The Pittsburgh Pirates are over ten games back from the third National League Wild Card playoff spot and essentially out of the playoff race this season.
The Pirates showed promise being over .500 after the All-Star break. Unfortunately, a cold stretch hurt Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes. One of Pittsburgh’s bright spots this season has been the starting rotation. The emergence of rookies Paul Skenes and Jared Jones in addition to Mitch Keller has propelled the Pirates this season.
Another pitcher who has made an impact for Pittsburgh is Luis Ortiz. Ortiz began as a reliever but has solidified himself as a starter amid a career stretch according to MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf.
“Coming out of Spring Training, the Pirates made a surprising decision to have Luis L. Ortiz break camp with the team, but as a reliever,” Stumpf said. “He had started his entire professional career, but they had a full rotation in place and wanted to challenge him and see how he would respond.”
“Oh, have they been seeing that of late. After a quality turn in the bullpen to start the year, Ortiz worked himself back into regular rotation work, first with an opener ahead of him and then as a regular starter. The results speak for themselves, with Ortiz posting a 3.19 ERA on the season, thanks in part to his last few outings.”
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Ortiz continued his hot stretch throwing six scoreless innings in the Pirates’ recent 3-0 win against the Cleveland Guardians. His performance helped Pittsburgh get out of a four-game skid and his growth during this season has been impressive. The Pirates have a bright future with a rotation of Skenes, Keller, Jones, and Ortiz.
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