PITTSBURGH -- Bill Murphy knows what it’s like to be a part of a successful pitching staff.
As the Astros' assistant pitching coach in 2022, Murphy helped build a bullpen with a 2.80 ERA -- the second-best bullpen of the last five seasons in baseball. Houston threw a combined no-hitter in the World Series and won in six games backed by its dominant pitching.
Fast forward four seasons, and Murphy is now in his first season as the Pirates' pitching coach. Pittsburgh’s rotation has taken a slight step back, raising its starters' ERA from 3.71 to 3.96. Its bullpen is an ever-evolving issue, fighting to rank in the top 10 in the National League with a 4.43 ERA.
MLB.com sat down with Murphy on June 14 to discuss Pittsburgh’s pitching staff through the first half of the season. If one thing is for certain, Murphy is confident the Pirates will find themselves on the mound. He’s leaning on his experience to get them there.
“There were some points of my career in Houston where our bullpen went through stretches that we've gone through, and we've gotten out of them,” Murphy said. “We had some great bullpens, and it was by some people who were unsung heroes, and I feel like we have that on our team right now. We just haven't seen it yet, but I know it's there.”
With a rotation built around reigning Cy Young winner Paul Skenes, the pieces are in place to succeed. Though Pittsburgh’s bullpen is a revolving door. The acquisition of a bona fide leverage reliever at the Trade Deadline would help alleviate issues, moving Gregory Soto into a setup position and taking pressure off the remainder of the cast. Though Murphy has belief in pieces already in place.
Murphy pointed to left-handed reliever Mason Montgomery as a player with high potential getting closer to unlocking it. The 26-year-old has a 4.71 ERA this season, and Murphy thinks he has the stuff to be a “wipeout” Major League reliever. With Montgomery, Soto and Evan Sisk from the left side, Murphy looks at Dennis Santana as a right-handed weapon who’s improving as the season continues. Santana had posted five scoreless outings in a row before allowing a three-run homer at Coors Field on Sunday.
The X-factor out of the bullpen has quickly turned to starter-turned-reliever Carmen Mlodzinski. Murphy said Mlodzinski's routine is very similar to when he was a starter, and they hope to keep him stretched out for different situations, whether that be long relief or higher leverage.
“We're still in a situation where we're trying to find out what works and what doesn't work,” Murphy said.
Murphy understands how difficult baseball is at the highest level. He hopes to remind his pitchers of that daily, putting red raffle tickets on their lockers after an outing to honor the accomplishment of a strikeout. The sport is infiltrated with numbers, and Murphy looks at “a bunch of them.” Though he deems success on the individual level to gauge team success.
If a pitcher is a ground-ball pitcher, Murphy looks into their ground-ball numbers to make sure they’re improving. The same goes for a strikeout pitcher. The daily process will accrue results in the long haul, Murphy says.
The struggles, as Murphy sees and anyone watching the Pirates can tell, come from falling behind in counts. Pittsburgh has walked 287 batters this year, the ninth most in MLB. A quick fix is to be the aggressor.
“I think every pitcher wants to throw strikes; they're not trying to walk the person,” Murphy said. “Maybe they get into a particular count, and they execute and the hitter doesn't swing; that happens. But it's having the ability and the mindset to attack hitters in any situation.”
When looking to the rotation, Murphy sees Skenes as the anchor. He said the Pirates and their fans should appreciate what they’re watching each time he takes the ball, and his mindset and consistent routine are what drives unprecedented achievement at a young age.
Pittsburgh is hoping to get veteran Mitch Keller back on track after a few rough outings. Murphy views Keller’s struggles as coming down to execution, and sees a return to form coming soon. He said Bubba Chandler has done just that, improving from the beginning of the year.
As for Jared Jones and Braxton Ashcraft, Murphy is being extra careful. Jones is coming off internal brace surgery on his right elbow, and has been limited to 70-80 pitches per game. Murphy described Jones’ usage as “fluid,” and they’ll monitor how he continues to recover before upping his pitch count. He was struck by a comebacker on the same elbow Sunday against Colorado, but initial imaging came back negative.
Ashcraft is similar. The 26-year-old has posted a career season but is already 27 innings away from matching his career high. Murphy said it’s a game-to-game assessment, seeing where there will be opportunity to back off. Ashcraft’s efficiency, just a six percent walk rate, makes things easier.
Pittsburgh has proven to have the offense to compete through October. Now, with Murphy leading it, the pitching staff must step up to match.