The Pittsburgh Pirates were dealt what could be best described as a devastating knockout by the Philadelphia Phillies over the weekend, though their preferred phrase was to call it a gut punch.
Which was worse, blowing 6-0 and 8-3 leads in an extra-inning loss Friday night or suffering back-to-back shutouts on Saturday and Sunday to punctuate a Phillies sweep? The only revelry in the rivalry weekend was had by the Phillies, who are the hottest team in baseball.
Whatever you want to call it, the Pirates know it’s about how they respond. Manager Don Kelly expressed “full faith” that they would bounce back, much like they did after losing a four-game sweep to the St. Louis Cardinals from April 27-30 by sweeping a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds that weekend.
“I think we’ve faced adversity on different levels. This may be a little different, but anytime you hit adversity like we did after the St. Louis sweep, it’s hard,” Kelly said. “Everybody feels it. Fans feel it. Players feel it. Staff feels it. I think we’ve done a good job rebounding on a lot of different levels this year in the midst of adversity.”
Yet Kelly admitted that this is a “different type” of adversity, given that the biggest loss this past weekend wasn’t one particular game but a player. First baseman/right fielder Ryan O’Hearn, who was batting .289/.368/.459 with seven home runs and 29 RBIs, was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right quad muscle strain.
“Anytime you lose a guy like him,” Kelly said, “it stinks.”
How the Pirates handle losing O’Hearn, a productive hitter in the heart of the lineup and a clubhouse leader, will be a true test of their resolve and a defining moment of their season. Much more so than Paul Skenes giving up a home run to Bryce Harper and getting outdueled by Zack Wheeler in Sunday’s 6-0 loss.
“I’m not worried about it,” Skenes said. “It’s probably a good time for an off day, but I think we are in a good spot going into this next stretch. Not worried about how we will respond at all. Just the character we have. We showed it so far and I think we will continue to show it. We are going to keep fighting.”
1. Bad news first: The O’Hearn news is worse than initially expected. He was “optimistic” before receiving results from an MRI. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington indicated that it’s “on the moderate side, but it’s not going to be a 10-day thing.”
During a guest appearance Sunday on Pirates flagship 93.7 The Fan, Cherington estimated O’Hearn could be out “roughly four weeks,” though O’Hearn hopes to return in half that time.
“It’s obviously a blow, specifically to the lineup and the clubhouse,” Cherington said. “It gives us an opportunity to take a fresh look at the outfield mix as we go into the road trip. Without O’Hearn in the lineup, how do we best optimize the lineup and what gives us best chance to win games?”
Kelly talked about how it would open opportunities in the outfield, and the Pirates created a roster spot Sunday by optioning Nick Yorke to Triple-A Indianapolis.
As for candidates for a call-up, the reflexive move would be to promote Jhostynxon Garcia. The 23-year-old also known as The Password, who was acquired from Boston in the offseason, made waves by going 5 for 5 with three home runs on May 12 at Louisville. Problem is, he went 1 for 11 over the next four games and has a season slash line of .205/.256/.356.
There are two other intriguing possibilities at Indianapolis. One is Esmerlyn Valdez, a 22-year-old slugger who batted .360 (9 for 25) with two doubles, three homers and seven RBIs this past week. Valdez is Indy’s hottest hitter, with a .250/.380/.474 slash line, team-best eight homers and 26 RBIs.
Another candidate to consider: Ronny Simon, who played eight games for the Pirates last season before suffering a season-ending dislocated left shoulder. He’s hitting .342/.423/.574 with a team-best 11 doubles and 26 RBIs, which is tied for most with Valdez.
2. Planting a Tri?: The Pirates have to consider their outfield defense in any decision. Even before O’Hearn was injured, they made an interesting move by starting Jared Triolo in right field on Saturday.
Triolo had only played two innings in one game in right in his major league career, though he made a spectacular diving catch to rob Jake McCarthy of a hit to send a tied game against Arizona into extra innings in July 2024.
Not that Triolo expected every play to go so smoothly in right.
“I wish it was that easy,” Triolo said Sunday. “Just trying to go after any ball I can get to.”
Triolo nearly made a sliding catch on a leadoff low line drive by Trea Turner Saturday but the ball bounced out of his glove.
“I thought I should’ve had it,” Triolo said. “Just kind of the ground impact and diving knocked it loose.”
Bubba Chandler walked Kyle Schwarber, who had homered twice Friday, and Harper hammered a home run off the batter’s eye for a 3-0 lead.
Triolo took blame for his throwing error on a short-hop relay to second baseman Brandon Lowe on Harper’s double in the second inning – “I kind of put him in a tough spot with his back to the play,” Triolo said – but otherwise fared well in the outfield.
The 2024 National League Gold Glove winner and a 2025 finalist as a utility fielder, Triolo has played first, second and third base, shortstop, right field and even pitched an inning for the Pirates.
“I do feel pretty comfortable,” Triolo said. “Just trying to play baseball out there. Ball goes up, try to catch it and throw to the right bases.”
3. More bad news: Cherington also addressed the status of catcher Joey Bart, who was placed on the 10-day IL with an infection in his left foot. Cherington called it an “open wound.”
