MIAMI -- For seven innings, JT Brubaker spun a gem to continue the Pirates' current stretch of solid pitching.
It was undone with the bullpen, with Duane Underwood Jr. and David Bednar blowing saves to snap the Pirates' four-game winning streak with a 5-4, 10 inning loss to the Marlins at loanDepot Park Wednesday.
"We had a chance to win," Derek Shelton said. "We had the lead twice and ended up giving it back. We didn't execute pitches at the end of the game. Brubaker was really good, really sharp. Did a nice job."
The ending soured the night, but did not take away from Brubaker, who turned in one of his best major-league starts, striking out nine over seven shutout frames.
What makes the outing unique is he didn't do it by strictly following the game plan, but going by feel. So while he was able to execute some big pitches in the first, like this strikeout to Jesus Aguilar to end the frame:
He said he didn't have feel for his stuff. So he reevaluated and adjusted.
"I knew the sinker was there," Brubaker said. "I worked the slider with it, and we were working the sinker really well on both sides of the plate. And then in the bottom of the order the second time through and then the third time through on the top-ended guys, we started sprinkling in the curveball a little bit more. That wasn't the game plan, but we recognized we weren't using the curveball too much and just found an opportunity to keep sprinkling it in and use another pitch."
Of his 99 pitches thrown Wednesday, 52 were sinkers, 36 sliders, 10 curveballs and a single changeup. In addition to striking out nine with just three hits and two walks allowed, Brubaker got 15 whiffs and 19 called strikeouts. Those 34 combined called strikes and whiffs tied his career-high.
And while he relied on the sinker more, sliders like this one kept hitters off balance and let him work with essentially one breaking ball for most of the night:
It's a drastically different pitch mix than we saw through most of the early parts of the season, where Brubaker was still trying to be a five-pitch pitcher. That's changed in recent months. After working out some things with his curveball in a bullpen session in Atlanta at the end of May, he's essentially become a three-pitch pitcher:
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The results have supported that decision. Over his previous 10 starts, Brubaker has pitched 58 innings and 3.10 ERA, numbers that support why he was the team's opening day starter back in April. Getting that extra length is key given how much the bullpen has been taxed this year. Brubaker has pitched at least six innings in five of his last seven starts.
"The fact that they're able to continue to grow and learn how to use their pitch mix so they're able to go deeper into games, yeah, it's definitely a positive side," Shelton said, also referencing Mitch Keller's seven inning performance Monday.
And Brubaker did it essentially with a plan B that he and the pitching team developed that night.
"We see him go out with his stuff, and he pitches off of what he has that night, which is definitely an evolution for a pitcher," Shelton said.
That likely would not have happened last year. Sometimes all it takes is one well-executed pitch to get the feeling back, so when Brubaker struggled in 2021, he said he would keep throwing to try to get that feel back rather than adjust to what's working. It probably isn't coincidental that the second-half of his season was plagued by homers and shorter starts where he would usually show something encouraging, but finish with a poor line.
"To be out there not just searching for [feel] is definitely something I've learned," Brubaker said.
Now in a groove, Brubaker's almost certainly done until after the All-Star break, finishing the first half with a 4.02 ERA, 3.73 FIP and 97 strikeouts over 94 innings. Those concerns about the second-half of the season still linger from last year, but unlike 2021 where he was losing some steam by this point, Brubaker is doing some of his best pitching right now.
"Really just analyzing it and moving forward and trying to continue to get better," Brubaker said about his first half. "Certain things, game planning, execution of pitches, how to pitch guys, it's just a continuous step forward to continue to get better."
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Brubaker had to settle for a no-decision for his efforts.
After Underwood hit two batters and walked another in the eighth before allowing a go-ahead single, the Pirates rallied to force extras on a Michael Chavis double in the ninth and took a lead into the home-half of the 10th after Daniel Vogelbach and Ke'Bryan Hayes picked up an RBI each.
Handing the ball off to Bednar, the Pirates' All-Star allowed three hard-hit balls before blowing the lead and loading the bases, the big hit coming on an 0-2 fastball that stayed hittable to Aguilar:
"I was trying to elevate a little bit and just ended up pressing down on it," Bednar said, explaining how he missed his spot. "Just didn’t execute."
That was emblematic of what Shelton said Bednar's problem was that day, he was in the strike zone too often. He was until the last pitch: A curveball that got away from catcher Jason Delay that Aguilar was able to come home on:
"That's a tough play," Shelton said. "You're sliding away, making a throw across your body. It's got to be a perfect throw, it's got to be a perfect catch and a tag. That's a really challenging play."
"I figured he’d be hacking, so I threw an aggressive curveball," Bednar said. "Just got away... S*** happens."
• After allowing five earned runs through his first 27 appearances, Bednar has allowed nine over his last nine outings, totaling eight innings.
"You always play that cat and mouse game throughout the year," he said. "If people are starting to make adjustments on me, it’s time to make adjustments. Sometimes, you’re a little slow on that. Sometimes, you’re ahead of the curve on it. It’s also just part of the learning curve and part of the season. It’s a long year. It is what it is. It sucks. JT pitched his ass off and they battled back. Especially tonight stings a little more."
• The offense missed out on building up a late lead. Chavis' double in the ninth put runners on second and third with nobody out, but Oneil Cruz, Ben Gamel and Jack Suwinski all failed to get a run home. In the 10th, Hayes' RBI was a single up the middle where Jake Marisnick was thrown out at home for the final out of the inning.
That comes after being two-hit for eight innings.
• And because of the loss, bench coach Don Kelly gets to keep his hair.
At the beginning of the season, several coaches made bets with the team that if they string together a certain amount of consecutive wins, they would have their head shaved by Mike Gonzalez, the team's interpreter and barber. Kelly is the first guy with five wins.
The streak will have to wait for another time.
• Some injury news to go through: Bryan Reynolds (oblique) will be reassessed after the All-Star break to determine his availability, director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk told traveling media Wednesday.
Greg Allen (hamstring) has had his rehab transferred to Class AAA Indianapolis.
Blake Cederlind (Tommy John) has been shut down again due to recurring elbow soreness. It's a similar region, but different location to an injury to the same body part that paused his rehab back in May.
And Henry Davis (left wrist) reported intermittent soreness, stemming from the same slight fracture from earlier this year. He will have the wrist "immobilized" for several weeks to rest before the team reconvenes on a new plan.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• 10-day injured list: OF Bryan Reynolds (right oblique)
• 60-day injured list: OF Canaan Njigba-Smith (wrist), OF Greg Allen (hamstring), RHP Blake Cederlind (UCL), RHP Nick Mears (elbow surgery) RHP Max Kranick (elbow), C Roberto Pérez (hamstring)
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Josh VanMeter, 2B
2. Daniel Vogelbach, DH
3. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
4. Yoshi Tsutsugo, 1B
5. Oneil Cruz, SS
6. Ben Gamel, RF
7. Jack Suwinski, LF
8. Michael Perez, C
9. Jake Marisnick, CF
And for Don Mattingly's Marlins:
1. Joey Wendle, SS
2. Jon Berti, 2B
3. Jesús Aguilar, 1B
4. Avisaíl García, RF
5. Brian Anderson, 3B
6. Jesús Sanchez, CF
7. Nick Fortes, DH
8. Bryan De La Cruz, LF
9. Jacob Stallings, C
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates can still get the series win Thursday, concluding the four-game set with a 12:10 p.m. matinee. Zach Thompson (3-6, 4.38) will take the bump against Braxton Garrett (1-3, 4.33). Last game for me before the All-Star break.
THE CONTENT
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