PITTSBURGH — On a night when right-hander Roansy Contreras turned in a short, uneven performance, the Pirates turned to their bullpen to pull out arguably their most satisfying comeback win of the season.
Five relievers combined for five scoreless innings Friday — a bend-but-don’t-break performance that enabled the Pirates to overcome a five-run deficit and stun the Cardinals 7-5.
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The Cardinals had chances to put the game out of reach. They loaded the bases in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings but failed to score. Middle relievers Rob Zastryzny, Cody Bolton and Yohan Ramirez held firm.
“That was awesome,” closer David Bednar said. “For the bullpen, our whole game is about limiting damage because you never know and you can be right back in it. Every run matters.”
The Pirates scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh. They took a 7-5 lead on back-to-back blasts off Cardinals reliever Giovanny Gallegos. Ke’Bryan Hayes hit a three-run shot and Josh Palacios got his first career homer.
“That was probably the greatest feeling I’ve had in a baseball game. It’s been a long time coming,” said Palacios, who made his debut in 2021 and finally went deep in his 110th career at-bat. “As soon as it went off the bat, I think I kind of blacked out. I was like, ‘Oh, shoot, I finally did it.’”
FIRST MLB HOME RUN FOR PALACIOS pic.twitter.com/VK5DlryhDl
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 3, 2023
Colin Holderman cruised through the eighth inning, then turned it over to Bednar for the ninth. Paul De Jong hit a soft, two-out single, stole second and went to third on a wild pitch before Bednar got Jordan Walker on a grounder to end it.
“Our bullpen did a heck of a job,” manager Derek Shelton said. “They got into the right matchups. They executed pitches. They were outstanding.”
Contreras had one bad inning, and it was a doozy. The Cardinals got all their runs in the third, scoring five times on five straight two-out hits.
Fastball command has been problematic for Contreras, and that has led him to go slider-heavy in some outings. Yet, to be successful, Contreras is going to have to master his four-seamer.
“That’s really important not just for Ro, but (for) all young pitchers,” Shelton said. “First of all, it’s a mindset: ‘I’m going after guys with my fastball in the zone.’ For young pitchers, at times, it takes growth (to think) that because it’s like, ‘If I throw it, what if they hit it?’”
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In the first inning, Contreras threw 14 pitches — 11 of them fastballs ranging from 95.9 mph to 96.7 mph — and struck out the side.
With two outs in the third, Tommy Edman doubled on an up-and-away fastball. It was the start of a five-hit, five-run barrage. Three of the hits, including two homers, came on two-strike counts.
Contreras went down and in with a 1-2 slider and Brendan Donovan knocked it over the Clemente Wall. Paul Goldschmidt doubled on a 1-2, middle-away slider. Nolan Gorman lined an RBI single on a middle-away fastball. Nolan Arenado homered to center on a 2-2 up-and-away fastball.
Because he had a two-inning relief outing Sunday, Contreras was on an 85-pitch limit. He worked four innings against the Cardinals and allowed five runs on seven hits, which bumped up his ERA half a point to 4.82, and got six strikeouts.
Out of 83 pitches, Contreras threw 40 four-seamers. His heater averaged 95.5 mph, which is 1.4 mph higher than its average velocity over his first 10 outings this season. In 2022, Contreras’ fastball averaged 95.6 mph. In 2021, it was 96.3 mph.
“I had a little bit of trouble, trying to make pitches that I was not executing,” Contreras said through an interpreter. “Next time, I’ll be better.”
As the Pirates begin a stretch of 22 games in 25 days, the pitching staff is a bit in flux.
Starter Vince Velasquez is out indefinitely with a sore elbow; Shelton said the club will reveal his status “in the next few days.” Plans to temporarily move Contreras into the bullpen were put on hold last Saturday when Velasquez went back on the injured list.
After reliever Robert Stephenson was traded to the Rays on Friday, the Pirates recalled infielder Mark Mathias and played the Cardinals with seven relievers. The bullpen has been first-rate recently, but eventually it will need reinforcements.
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The bullpen went into last night’s game with a 3.73 ERA, the third-best mark in the National League. The Pirates are the only team in the league with five or more relievers with an ERA of 2.25 or lower who have pitched 18-plus innings.
That’s a convoluted way of saying the guys have been pretty good … well, most of the guys.
In May, Stephenson (9.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, three homers allowed in eight innings) and Duane Underwood Jr. (8.44 ERA, 1.78 WHIP, three homers allowed in 10 2/3 innings) were awful. By Friday afternoon, both were gone.
Stephenson was dealt to the Rays for Alika Williams, 24, a minor-league shortstop who’s all glove and no bat. Underwood cleared waivers and was banished to Triple-A Indianapolis.
The Rays inquired about Bednar, a major-league source told The Athletic, but the Pirates are inclined to hold on to him for now. Smart move.
Bednar has blossomed into an elite closer — even if the Pirates haven’t had much use for one lately. He collected nine saves in April and one in May. Maybe things will be better in June for Bednar, who Friday night nailed down his 11th save in 12 chances.
Holderman has been superb as the setup man. He’s made 10 straight scoreless appearances and ranks sixth in the majors with 11 holds.
Newcomer Dauri Moreta (who hasn’t allowed an earned run since April 30) and Jose Hernandez (a Rule 5 draft pickup) have shown they can be trusted deeper in games. One or both could emerge as the seventh-inning bridge to Holderman and Bednar.
“One of the reasons we were able to make the trade is because of what these other guys have done,” Shelton said. “We’ve seen Moreta, Ramirez, Hernandez and Zastryzny push themselves into leverage-type situations.”
That’s great, but the bullpen can’t function at its best unless the entire rotation holds up its end of the deal. That’s why getting Contreras on track is vital.
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“Feels pretty good that the team will back me up like that,” Contreras said.
Again, that’s great, but if Contreras can’t do the job, the Pirates need to find someone who will.
It’s interesting — and perhaps not coincidental — that Contreras’ schedule is aligned with that of top pitching prospect Quinn Priester. While Contreras was toiling against the Cardinals, Priester was tossing six scoreless innings to lead Indy to an 11-0 win against Toledo.
(Photo of David Bednar: Scott Galvin / USA Today)