Hurdle shoulders 'some responsibility' for LeBlanc injury

Amid a six-game losing streak and sinking in the Central Division standings, the Pirates were forced to make another addition to bolster a tired bullpen.

Steven Brault is headed back to Triple-A Indianapolis after a 64-pitch outing in relief Friday night, and he'll be replaced by right-hander Dovydas Neverauskas, who was recalled in time for first pitch Saturday afternoon.

But neither player would have returned to the major leagues if it weren't for an injury Clint Hurdle felt somewhat responsible for.

Wade LeBlanc, a 33-year-old who has thrown a bullpen-high 61 1/3 innings this season, suffered a left quad strain at the tail end of a 43-pitch, one-inning outing Thursday night, landing the Pirates' most-used long relief option on the 10-day disabled list.



"We've got to give him some time to calm the area that's sore down, and I felt some responsibility in that," Hurdle said of LeBlanc. "The guy threw 45 pitches. That was his last hitter. Sean Rodriguez is taking the mound [if LeBlanc is pulled]. ... That's where we were.

"Wade understood completely. The other guys don’t need to pitch in that situation. That’s part of his responsibility with the job that he has was to get those outs and hopefully get them much more efficiently than he was able to do."

LeBlanc entered in the ninth inning against the Cardinals with the Pirates trailing 7-5 and struggled with his command, allowing a home run to Tommy Pham, an RBI single to Kolten Wong and a two-run triple to Randal Grichuk.

Hurdle had already used A.J. Schugel, Joaquin Benoit and Daniel Hudson.

George Kontos and Juan Nicasio were also unavailable after throwing 27 and 15 pitches respectively on Wednesday, and Hurdle wanted to save Felipe Rivero after Rivero threw six pitches the night before, so he pushed LeBlanc, who felt his quad pull when facing the final batter of the top of the ninth.

That landed him on the disabled list for the first time in his major league or minor league career.

“I thought I was just tired, so maybe fatigue played a part in it,” LeBlanc said. “I don’t know.”

The bullpen has been taxed this week because of short outings from the rotation; Trevor Williams allowed eight runs in three innings Friday and Jameson Taillon’s outing was limited to five innings Thursday because of a rain delay.

After the Pirates traded Tony Watson to the Dodgers at the deadline, LeBlanc was the only left-hander in the bullpen besides Rivero, a significant risk considering his regression.

LeBlanc had a 2.62 ERA in his first 23 outings, but has been hit hard since, allowing 24 runs in 27 innings while opponents have a .361 OBP against him. Brault presented an ideal replacement once LeBlanc went down, a left-hander who led the International League in ERA and could pitch multiple innings, but his second stint with the Pirates this season was a short one after he pitched four innings Friday.

Now, Hurdle will turn to Neverauskas as a long option, leaving only one left-handed pitcher on the entire roster: Rivero.

“What necessitates the moves are the condition of your staff and the innings you need available," Hurdle said. "We need a length option today and we didn't have a length option today. Unfortunately this isn't the way we drew it up when we called up Steven."

This will be Neverauskas' fourth stint with the Pirates this season. The 24-year-old owns a 3.00 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in nine major league innings, and he has been exceptional for Indianapolis over his past 10 outings, allowing two runs in 14 2/3 innings.

Neverauskas, who represented the Pirates in the Futures Game last season, has a 2.77 ERA and 1.32 WHIP with 43 strikeouts in 48 2/3 innings in Triple-A this season.

With Chad Kuhl starting Saturday against the Cardinals, Hurdle said he needed insurance. Kontos and Benoit are unable to pitch more than two innings, though both should be available. Hudson is likely unavailable, and Schugel has pitched in three of the past four games.

With the uncertainty surrounding LeBlanc's injury, the move is also necessary beyond the next 10 days. The Pirates do not have another day off until September 14 and have a four-game series with the red-hot Dodgers beginning Monday at PNC Park, though the major league roster will expand to 40 players on September 1.

The Pirates' bullpen owns a 3.98 ERA, the ninth-best in Major League Baseball, but it also has not been as sharp as of late. Nicasio has allowed two runs in two of his past three outings. Hudson has a 9.53 ERA in six outings this month. Even Rivero blew a save on August 6 against San Diego.

"There's nothing you can etch in stone right now," Hurdle said. "You have to write everything in pencil and take it one day at a time."