‘Electric’ Pirates pitcher Roansy Contreras celebrates 1st MLB win after striking out a hero
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The Pittsburgh Pirates kept coming back to the same description of Roansy Contreras after he earned his first major league win Thursday night against the Washington Nationals.
Electric stuff.
The 22-year-old right-hander, ranked the Pirates’ top pitching prospect and No. 80 overall by Baseball America, had his own one-word answer — amazing — for the feeling of striking out five batters over three innings of relief in the 9-4 victory at PNC Park.
Afterward, Contreras posed for photographs at his locker stall inside the Pirates clubhouse while clutching the ball to commemorate the occasion. He didn’t hesitate to smile, but starter JT Brubaker instructed him to raise an index finger to signify his first major league pitching win.
Congrats to @ContrerasRoansy on his first Major League win! pic.twitter.com/d6CowDxwGD
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 15, 2022
“When you have a lot of young players that come to the big leagues, you have a lot of firsts and check off boxes,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “For us to continue to grow and develop, we have to check off boxes. For Ro’ to do that and the way he did it today was pretty cool for him.”
A starter who was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis for bullpen depth after Duane Underwood Jr. strained his hamstring in the season opener, Contreras is adjusting to a relief role in the majors. He had an electric start in his major league debut last Sept. 29 — four strikeouts in three scoreless innings against the Chicago Cubs — but gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings at St. Louis last Friday.
Priceless moment!
This is how the father of RHP Roansy Contreras reacted seeing his son facing and dominating Juan Soto. pic.twitter.com/gYn5DRm0n2
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) April 15, 2022
Contreras replaced lefty Anthony Banda in the sixth inning and fanned Alcides Escobar on a slider, got Cesar Hernandez to pop up to third and then fed 2020 NL batting champion Juan Soto four consecutive curveballs before making what Pirates manager Derek Shelton called “an old-school shortstop play” in fielding a groundout.
“That,” Shelton said, “was a hell of a play.”
Contreras’ father celebrated that play back home in the Dominican Republic, and Contreras smiled after being shown the Twitter video inside the Pirates clubhouse.
“It feels amazing to be able to know that my family was able to witness that,” Contreras said through team interpreter Mike Gonzalez.
Roansy Contreras racked up 5 K's over three scoreless innings and earned his first MLB win for the @Pirates. pic.twitter.com/7iodi5tZoo
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 15, 2022
Contreras started the seventh by whiffing one of his childhood heroes: seven-time All-Star designated hitter Nelson Cruz, a 41-year-old fellow Dominican with 450 career home runs.
“It felt great, especially someone that I grew up watching play, someone that I admire,” said Contreras, who credited catcher Roberto Perez for his pitch calling. “To be able to strike him out felt amazing.”
Shelton raved about how Contreras executed his breaking ball, throwing 12 curves and nine sliders after getting Josh Bell to ground out to second and Keibert Ruiz to ground out to first for a 1-2-3 inning.
“To get their 2-3-4 (hitters) out, that’s a pretty big task,” Shelton said. “We’re talking about some of the best hitters in the game.”
In the eighth, Contreras allowed one hit, a single by Yadiel Hernandez, and walked Lane Thomas but struck out Maikel Franco, Escobar and Hernandez to account for three scoreless innings.
“I’m happy for the guy,” Brubaker said. “That’s awesome. Goes out there out of the ‘pen and dominates. It was really fun to watch. He has electric stuff.”
Contreras’ four-seam fastball sat at 97 mph and touched 98.3, and got 12 swings, four whiffs and four called strikes, as he threw 30 of his 46 pitches for strikes. Pirates designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach said Contreras was “nasty,” adding that the first MLB win proved there’s no question about whether his stuff is good enough for the majors.
“Good for him. That’s awesome,” Vogelbach said. “You never forget your first one, and I’m sure there’s going to be plenty more for him.”