Ben Cherington spent most of his weekly radio show talking fastballs — while also mentioning an opposing sweeper — and how he has dealt with a catching situation riddled with injuries.

The Pittsburgh Pirates general manager focused his show Sunday on flagship 93.7 FM on the one-hit outing by left-hander Bailey Falter on Saturday, the seven-strikeout performance by Jared Jones in the home opener and how Mitch Keller is making a steady build and is “headed in the right direction.”

Cherington said the Pirates reminded Falter, who gave up six runs on five hits and three walks in his first start, of his strengths and to focus on throwing his fastballs. Falter threw his four-seamer on 58 of his 78 pitches in throwing five hitless innings against the Baltimore Orioles, throwing his signature pitch with more conviction.

“That’s such an important pitch for him. The fastball is so unique because of the extension and deception,” Cherington said, noting that locating the pitch led to weak contact. “When you see he’s getting a lot of fly balls and pop ups, that’s a good sign.”

Cherington also said it helped that Falter had a “fresh voice” behind the plate in catcher Joey Bart. Cherington said the Pirates had inquired about Bart in the offseason but opted to sign free agent Yasmani Grandal to a one-year, $2.5 million contract instead.

With Grandal and backup Jason Delay on the 10-day injured list — Cherington said they are “still trying to figure out the next steps” for Delay — the Pirates pounced when Bart was designated for assignment by the San Francisco Giants. They acquired him Tuesday in exchange for minor-league right-handed pitcher Austin Strickland.

Bart hit a two-run homer in his first at-bat with the Pirates, doubled in his second and blocked the plate to prevent a run in the ninth inning of the 5-4 extra-inning win over the Orioles on Saturday.

“It was a bit of serendipity. It was at that time the Giants’ hand was kind of forced,” Cherington said. “I’m so excited for him to get in there yesterday, to get in there and help us win the game.”

As impressed as Cherington was with Jones’ mindset to attack hitters with his heater in the home opener, the next step is figuring out how to use his full assortment of pitches. That’s especially true of his changeup and curveball, which Cherington predicted a natural progression for the secondary pitches “will become his friends.”

“One thing we think is a real strength and sustainable is the mindset,” Cherington said. “He’s a competitor. He likes being on the mound, he likes competing, he believes he’s going to beat the hitter. …. We don’t want to take that away.”

Cherington also credited Keller, who has a 6.55 ERA and 1.73 WHIP in two starts, for taking “continued steps in the right direction in terms of pitch qualities, fastball included.”

“It’s some combination of a little better execution, maybe some sequencing adjustments, maybe a little bit of luck, too,” Cherington said. “Mitch Keller’s way down the list of things I’m worried about.”

Cherington also touched on the strong start by shortstop Oneil Cruz, who has returned from a season-ending fractured left ankle. Cruz singled off a sweeper below the strike zone to deliver the winning RBI against the Orioles on Saturday for his first career walk-off hit.

“We talked about seeing some of that progress early last year before the injury. We realized it was a pretty small sample,” Cherington said. “He’s going to do damage. He’s going to go on runs where he gets pitches to hit. All he has to do is touch it. … If he does it consistently, it’s going to add up to a really good offensive player.”

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