trusted my mechanics and trusted my stuff."
Known for his impressive 59.7% career groundball rate, Fleming induced four groundouts and an uncharacteristic four flyouts. He overcame two-out hits in the first and third innings and retired the side in order in both the second and fourth. While there were a few instances in which pitches got away from him, he felt as if he remained even keeled and attacked the zone.
"That was the big goal for me today, to throw strikes, let them put the ball in play and make mistakes," Fleming said. "It worked."
Fleming's success was due in part to his balanced usage of the cutter and sinker. He went to each pitch 20 times and was pleased with the results they provided.
"I think the cutter, the majority of the time, when I fell behind that was the pitch I was throwing the most. I got really good results out of it," Fleming said. "Actually, I got a lot of fly balls today, which typically isn’t like me. I think that just goes to show how effective that pitch has been, especially off the sinker it’s going to do a good job."
Carmen Mlodzinski replaced Fleming with two runners on and nobody out in the fifth inning. Four pitches into an at-bat against Hunter Goodman, Mlodzinski induced a 6-4-3 double play and got Adael Amador to ground out to preserve Fleming's scoreless sheet.
Mlodzinski, who allowed a hit and a walk while striking out a pair in an inning to start Friday's bullpen game, consistently went after hitters and ended up producing two scoreless innings in relief of Fleming. He's now allowed just two runs (one earned) on five hits with three walks and nine strikeouts in covering 7 2/3 innings over his last seven appearances.
"I think that's about as good as we've seen him," Shelton said. "I mean, first and second, no outs, and to get the double play ball. And then to finish with the runner at third, two outs, I thought it was outstanding. And I think we saw him really stay in attack mode."
Justin Bruihl and Kyle Nicolas covered the final three innings, combining to allow two runs on five hits with five strikeouts to conclude a third bullpen game in eight days. Over the course of those games, the bullpen has allowed just four runs in 27 innings.
“Obviously, their bats caught fire a little bit yesterday," Fleming said, referring to Saturday's 16-4 loss. "Again, it was good. JD called a great game. Carmen came in and got the huge double play, the huge rollover and kind of saved me there. Bruihl did a good job, and I thought Kyle came in and did a really good job, too.”
► MORE COVERAGE: Offense responds after rout
