Could JuJu Smith-Schuster have another tour in Pittsburgh? At least one current Steeler is nudging to make that happen.

The Pirates are trying to stop the bleeding in St. Louis. Mason Miller had a rare rough night for the San Diego Padres, and Gerrit Cole is coming back for the New York Yankees.

All that in “First Call” for Wednesday.

Looking for a comeback

New Steelers wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. is attempting to recruit ex-Steeler JuJu Smith-Schuster back to Pittsburgh.

Smith-Schuster wrote “Sheesh !!!” on social media after Pittman posted a photo of him on the first day of OTAs on Monday. Then this exchange followed.

The two pass catchers were teammates in college at USC. Smith-Schuster is 29 years old now. He is a free agent after spending the past two seasons in Kansas City.

Smith-Schuster left Pittsburgh for K.C. after the 2021 campaign. He played five years here, totaling 3,855 yards on 323 catches. He scored 26 touchdowns.

Knee issues have hampered JuJu the last two years with the Chiefs. In 2025, Smith-Schuster caught just 33 balls for 345 yards and one touchdown. That was his second stint with the Chiefs after a stop in New England.

Needing the best

The Pirates are hoping for their first win in five games. Carmen Mlodzinski is on the mound, attempting to stop the four-game losing streak.

So far this season, Mlodzinski is 3-3 with a 4.40 ERA and 43 strikeouts.

For however long Don Kelly wants to pitch the right-hander, the Pirates would love to get a good start out of him after five Bucs pitched in Tuesday’s 9-6 10-inning loss to the Cardinals.

Mlodzinski has seen his ERA jump from 1.77 on April 15 to 4.40 after his last appearance on May 14 against Colorado. A total of 18 earned runs have been charged to him over his past five performances.

Although of late, the 27-year-old from Hilton Head, S.C., has been better. Mlodzinski has yielded only four earned runs in his previous 11 innings, two runs per outing against the Rockies and Giants.

The Pirates will be opposed by Michael McGreevy for St. Louis (3-2, 2.10). He has allowed only one earned run in three outings (18 innings) in May.

 

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Cole Train

Former Pirates All-Star Gerrit Cole is coming back. The 2023 Cy Young award winner is going to make his 2026 Major League debut for the New York Yankees on Friday.

That news came from the Yankees on Tuesday. Aaron Boone made the announcement before the Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4.

Cole is scheduled to return from Tommy John surgery on Friday night versus the Tampa Bay Rays. It’ll be his first big league outing in almost 19 months.

“There’s been some blessings along the way as well,” Cole said via the Associated Press. “I talked about my family and spending time with my boys. But largely I’m just looking forward to being really tired and having that exhaustion mean something.”

The six-time All-Star hasn’t pitched in the majors since October 2024. That was Game 5 of the World Series versus the Los Angeles Dodgers.

How the other half lives

Mason Miller is human after all.

The Bethel Park product was tagged with his first loss of the year, falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 on Tuesday night.

The former Waynesburg flamethrower allowed just his third run of the season for the San Diego Padres. It came on a sacrifice fly by Andy Pages with one out in the ninth inning.

That wasn’t a save situation for Miller as the game was tied 4-4 in the ninth when he entered. The 27-year-old is still 15-for-15 in that regard.

At 30-19, the Dodgers have a half-game lead on the Padres, 29-19 in the National League West.

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