History was made at PNC Park on July 7. Ryan O’Hearn hit three home runs, and he recorded a Pirates single-game record 10 RBIs. On July 8, PNC Park almost witnessed history again.
Jared Jones returned from Tommy John surgery on May 29 and has started in eight games since missing over a year of action. Jones has been alright as he continues to find his footing after missing so much time. He has a 1-1 record and a 4.37 ERA in 35.0 innings pitched.
Ironically, Jones did make history with his performance, just not the history you’d love to remember.
Sensational Outing From Jones
Jared Jones’ eighth start came last night against the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves. Jones was impressive, to say the least. He struck out eight batters in six innings of work, gave up 0 hits, 0 runs, and did not walk a single batter. It was one of the best starts of his young career and definitely his best start since the injury.
So, why did he get pulled after just six innings?
Jones was on the brink of history: a perfect game. Only 24 perfect games have ever been thrown in league history, and Jones was just nine outs away from accomplishing this feat. Don Kelly pulled him after throwing 77 pitches, which was not even his season high.
The right-hander has stayed around the mid-70s pitch limit this season, though he has reached 81 in a game versus the Cincinnati Reds.
Health Over History?
Pirates manager Don Kelly stood on his decision to pull Jones after six innings, crediting health as the most important factor.
“It’s a tough one, man…health is the most important thing, winning the game, and then personal accomplishments third,” Kelly said. “We need Jared for the rest of the season throwing the ball like that.”
Jones doubled down on management’s decision to pull him early.
“It does suck…I completely understand it; it is what it is,” Jones said.
He also noted that, coming into the game, Jones and the team were looking to get five innings out of him, but because of the low pitch count, he was able to sneak in a sixth inning. All in all, it does not seem like Jones was too upset that Kelly pulled him.
He said he was “messing around” with Kelly after the sixth inning, trying to avoid his manager who he knew was about to remove him.
“It was fun, felt good the whole game…was just fun playing baseball,” Jones said.
Pulling Jones Was a Difficult, but Correct Decision
Was this the right decision? Yes. Was it what fans wanted? No.
Realistically speaking, the Pirates cannot afford more injuries, especially to a guy like Jones who has spent so much time rehabbing to get to this point. While you want to see him attempt to make history, you would much rather see him get pulled early than reinjure his arm.
Currently, Konnor Griffin, Oneil Cruz, Spencer Horwitz, and Endy Rodriguez all sit on the injured list, which is a massive reason the Pirates have been losing. This likely plays in the back of the mind of a manager with a huge decision to make, like Kelly had tonight.
Although it was the right decision, the outcome is likely what drives fans crazy. Jones gets pulled, Mason Montgomery replaces him and allows a hit to the second batter he faces, blowing the perfect game bid. Then in the eighth, Dennis Santana comes in and gives up a game-winning two-run homer to former Pirate Joey Bart.
Pirates Bullpen Blows Game Again
At the end of the day, the Pirates bullpen continues to blow games for the squad after stellar starts. In this case, the Braves held Pittsburgh scoreless, so a perfect game wouldn’t have even secured a win. If the Pirates had scored a few runs for Jones to secure the win for him, people would have forgotten that the staff pulled him, and everyone would be celebrating his stellar outing.
It is disappointing that Jones was not able to get the win or continue pitching to complete what could have been a perfect game, but it was a more than promising start for him as he settles back into major league baseball.
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