On a day when franchise great and MLB legend Roberto Clemente was celebrated with his family in attendance, the Pirates' pitching and defense shined brightly to avoid a sweep at PNC Park.
Jared Jones and Dennis Santana both escaped jams and Billy Cook, Connor Joe and Isiah Kiner-Falefa all made plays in the field to keep the Royals from pushing runs across and secure the 4-3 win on a special day.
During his post-game press conference, Derek Shelton pointed to how both aspects led to the victory, but the Pirates' pitching staff showcased what it has the potential to do consistently as it stranded 10 Royals baserunners and limited Kansas City to a .083 batting average with runners in scoring position.
It started with Jones showcasing grit and determination on a day when he didn't have his best stuff. The hard-throwing right-hander only went four innings, throwing 97 pitches, 61 of which went for strikes, while striking out five, walking three and giving up two earned runs and six hits. After a 1-2-3 first inning, Jones lost his control and pitched himself into problems in both the second and fourth innings. One run scored in both innings, but Jones was ultimately able to limit much more damage by escaping both jams.
"He kept us in the game," Shelton said. "I know it wasn’t what he wanted to do. I know it wasn’t as efficient as he’s been but sometimes when you’re a starting pitcher and you don’t have your best stuff, your goal is to keep the team in the game and he did that."
Here's what Shelton had to say about Jones' outing as a whole:
In the second inning, Jones walked Michael Massey and Adam Frazier, which sandwiched a Paul DeJong single to load the bases. Yuli Gurriel then hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Massey. However, that's all Kansas City would get as Jones battled to strike out Maikel Garcia and Garrett Hampson to end the inning.
Guriel doubled in the top of the 4th inning and then scored when Garcia hit a sharp line drive to left field. Jones then dished out his third free pass of the day before striking out Tommy Pham and getting Bobby Witt Jr. to fly out to center field.
Another jam escaped.
"Stuff was terrible. But got through four innings and the two runs and we ended up winning the game," Jones said afterward. "There's not too much I can really say bad about myself. Obviously, not the start you want, but I'm glad we were able to pull out the win."
Carmen Mlodzinski pitched a clean fifth inning before Colin Holderman got into trouble in the sixth. He recorded two outs but Santana came in with the bases loaded after Holderman walked home a run to make it 4-3. Santana quickly dispatched Salvador Perez as he utilized a 0-1 sinker high in the zone to induce a pop-out to Cook in right field.
"Probably the biggest out of the game," Shelton said.
Outside of Holderman, the Pirates bullpen was almost perfect on this day. Santana stretched into the seventh and only allowed one hit. Bednar pitched a clean eighth inning and recorded a strikeout to earn a hold and Chapman came on in the ninth for his ninth save of the season. From front to back, Sunday's performance was a near picture-perfect example of what was expected of this bullpen throughout this season.
At times, like the example shown on this day, the Pirates bullpen has showcased its ability to preserve leads late in games and deliver wins, but it hasn't been often enough. They are tied for the tenth most saves in the league with 38, but have also had the fifth-most save opportunities in the league with 66, meaning they've converted just 57% of their save opportunities this season.
Santana has been one of the steadiest arms and has recorded a 2.58 ERA in 38 1/3 innings of work this season. Chapman had been consistent for most of the season but has had a rough September after allowing a combined six earned runs in his previous three outings. We've also chronicled the woes of both Holderman and Bednar this season.
The bullpen was supposed to be a strength this season but instead has allowed 272 earned runs and 228 walks, which are the fifth and seventh-most in the league, respectively. When speaking on his weekly talk show, Ben Cherington said: "We just haven’t gotten the level of performance we needed consistently. We had a level of talent where we thought it could be that way. It’s just been one of those years."
Outside of Holderman's performance, Sunday was an example of what it could be like, and the Pirates should do everything in their power to find a way to replicate it for the future. The talent and ability are there, it's just about doing it consistently moving forward.
