Pirates rookies Roansy Contreras, Cal Mitchell shine but Rockies rally for 10-inning win
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When the Pittsburgh Pirates needed a starting pitcher and an outfielder, they turned to Roansy Contreras and Cal Mitchell in hopes that the pair of prospects would provide a boost.
Where Contreras became the first Pirates pitcher in the modern era to not allow a run in his first two starts, Mitchell’s MLB debut also proved memorable. His first major league hit was an RBI single to center that drove in Diego Castillo to break a scoreless tie in the fifth inning.
The Colorado Rockies tied the game on an error in the eighth inning and scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th inning when Connor Joe singled up the middle off David Bednar to score Sam Hilliard from second for a 2-1 win Tuesday night before 9,009 at PNC Park.
The Pirates have scored three or fewer runs in 10 of their past 12 games, dating to a 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 11, and their ineffective offense cost them once again.
“I wish I had a better answer for you than I do – and I don’t,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We’ve got to figure it out because we pitched our (butt) off and we didn’t give ourselves a chance to win because we are not creating any offense.”
After throwing three shutout innings in his major league debut against the Chicago Cubs last Sept. 29, Contreras held the Rockies scoreless for five innings. In between, he allowed three runs in three appearances out of the bullpen before being sent to Triple-A Indianapolis.
Pirates management wanted Contreras to stretch out as a starter, so he made five starts at Indy before returning to the rotation.
“My goal is to be a starter. That’s what I want to be,” Contreras said. “I want to be a starter, and I really believe in the plan that they have for me. Being able to go back, I was able to make some adjustments, practice on certain things and be a lot more prepared and equipped to be back here.”
In his first start this season, Contreras allowed three hits and two walks while striking out five in five innings, throwing strikes on 56 of his 84 pitches. Contreras fanned Charlie Blackmon on a 97.4-mph four-seam fastball and C.J. Cron on a 94.5-mph slider to end the first inning. He induced 29 swings, including six whiffs, with the four-seamer while mixing the slider that drew four whiffs and six called strikes.
“The ball came out of his hand easy,” Shelton said. “We got to see both breaking balls. Overall, first outing, I thought he threw the ball really well.”
With two out in the second inning, Contreras walked Randal Grichuk and gave up a double to Jose Iglesias to put runners on second and third but got Sam Hilliard to fly out to center. Contreras was sidetracked in a 31-pitch fourth inning, when he gave up singles to Brendan Rodgers and Iglesias but struck out Hilliard on a 2-2 fastball.
“It was very exciting to be back and help the team in any way that I can,” Contreras said. “At the end of the day, it’s very emotional, very exciting to be back.”
Mitchell got the call-up despite being left off the 40-man roster last fall, which only left a chip on his shoulder. He responded by being the most consistent position player at Indianapolis, batting .306/.362/.500 with nine doubles, five home runs, 26 RBIs and six stolen bases in 34 games.
In his first at-bat for the Pirates, leading off the third inning, Mitchell worked a 3-2 count against Rockies lefty Kyle Freeland before lining out to right field. Freeland threw 4⅓ no-hit innings before Diego Castillo doubled to right in the fifth inning.
“First at-bat, that’s the biggest one, your first time in the league,” Mitchell said. “I was happy to catch a good barrel. It was kind of like, ‘Whoo, I can do it.’ The rest of the game was just those thoughts.”
That brought Mitchell to bat a second time. After two swinging strikes, he fouled off a curveball and a slider before taking a ball. When Freeland threw another curve, Mitchell singled to center. As Castillo ran home, Grichuk’s throw to the plate hit the pitcher’s mound. Castillo scored for a 1-0 lead and Mitchell advanced to second on the throwing error.
“Amazing. I couldn’t ask for much more,” Mitchell said. “I felt so good to be able to do that with all the people that I care about watching and share that moment with them later when I get home. … After the play stopped, I kind of looked out and had a moment with myself. ‘Yes. Yes.’ Then, carried on with what I was doing.”
The Pirates led until the eighth inning, when shortstop Rodolfo Castro was charged with an error after bobbling an Elias Diaz grounder. Blackmon singled off Duane Underwood Jr. to advance pinch runner Garrett Hampson to third, putting runners on the corners. Chris Stratton replaced Underwood and struck out Cron, but Ryan McMahon singled to center to score Hampson to tie the game at 1-1.
Grichuk led off the ninth with a liner that hit the tip of Hayes’ glove, but Iglesias followed by grounding into a 6-4-3 double play.
Castro drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the ninth, stole second base on Yoshi Tsutsugo’s strikeout and reached third on Josh VanMeter’s infield single. With runners on first and third, Mitchell broke his bat on a grounder to short and Iglesias threw out Castro at the plate. Michael Perez grounded out to end the scoring threat.
Hayes and Reynolds went down swinging against Daniel Bard in the bottom of the 10th, and Chavis grounded out to third for the final out. The offensive ineptitude left Shelton with a bad taste in his mouth.
“We have to figure it out,” Shelton said. “We have to figure out how to have better, more consistent at-bats because right now we’re not doing that.”