The Pittsburgh Pirates (20-15) take on the Colorado Rockies (14-21) in the first of three games at PNC Park on Monday night. First pitch will be at 6:35 PM.
The Pirates are sending out Mitch Keller (3-1, 3.32) to take on veteran lefty Kyle Freeland (3-3, 3.76) in his eighth start of the season.
We have have more on this once it becomes official, but the Pirates are planning to add Chris Owings to the 26-man roster. He needs to be added to the 40-man roster as well, though there’s an opening there. They will need to make a 26-man roster move.
Per sources, Pirates bringing up Chris Owings, 31. Has played for Diamondbacks, Royals, Red Sox, Rockies and Orioles. Was hitting .273 with an .883 OPS in 13 games with Triple-A Indy. Nearly made opening day roster out of camp.
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) May 8, 2023
*****UPDATE*****
Chris Owings has been added to the roster officially. Mark Mathias is headed back to Indianapolis. There’s also some Luis Ortiz news there, which is exactly what everyone has assumed since he left his start early on Friday.
Greensboro is up to five catchers in the last four days due to some more moving around, as Wyatt Hendrie gets promoted.
**Top Performers: Aaron Shackelford and Caleb Smith Lead the Way The best in the minor league system over the past week
**Wyatt Langford is starting to show why some people liked him better than Dylan Crews. Things are getting a bit interesting…
**Anthony Murphy takes a closer look at Shackelford Pirates Prospects Daily: Aaron Shackelford Showing Last Year Wasn’t A Fluke
**Pirates Drop Seventh in a Row on Sunday, As Blue Jays Sweep the Series
**Prospect Watch: Eight-Run Inning Leads Greensboro to Victory
**Our weekly look at how the draft is shaping up.
UMPIRE SCORECARD
This is what a game is supposed to look like
Umpire: Jansen Visconti
Final: Blue Jays 10, Pirates 1#NextLevel // #LetsGoBucs#TORvsPIT // #PITvsTORMore stats for this game 👇https://t.co/CxLftB2ivZ pic.twitter.com/NRLLh38Lix
— Umpire Scorecards (@UmpScorecards) May 8, 2023
LINEUPS
Pirates
Here's how we'll line up tonight.
📺 AT&T SportsNet
📻 93.7 The Fan | The PRN#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/eYTGcfJEG8— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 8, 2023
Rockies
First of three in the Steel City. pic.twitter.com/RdrRgCcTpS
— Purple Row (@PurpleRow) May 8, 2023
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball.
When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.
You brought a tear to my eye tonight, Mitch! The maturation process and fight in the dog is something else. Tip of the cap, first complete game shutout since Jamo.
So now the question is do we want crews banging with cruz, endy, reynolds, and the boys or skenes as co-ace with KKKKKKKKKeller for the next playoff run
It’s great picking first this year. Kinda of a weird draft class, a strong top 5 then a solid 15 to 20 prospects. From the late first round through the 3rd maybe 4th round not a lot of separation. Might be some very good players available in the middle rounds, especially if high schoolers go early.
I like the every day bat of Crews and believe he has the best chance of being the MLB player everyone wants. I also worry about the history of problems developing pitchers drafted at the top of the draft and all the Tommy John’s on young pitchers these days. Honestly I would be good with either of them. I just hope the Pirates don’t try to find a bargain somewhere else instead of drafting one of these two guys.
Skenes. Need that dominate pitcher that makes the whole rotation better. 2 years to the show.
Skenes all day. I don’t like the idea of cherington going 1-1 with a RH corner bat over a seemingly generational arm.
I want that bat. This team needs more lumber.
Keller will inspire the bats who will break out for 8 tomorrow. Bank it.
It’s time.
Our baby boy is all grown up. Oh how I remember the days of his starts being terrifying and awful. Kelenic and Keller as the two big turnarounds of top prospects in some time.
I hate that my dude Castro overshadowed a great pitching performance with that muscled-up, 2 run bomb! Great job Mitch! I see you!
No dinger and there might not have been a complete game shutout 😁
Exactly, which made Castro the true hero on the night. 😐
And the effing streak is OVER!
Mitchy The Kid!!!!
And the one thing is a CGSO.
I was smart enough not to say anything before when they reached the bottom of the fifth in exactly an hour, but I was thinking that they are trying to get this over with in under two hours to send the fan home happy. The announced attendance was 9,596. There wasn’t 9,596 there if you counted the players, coaches, ushers and Bob Walk.
Game time 1:55
They keep winning and they will come watch them play. Especially once school gets out.
They did average over 27K for the 3 games vs TO. A 7-game losing streak with no offense and poor defense will keep those on the fence away.
Weekends will always be better, but it helped that they had giveaways/fireworks, and from what I heard from people there, tons of Blue Jays fans.
This particular series was doomed from the start. Rockies are no good and too far to travel for their fans during the week, plus school is in, plus it’s Monday-Wednesday with no giveaways and a day game Wednesday. If you like no fans around you, there are probably sections for Wednesday where you can buy a middle of the section ticket and have your own private usher
I live in the north side near PNC Park and was working all weekend but last year when the Jays were in town I ran into plenty of their fans and talked baseball with them. All of them spoke very highly of the trip/experience “PNC Park is gorgeous, not very far or expensive, plenty to see and do during the day before the game, etc.”. Almost all of them ended the conversation by saying they’d come back anytime the Jays came to town.
