Stumpf: Shelton's dangerous handling of Vieaux lowlights 19-2 humiliation

The first run Cam Vieaux allowed in the inning came on pitch No. 23, a slider that Christian Yelich shot through the infield for a base hit.

More runs would end up scoring in the top of the eighth on pitches No. 26 and 40. By the time Vieaux walked Luis Urias in the inning, he was up to 45 pitches thrown and had yet to record an out in the inning.

He kept pitching.

Vieaux would end up throwing 56 pitches -- four more than starter Roansy Contreras would throw that day -- before getting Jonathan Davis to pop up and end the eight run inning, the worst frame in the Pirates' 19-2 loss to the Brewers at PNC Park Friday. 

Some of that inning and inflated pitch count was self-inflicted. Oneil Cruz dropped a pop up. Vieaux, a lefty who stands on the edge of the third base side of the rubber, was unable to cover first base in time on a ground ball. Hoy Park, playing third base at the end of the game to get Ke'Bryan Hayes off his feet, couldn't get to a ball Hayes probably would have.

But with the game so far out of reach, why was the rookie Vieaux left out there to throw so many pitches? It was the most any Pirate pitcher had thrown in an inning since at least 1988, when pitch counts started to be widely tracked.

"It was either Cam or going to a position player," Derek Shelton said. "We didn’t catch a popup. We didn’t cover first on a ground ball. We had a couple things. The over-swing and the ball that went underneath Hoy’s glove. Once he got the first out, it was just hitter-by-hitter. Unfortunately he didn’t get the first out until about pitch 50. Then he got the next three in like three or four pitches. It was one of those situations where we were just trying to save our bullpen going into tomorrow. Unfortunately we played a sloppy inning on top of lack of execution on the mound."

The Pirates did not have a reliever warming at any point during Vieaux's inning.

When asked a follow up on if he was close to going to a position player, Shelton said he did consider it.

"I was real close," he said. "If he hadn’t gotten that first out at pitch 50, I probably would have gone right there. Then he got one, then he got the other quick one, then Davis would have been his last hitter. He swung at the first pitch."

It was obviously not Vieaux's night, the first of his five major-league outings where he was hit hard. And for someone who is on their first call up to the majors at 28, he wants to make a good impression so he can stay up here. A starter in the minors until this season, he can probably pitch longer than most relievers, but 56 pitches in one frame is almost unheard of, even for a starter.

How unheard of? Well, the 1250 AM The Fan postgame show in Milwaukee had me on to talk about Shelton's decision. Their team had just won by 17, but host Tim Wagner wanted to talk about that decision:

There was concern among the Brewers too.

"You don't want to see anybody go through that," Andrew McCutchen told reporters in the visitor's clubhouse after the game. "You don't want anybody to get hurt."

We won't know for sure if an outing like Friday's will have an impact on Vieaux for some time. Him getting through the frame is a good sign, but it needs to be asked again: Why potentially jeopardize a pitcher's health to complete an inconsequential inning when you're planning on throwing in the towel with a position player pitching anyway?

• It was not Contreras' night. Or more specifically, his second inning. The Brewers pounced on three of his fastballs, all of which were waist high, and took him deep, rallying for seven runs and chasing the rookie after recording just five outs.

And while those fastballs were certainly center-cut:

Both Contreras and Shelton said the real issue was his breaking ball command. Not being able to locate it in the zone allowed the Brewers to sit on fastballs.

"It’s something that I was trying to dominate," Contreras said through interpreter Mike Gonzalez. I wasn’t able to get the grasp of it."

So what can the rookie take from his first bad major-league start?

"After every outing, every opportunity I get to pitch, I try to learn something from it, whether it’s a good outing or whether it’s a bad outing like tonight’s," Contreras said. "I always try to grasp or learn something from it. Obviously, these are things that happen. I was trying to give everything that I had out there. Whenever I get home, I’m going to be able to review some tape and try to get whatever I can out of it to be able to grow."

• Meanwhile, the Brewers had Corbin Burnes on the mound, and the 2021 Cy Young award winner took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He wasn't too satisfied with his night though, last only six frames and walking four.

“As far as the results go, they look good,” Burnes told reporters. “But if you look underneath, we’ve got a lot of work to do.” 

On the Pirates' side, falling down a touchdown early becomes even more daunting when facing someone with Burnes' pedigree and stuff.

"When you get behind guys like that, it’s extremely challenging," Shelton said.

• Josh VanMeter pitched the ninth, for what it's worth. He and Diego Castillo have both pitched twice this year, accounting for all of the times a position player went to the mound for the Pirates.

• Before the game, Roberto Pérez was back in the Pirates' clubhouse. It was something that had been talked about, and more or less assumed, before his season-ending surgery in May, but it is another for him to actually still be around the young ball club.

"We’re fortunate," Shelton said. "Sometimes when you have a guy that has an injury of that significance, they don’t want to be around. The thing I love about Roberto is he wants to be around. He’s around. He’s engaged. I went in there today and he was having lunch and he was holding court, just sitting with guys and talking with them. If we’re not going to get Roberto Pérez on the field, to have him in our clubhouse and to be able to have those conversations, that’s gold to us."

• It was Pirates Charities game on AT&T SportsNet, raising funds for the Miracle League. From Pirates owner Bob Nutting:

• Factoid of the game: This was the 11th loss of at least 17 runs since at least 1901 for the Pirates. Three of them have come in the last 14 months (May 21, 2021 against the Braves and April 23, 2022 against the Cubs).

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard

THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE INJURIES

• 10-day injured list: OF Ben Gamel (hamstring), 1B Yoshi Tsutsugo (lumbar muscle strain)

• 15-day injured list: RHP Zach Thompson (forearm), LHP Dillon Peters (back)

• 60-day injured list: SS Kevin Newman (groin), OF Jake Marisnick (thumb) OF Canaan Njigba-Smith (wrist), OF Greg Allen (hamstring), RHP Blake Cederlind (UCL), RHP Nick Mears (elbow surgery), Roberto Pérez (hamstring, out for season)

• COVID injured list: RHP Duane Underwood Jr.

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
2. Bryan Reynolds, CF
3. Bligh Madris, RF
4. Daniel Vogelbach, DH
5. Josh VanMeter, 1B
6. Oneil Cruz, SS
7. Jack Suwinski, LF
8. Michael Perez, C
9. Tucupita Marcano, 2B

And for Craig Counsell's Crew:

1. Christian Yelich, LF
2. Willy Adames, SS
3. Rowdy Tellez, 1B
4. Andrew McCutchen, RF
5. Kolten Wong, 2B
6. Luis Urías, 3B
7. Omar Narváez, C
8. Keston Hiura, DH
9. Jonathan Davis, CF

THE SCHEDULE

Bryse Wilson (0-4, 8.29) will be recalled Saturday and make the start Saturday, with first pitch coming at 4:05 p.m. The Brewers have yet to announce a starter. I'll have you covered from the ballpark.

THE CONTENT

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