“Joey’s going to be fine – he’s going to get past this – but because of the nature of that cut and the treatment, we’ve got to make sure it’s 100% OK before he starts baseball activity again,” Cherington said on 93.7 The Fan. “Unfortunately, we’re probably looking at weeks, not days for it. I’m fully confident he’s going to play baseball again in 2026 and come back but this is not going to be a 10-day thing.”
The infection, however, is worse than Cherington described and a source told TribLive that Bart could be out for as much as two months.
Endy Rodriguez fared well in Bart’s place, going 2 for 7 with a double, two RBIs, two walks and two strikeouts in two games.
But Henry Davis’ wife is expecting their first child, so the Pirates could be without their top two catchers sometime soon. If Davis has to take leave, it would likely prompt a promotion of Rafael Flores, who was acquired from the New York Yankees in the David Bednar trade last July. Flores is batting .216 with a .672 OPS but has four homers and 24 RBIs at Indianapolis.
4. Call Jared: Jared Jones made another rehabilitation start for Double-A Altoona and had seven strikeouts while allowing two runs on three hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings.
Jones, who had InternalBrace surgery on his right elbow last year, threw 45 of his 67 pitches for strikes, though he had a wild pitch. He struck out the side in the first inning, retiring the first nine batters he faced.
Cherington said Jones will make one more rehab start before he’s eligible to come off the 60-day injured list on Sunday.
“We’re getting closer and he’s doing really well, and that’s the best news,” Cherington said. “The stuff’s there. He’s recovering. The velo is there. He’s performed. So, knock on wood, things are going in a really good direction.”
Although Jones is adamant that he’s a starter and the Pirates have said that’s how they view him long-term, they have been a bit evasive in how they will use Jones when he returns.
“We don’t know exactly what will to happen,” Cherington said. “Our job is to put together the best 13-man pitching staff we can. We need to put the team first in that and we need everyone to sort of buy in to that, whatever that means. We need the 13 best pitchers on the team to win games consistently. Obviously, we believe Jared is one of those 13, and we certainly believe he’s a starting pitcher as we look at the future.”
Jones spent most of the week with the Pirates at PNC Park. His presence was welcome, as is his long-awaited return.
“Yeah, I’m fired up,” Skenes said. “It’s been nice to have him around the last few days. It’s come quick. Everybody enjoys having him around. It’s going to be fun to be with him every day again.”
Jones was 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA and 132 strikeouts in 22 starts as a rookie in 2024, including a pair of 10-strikeout performances. Skenes was asked what Jones could mean to the Pirates’ pitching staff, especially if he returns to the rotation.
“Just pitch his game,” Skenes said. “It’s that simple. Just be him.”
5. On the rise: Not only did 2025 first-round draft pick Seth Hernandez earn a promotion to High-A Greensboro but the 19-year-old right-hander rose to No. 3 in MLB Pipeline’s new Top 100 rankings and is now regarded as the Pirates’ top prospect.
The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Hernandez, who is ranked No. 8 by Baseball America, was dominant in going 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 50 strikeouts against seven walks and a .135 batting average-against in six starts for Low-A Bradenton.
“He certainly had a fantastic start to the season, dating back to when we drafted him and getting to know who he is – learning about his makeup, the character, the worker, all off the charts and finally getting to see him compete this year – it was certainly fun to watch,” Pirates farm director Michael Chernow said Sunday on The Fan’s Pirates Insider show. “With all of our players, and certainly with Seth, we want to reward performance but we also want to make sure that when we make a decision like that, they are demonstrating that they are equipped for the challenge that the next level presents.
“With Seth, as he was continuing to go out every week and perform, what we were learning and really debating was, is Bradenton challenging him enough to face adversity so we can coach him so he can get better, so we can make the adjustments that we needed to? It comes to the point where we felt like he was ready to take on the next challenge. There’s a lot of conversation that went into it. Every perspective was accounted for and we finally got to the point where we felt comfortable making the recommendation to Ben, sort of outlining the next steps.”
While Hernandez went viral for throwing a 102.4-mph four-seam fastball to top-10 prospect Max Clark on his first pitch in the Spring Breakout against Detroit in March, Keith Law of The Athletic attended his debut for Greensboro and gave his changeup an 80 grade on the 20-80 scouting scale.
Hernandez didn’t allow a hit in five scoreless innings and had seven strikeouts and four walks in a 3-0 win at Jersey Shore in his High-A debut. Although said Hernandez has “easily No. 1 starter stuff,” with four plus pitches, Law expressed concerns with his arm being “barely on time” and some “head-whack at release,” especially when his velocity ticks toward 100 mph.
But Chernow was more impressed with Hernandez’s baseball IQ, especially when it comes to learning.
“With Seth, what we’ve learned is he has an elite level of understanding with his body and different pitch shapes and a really high aptitude to understand what he’s trying to accomplish on the mound,” Chernow said. “He came in with that understanding. He’s got a maturity and a quiet intensity to him that allows him to take on whatever we put in front of him, and that played into the calculus, as well.”