I actually had to check because I wasn’t serious about zero seats sold in a section. There are quite a few with only handful of seats sold, maybe 5-20 in the section, but they closed off eight upper deck sections, so no dice. You have to sit in a section with other strangers taking away your precious usher time
Oh I know, I just thought that attendance was hilarious. I know they count ticket sales, not people in attendance, but there have been a ton of games this year throughout baseball with no one in the stands and then you see something like 12,000 for attendance. I think MLB is inflating numbers to make it seem like more people are showing up due to the new rules. They claimed a week or so ago that they were up 5% in attendance across baseball. I don’t remember games last year with negative amounts of fans…
Monday Night Masterpiece Theater!
Thats how you shove
Wow! Impressive effort by Mitch.
#ACE!
Ok, like.. I’ve said multiple times how I prefer Bae in the OF but that defensive switch to move Suwinski to RF and Bae to replace CF is just.. yeah.
Need to get Profar. If he gets on, Mitch goes. Just can’t risk facing Bryant as tying run regardless how great it would be to get the CGSO.
Gotta have one last TOOTBLAN.
It is possible to be aggressive and smart. Looking forward to seeing it.
Ke slash for the last 15 games is .314/.364/.412, as a Ke supporter thats pretty darn respectable from the leadoff spot
That’s surprising. It felt worse. Probably because everytime I see him hit with RISP he doesnt do much…
One of the writers says nobody is up in the ‘pen.
The Hold Man is warm
Let that man go get his CGSO
To show my love for Castro, I’ve ordered another pizza in honor of his HR. This one with cheese only, as I am watching my figure.
Keller deserves to finish the game. Come on, one more run.
If you’re wondering what a pitching gem looks like, this is a classic example of one.
#Keller=Ace
That was one efficient inning by Keller. I’d go with Bednar in the 9th, but you could certainly understand sending Keller back out.
You don’t want to take the slightest chance of not ending the slump, but I’m not sure even Bednar is safer than Keller right now.
F’ it, let him finish it off.
Every time I bad mouth Castro he hits a jack
So how do you think he will do in tomorrow’s game?
On the bases? More reckless fkups. Against LHer’s, a stud.
Then keep “bad mouthing Castro!”
Rudy!
A lead. Almost forgot what that felt like.
Maybe the 2 run homer and lead will help the team relax at the plate a bit.
BOP
Not kidding, I was typing Castro needs to hit a homer here and Keller will wrap the game up.
WHATTTT
12 LOB already.
And Keller watches his teammates make complete fools of themselves, then goes out and zaps the Rockies for another inning. F*** this “veteran leadership” horses*** and get more guys like Keller. That’s leadership. The rest of this garbage is just a fraud.
It seemed to work while they were winning but when losing, Keller’s the one stepping up…
Tim, get this man a J, stat.
Keller is dominant tonight
The level of ineptitude here is truly breathtaking. Sadly, it’d be easier to see such horrific play from the sort of deadenders that BC loaded the team with in 2020-22.
If Keller wasn’t pitching, I’d be doing something else.
Why didn’t Hedges go to 3rd? 3B was at SS chasing the ball.
So when do all the veteran presences start having an effect? Because they’re playing like a rookie league team.
Except Keller. Maybe give him all the veteran presence money.
I dont hate the aggression with hedges on deck, but running into multiple outs for an offense starved team is tough
I, for one, prefer DINGERZ.
Was that just Castro on his own or is Shelton a true idiot?
There was absolutely nothing to gain there by swiping third. Had to be Castro on his own.
Hopefully and I’m so tired of his reckless fkups
Lol..
20 pitch 1st, 42 since. He keeps this up he may go 9 and get a no-decision.
Ok this is the game to win. Keller’s doing his best.
Hedges is quickly turning into Van Meter 2.0. 😡
When everything was going alright I thought Hedges’ defensive abilities were worth losing one batting spot but now just please call up Endy!!!!
I definitely believe in the catcher’s ability to benefit a staff and infield as a whole, but every game feels more and more like delay and endy will be the team’s best catching combo come june
small ball, they said.
Sucks that key hit into the DP but thats an RBI if hedges moves them over like he was supposed to
earthworms fear him, willie mays hayes wants to be him, kebryan hayes is the most interesting shitty hitter on the planet.
Hedges sac bunt upcoming?
L
Man I love this Lance Lynn’d version of Keller. Shove it down their throats, brother. Save the soft stuff for guys who can’t pump 98mph seeds.
Lots of time wasted obsessing over the effing changeup. According to statcast, he’s throwing six pitches, with the CH less than 5% of the time.
Statcast also has him in the top 5% of MLB in hard hit%, i.e., in the 5% best at not getting hit hard.
#ExtendKkKeller.
#extendKKKKKKeller.
Sumbich
The TOOTBLAN is rapidly becoming this team’s signature move.
Nice job by Keller winning that battle with McMahon.
When I saw the schedule before the season started I was hopeful to finish April about two under, May about 5 under and then June making a little progress with the first winning month of the year in route to a 72 win season. The 7 game losing streak has been horrible, but they are still way ahead of what I’ve hope. If we somehow Finnish May with our record above .500 I have to believe that we will finish above the 72 wins I was predicting.