TORONTO -- After Mitch Keller delivered six strong innings to help guide the Pirates past the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre Saturday, Luis Ortiz was tasked with covering three innings out of the bullpen.
He showed increased velocity with his four-seam fastball, topping out at around 98 mph, and retired nine of the 10 batters he faced in three scoreless innings to capture his first career major-league save.
Luis Ortiz goes 1-2-3 in the 7th with a strikeout
— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) June 1, 2024
He now has a 3.13 ERA this season in 31.2 IP
97.8 MPH fastball, 2197 RPM, 14 inVB, 11 inHB pic.twitter.com/w5vZQYjsln
"First and foremost, I just want to thank God for the opportunity. That was the purpose I have going out there: perform and get quick outs," Ortiz said via interpreter and major-league coach Stephen Morales. "I think it's a reflection of hard work, getting used to my role. Working hard before games and getting ready for that role. Like I said, my mindset every time I go out there is just to get outs and do well to help my team."
Ortiz, who allowed a hit and struck out three to preserve the win, has seemingly settled into his multi-inning relief role. He's made 18 appearances out of the bullpen this season, sporting a 2.94 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. Opponents are hitting .187 against him, but what has led to the recent success from the former starter?
"Confidence and hard work, for sure," he said. "Nothing has changed since day one. I've been putting in my work just to be in a good spot. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn't. Now it's going my way and I think that hard work has been the resolve of this."
In the past, Ortiz has struggled with his ability to stay in the strike zone. He entered Saturday with 16 walks in just over 30 innings of work, but on this day, he was sharp in throwing 25 of his 36 pitches for strikes and putting together an effective relief outing to complement Keller's strong start.
"I mean, Luis' got really good stuff, and we've seen it," Derek Shelton said. "The issue has been in the zone. And today, first inning, he comes out and he goes seven of eight strikes and it's an eight-pitch inning. And then he's able to go through the second inning and be efficient. So, that was big for us, too."
