Jared Jones strikes out 10 in MLB debut as Pirates beat Marlins, improve to 3-0

Jared Jones promised to shove in his major-league debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the 22-year-old right-hander exceeded expectations against the Miami Marlins.

Jones recorded 10 strikeouts — one shy of the franchise record for a debut — while allowing three runs on three hits and two walks in 5¹⁄₃ innings to earn his first career win as the Pirates beat the Marlins, 9-3, on Saturday afternoon at loanDepot park.

“It’s awesome, man,” Jones told SportsNet Pittsburgh in an on-field postgame interview. “I couldn’t have written it up better.”

The 2020 second-round draft pick became the first Pirates pitcher to record 10 strikeouts in his debut since knuckleballer Tim Wakefield in a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on July 31, 1992. The record is 11, set by Nick Maddox in 1907 and tied by Dick Hall in 1955.

Jones (1-0) also became only the fifth major-league pitcher since 1900 to have at least 10 strikeouts in less than six innings in his debut, the first since Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta had 13 in May 2018.

“To be able to calm his nerves in his first major-league start and go out against a good lineup and execute pitches, he was very impressive,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. “He executed the slider. He executed the fastball. He threw some changeups and curveballs early in the outing that were really impressive. We knew organizationally this kid has weapons, and we saw it on display a little bit.”

The Pirates’ No. 3 prospect — and ranked No. 59 overall by MLB Pipeline — earned a spot in the starting rotation by not allowing any runs and holding hitters to a .167 average in 16 1/3 innings in spring training.

Jones threw 62 of his 89 pitches for strikes by balancing a nasty slider with a four-seam fastball that averaged 97.1 mph and topped out at 99.9. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder generated 48 swings and 22 whiffs — the most by any pitcher in his major-league debut since pitch-tracking started in 2008 — while getting 14 called strikes and 15 fouls.

Afterward, Jones laughed when he realized he had more swinging strikes (22) than family and friends in attendance for his debut (21).

His best success came against Marlins first baseman Josh Bell, who was batting .424 in 19 games against his former team, including 3 for 7 in the first two games of the series. Jones struck out Bell three times, one of six Marlins hitters he punched out.

After two-time batting champion Luis Arraez led off the first by lining out to left, Jones froze Bell with a 1-2 slider on the inside corner for his first career strikeout. Jones then got Bryan De La Cruz swinging at a 1-2 slider low and away, which erased any nerves the pitcher had.

“I got two punches in the first. How could you not be pumped after that?” Jones said. “I felt just walking out there in the first inning I was pretty confident the whole time.”

The Pirates helped Jones by giving him an early three-run cushion on the way to 16 hits, their second consecutive game with double-digit hits. They have scored 22 runs through their first three games. Connor Joe went 3 for 5, leading six Pirates with a multi-hit game.

When Joe was called out on a close play at first in the third inning, the Pirates challenged the call and got it overturned. Joe advanced to second on a Bryan Reynolds single to left, reached third when Ke’Bryan Hayes grounded into a forceout but beat the double-play throw and scored on a line drive to left by Edward Olivares to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.

Weathers hit Henry Davis with a pitch to load the bases but got Oneil Cruz to ground out to third to end the rally.

After scoring the Pirates’ first run, Joe drove in their next by following Michael A. Taylor’s double to left with a two-out double of his own down the third-base line to make it 2-0 in the fourth.

After not getting a hit in his first seven at-bats, Joe has had five in his past seven. Hayes drove Joe in with a single to left for a 3-0 Pirates lead.

Jones was perfect through the first three innings, striking out five of the first nine batters he faced. Only Jesus Sanchez reached base, on a throwing error by Cruz at shortstop in the second.

The Marlins fared better the second time through the lineup. With two outs in the fourth, Jazz Chisholm Jr. drew a full-count walk then scored on Jake Burger’s double to right to make it 3-1. Sanchez singled past short to score Burger and cut it to 3-2.

The Pirates answered in the fifth when Cruz singled to left, advanced to third on Jared Triolo’s double and scored when he beat Bell’s throw to the plate on Taylor’s grounder to first. The errant throw also allowed Triolo to score, giving the Pirates a 5-2 lead.

Shelton noted that the Pirates scored seven runs with two outs but wanted to highlight Hayes and Cruz beating out double-play balls that would’ve ended the inning. That upped the pitch count for Marlins starter Ryan Weathers and took a toll on Miami’s bullpen.

“Little things like that will tack on runs and help a complete team-offensive approach,” Shelton said.

Jones exited with two on and two out in the sixth, and Sanchez singled off lefty Ryan Borucki to make it 5-3.

A four-run seventh inning saw Jack Suwinski drive in a run with a single, Joe with a double and Reynolds bring in two more with a double to right against lefty Andrew Nardi that stretched the Pirates’ lead to 9-3.

The Pirates bullpen came through once again as Borucki, Hunter Stratton, Jose Hernandez and David Bednar held the Marlins scoreless over the final 3 1/3 innings.

The Pirates are 3-0 for the first time since 2018, which also was their most recent winning season, and have a chance to sweep the four-game series when Bailey Falter faces Trevor Rogers in a matchup of lefties at 1:40 p.m. Sunday.

This day, however, belonged to Jones.

“Obviously, he’s very talented and really good at what he does,” Suwinski said. “To see him go out there and do that in his first big-league start is super awesome. We’re all really happy for him.”