CINCINNATI: The usually reliable Pirates bullpen ended up costing them both ends of Monday’s doubleheader against the Reds, including in a 9-4 loss in game two at Great American Ball Park.
In game one, Sam Howard allowed a walk-off home run. In game two, Nik Turley surrendered the eventual game-deciding three-run homer to Mike Moustakas in the fifth, and Geoff Hartlieb lost complete control of where his pitches were going in the sixth, walking four and hitting a batter without recording an out.
"All three of those guys have been really good executing,” Derek Shelton said after the game. “Tonight, we didn't execute.”
Not that they’re looking for an excuse, but if they needed one, they could point to the amount of innings the bullpen had to cover Monday. Even though doubleheader games are just seven innings long, starters Cody Ponce and Mitch Keller only covered about half of the workload needed. Ponce was pulled after four innings in game one, and Keller after three in game two.
At least those shorter outings were planned on Monday. Keller was making his first start since Aug. 1, being sidelined for almost the entire season with left oblique injury.
After some early season concerns over his fastball velocity, Keller’s heater consistently sat in the 94-96 mph range, but he had control problems as well, walking four and allowing three runs on two homers. However, after seeing him throw it in the low 90s before the injury, it is encouraging to see his pitches have the same zip as they did a year ago.
“Ever since I got hurt, took a little dive into mechanics and really seeing what was going on,” Keller said. “Just found some things that I could do better and got a little bit more in my backside, cleaned up some stuff.”
Ponce has not thrown a lot of innings in the majors, but he has been active at the Altoona, Pa. alternate training site since July. This is the first time in his career he’s pitched into September, and given the plethora of injuries to the rest of the Pirates’ staff, a case can be made for why the Pirates do not want to push him too far this season.
Still, they were abbreviated outings. Between many pitchers working on strike pitch counts to monitor workload and Shelton experimenting with piggyback starters for times, in the Pirates’ 46 games played, the starter failed to pitch through the fifth 25 times.
That seems like a lot, especially when compared to MLB history. But in 2020, it’s fairly normal.
From 1995 to 2015, the number of games that had a starter go fewer than five innings stayed within a range of 25 and 32%. But with the rise of openers, piggyback starts and more aggressive managing, those totals started to creep up in recent years, with nearly half -- 47.8% -- of starts being short.
In 2020, just over 60% of starts across the league are for less than five frames, per the Sports Index.
The pandemic is part of the reason for the spike, but the change has slowly happened over the past few years with the rise of piggybacks and openers, the change may be permanent.
“I think it is a product of 2020 a little bit, but I think you’re seeing organizations go to heavier bullpen use,” Shelton said Sunday. “Tampa created it. You’re going to see people trend toward picking the leverage and using them. Because it’s 2020 and a shorter season, you’re seeing more people trying to use that or manipulate that.”
And a short start is better than no start, especially for a player like Keller, who missed the majority of his season. It seems doubtful he will be fully stretched out by the end of the season, which would be at most two more starts for him. Still it’s important for him to touch up some things before he heads into his sophomore year, and to make sure he closes this season on his terms.
“The main thing is finishing really strong and healthy and making sure I’m in a good spot,” Keller said. “I want these last few starts to be really good. I felt really good out there today and the stuff felt really good. Just keep rolling with that.”
• In case you missed it, here is what happened in the Pirates 3-1 loss to the Reds in game one Monday.
• To touch on Keller's start again, he struck out four and got whiffs with both his four-seamer and his breaking pitches. However, he had control issues, not only walking four batters, but serving up two home runs, including one that didn't break and just stayed up in the zone to Votto.
But after missing most of the season, there was more good than bad to take from his start.
"I just think first time back out, it was good to see the velocity," Shelton said. "Just got to be in the zone a little bit more. But first time out, he's healthy, that's a positive sign."
• Before game two, Kyle Crick was placed on the 10-day injured list with a lat strain. That opened a spot on the roster for Keller, who was activated off the IL.
Ponce was added as the 29th player teams are allowed to carry for a doubleheader.
• Jameson Taillon continues his rehab back to the roster from his second Tommy John surgery, and will throw another live session Tuesday. In his last session Wednesday, he threw 25 pitches.
Talking to him, even through a Zoom call, you can see how enthusiastic he is about returning.
"The reason I’m upbeat is because I really do feel so good,” Taillon said before game one. “My elbow feels amazing. This rehab’s been great.”
The team is planning to ramp him down soon so he can have a full offseason to prepare for spring training.