SAN FRANCISCO — Pirates assistant general manager Kevan Graves, filling in during Neal Huntington's weekly radio show Sunday on 93.7 The Fan, cited "biometric data" as the reason why the front office opted to rest the rotation by recalling Clay Holmes from Triple-A to start against a playoff contender Friday at AT&T Park.
Graves said data collected by the Pirates' sports performance team showed pitchers typically take longer to recover after pitching in the high altitude of Coors Field and that the decision was made to position the rotation to succeed over the final six-plus weeks of the season. Holmes allowed seven earned runs in 2 2/3 innings against the Giants after the club's previous three starters surrendered a combined seven earned runs, as the Pirates dropped the second game of the series, 13-10.
"This was something that really began to come together shortly after the All-Star break," Graves explained. "It was something we had in motion for really a good window of time. Part of it was the challenge of the hitter’s ballpark, the depth of that lineup in Colorado. The other challenge, obviously, is the altitude and the ability of folks to recover coming out of that ballpark."
Graves repeated what Clint Hurdle told reporters prior to Holmes' start, that the plan was constructed before the Pirates won two out of three games against the Rockies. Joe Musgrove allowed one earned run in seven innings Monday, Jameson Taillon threw his second complete game of the season and Chris Archer gave up two runs in five innings in the series finale.
Although Ivan Nova pitched six innings Thursday against the Giants, the Pirates opted to bump everyone else back, despite Monday being their fifth off-day in the past month. Williams, Musgrove and Taillon each pitched on more than five days rest in their last start. Also, Musgrove missed nearly the first two months of the season because of a shoulder injury.
Entering Thursday, the club led the National League with a 3.05 ERA and 20-9 record since July 7. Also, the rotation produced a 2.20 ERA and pitched at least through the sixth inning in eight of its previous 10 games. With that in mind, at least one of their starters wanted the Pirates to ask for the rotation's input before recalling Holmes to start against the Giants.
“I understand why they’re doing it for us, but I would have liked to see a decision made after the Colorado series to talk to the starters and see where we’re at, see if we need the extra day,” Musgrove told DKPittsburghSports.com Friday night. “I don’t personally think we needed another day of rest. Our starting five’s been throwing the ball really well and every game matters at this point. That’s not to say Clay couldn’t have come up here and gotten the job done. We had confidence in him.”
Graves, though, told host Greg Brown the front office had no intention to revisit the plan, no matter how well the starters pitched at Coors Field or how they recovered following the trip to San Francisco. "We put it in motion pretty early on in the process," he said. "It was not something that we considered revisiting coming out of Coors Field. Certainly, to your point, really quality, efficient outings by really everyone who went in there, particularly Joe and Jamo. It was not something we considered. I think even with how effectively they threw in those outings that there’s still a lot of underlying data to us that would indicate its challenging to bounce back. … We were convicted in making the decision and certainly hope it sets them up for success moving forward."
Graves also didn't rule out the Pirates using a similar plan after a series in a different hitter-friendly park, such as the Brewers' Miller Park. He expressed confidence in the club's depth starters at Triple-A — Holmes and Nick Kingham — but called this a "unique" opportunity. Holmes threw six scoreless innings against the Brewers July 14; however, he lasted only 2 1/3 innings in his first career start 10 days earlier.
His short start taxed the six-man bullpen, forcing the Pirates to recall two relievers before first pitch Saturday afternoon. The club would be going for a series sweep Sunday had they been able to overcome the eight-run deficit Friday night.
• Outfielder Christopher Bostick was traded to the Marlins for cash considerations, Graves announced. Bostick was designated for assignment Tuesday when the Pirates claimed left-handed reliever Buddy Boshers off waivers from the Astros.