The first thing that stands out about Andre Jackson is, undoubtedly, the hair. Growing up in a military family, it was short or a fade cut throughout his youth, but he started to grow it out around 2018. Now, it's a wild flow, with an impressive beard to match.
The second thing that stands out is once he steps on a pitcher's mound, he has stuff. And while the Pirates would ultimately fall short against the Cubs at PNC Park Thursday, dropping a 5-4 contest in 10 innings, Jackson was a bright spot, going six innings of two-run ball.
The third thing would probably be that there really hasn't been any commonality in Jackson's outings with the Pirates since his promotion to the majors earlier this month. As the Pirates try to navigate a rotation with more question marks than answers for this final homestretch, openers and bullpen games are going to be fairly common. That was the case Thursday, as Rob Zastryzny took the ball in the first inning and handed it to Jackson.
In just 12 big-league outings this year, Jackson has been used as a starter, a bulk guy and a regular reliever, though those first two look far more probable going forward in 2023.
"I’ve been pitching in a lot of different roles this year," Jackson said. "The one objective, always, is to get as many outs as you can as efficient as you can."
So six innings, two runs, no walks, a pair of strikeouts ... it doesn't count as a quality start since Jackson didn't start the game. So what does one call it? A quality bulk?
Or better yet, is it worth splitting hairs over terminology or just focus on Jackson, who has made a good first impression with the Pirates. In five outings, he has totaled 19 innings and 20 strikeouts against seven earned runs and five walks. It's a small sample size, but with mid-90s heat, a good looking changeup and some spin offerings, those results don't look like a mirage.
"[It's] the pitch mix," Derek Shelton said, answering about Jackson's early success. "Using the changeup and the slider. Being able to double up on the changeup. The slider has been good. On top of it, the execution of the fastball at 95-96 is what has allowed him to keep them off the breaking stuff."
That mix starts with the four-seamer. He can move it around the zone, but generally speaking, going up top is where he finds a lot of success:
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSvideos) August 25, 2023
And when he does that, he's able to use his changeup's natural sink for whiffs.
"I keep that in my back pocket," Jackson said. "It helps me a little bit... Just try to move the heater around and mess up their timing."
"I think every pitcher wants to utilize your fastball and move it around a little bit," he added shortly after. "It opens up a lot of lanes for offspeed."
When he can do that, he can get quick outs. Jackson was a starter for most of his minor-league career with the Dodgers, but started to transition to the bullpen in 2023 before and after being traded to the Pirates for cash in late June. He threw 79 pitches Thursday, which is close to a normal starter's workload. And in today's game, six innings usually takes more pitches than that, so points go to him for being effective.
"He’s thrown the ball really well," Shelton said. "It’s reassuring that you have that guy in that bulk role who can not only give you six innings, but he was pretty efficient doing it."
Openers are very much on the menu down the stretch, and it had mixed results Thursday. Zastryzny, who returned to the majors earlier that day, was tagged for a run in the first inning, and Jackson followed with two-run second inning. He was able to make adjustments from there, studying how hitters were attacking him and playing off of that so his second and third times through the order were stronger.
"They got some spin pitches that I left up, so I was trying to be aggressive and speed them up a little bit," Jackson said. "I just stuck with that the rest of the game and was trying to read swings a little bit."
It was smooth sailing from there on the pitching side, until a 10th inning mishap in right field by Connor Joe allowed a second run to score on an Ian Happ base hit, which ended up being what the Cubs needed to win. Thus, Jackson's outing was wasted.
But the homestretch of the season is mainly a chance for young players like Jackson to try to prove themselves in an audition for 2024. There's still over a month to play, but so far, so good.
THE ESSENTIALS
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THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• 10-day injured list: RF Henry Davis (thumb)
• 15-day injured list: RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (elbow)
• 60-day injured list: SS Oneil Cruz (ankle), RHP JT Brubaker (elbow), LHP Jarlin Garcia (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow), INF Tucupita Marcano (knee), LHP Angel Perdomo (elbow), RHP Vince Velasquez (elbow)
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
2. Bryan Reynolds, DH
3. Connor Joe, RF
4. Josh Palacios, LF
5. Endy Rodríguez, C
6. Vinny Capra, 2B
7. Alfonso Rivas, 1B
8. Alika Williams, SS
9. Ji Hwan Bae, CF
And for David Ross' Cubs:
1. Nico Hoerner, 2B
2. Dansby Swanson, SS
3. Ian Happ, LF
4. COdy Bellinger, CF
5. Seiya Suzuki, DH
6. Yan Gomes, C
7. Jeimer Candelario, 1B
8. Nick Madrigal, 3B
9. Michael Tuachman, RF
THE SCHEDULE
Mitch Keller (10-8, 4.42) will take on Kyle Hendricks (5-6, 3.83) in game two of the long weekend set Friday at 7:05 p.m. Corey Crisan will have you covered.
THE MULTIMEDIA
THE CONTENT
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