It was a lost weekend for the Pirates against the Phillies. The offense fizzled out after a promising start Friday night and the pitching collapsed.
Joe Block recaps yesterday’s loss.
The Pirates are off today and will open a three-game series in Saint Louis tomorrow night with Mitch Keller on the mound.
The Pirates had to do some roster shuffling over the weekend. Outfielder/first baseman Ryan O’Hearn was placed on the ten-day injured list with a right quad injury suffered in the second inning on Saturday, and Jake Mangum was activated from the injured list and played center field yesterday. Infielder/outfielder Nick Yorke was optioned to Indianapolis after yesterday’s game and the roster spot was left open, to be filled before the game tomorrow night in Saint Louis.
Right-hander Jared Jones started for Altoona yesterday, making his fourth rehab appearance since returning from elbow surgery a year ago. Jones gave up two runs on three hits, struck out seven and walked two in four-and-a-third innings. Altoona lost the game 8-3.
On Pirates Insider on WCCS on Sunday, general manager Ben Cherington said the Pirates are still working on their plan for how to use Jones once he returns to Pittsburgh.
Rookie Bubba Chandler struggled again in his start on Saturday. He was upset with his performance, but Cherington said the Pirates believe Chandler will be better.
Cherington also talked about the Pirates bullpen, which has been disappointing so far this season. He said they have three options for fixing the problem…improved performances from the guys already in Pittsburgh, bringing someone up from the minors, or the trade market, which he said in only beginning to heat up.
The Pirates GM also said catcher Joey Bart’s foot infection came from an open wound, and his return is a matter of weeks, not days. Bart went on the ten-day injured list last week.
