PITTSBURGH -- The Pirates dropped their series finale, 3-1, with the Marlins on Sunday at PNC Park, but a shaky day at the plate couldn’t overshadow the strength Chad Kuhl showed on the mound.
The right-hander hit the six-inning mark for the first time this season, cruising through five before a couple of small stumbles and some bad luck in the sixth led to a loss. However, it marked the first time Kuhl has allowed two earned runs or fewer this season while recording more than three innings.
Kuhl left a slider hanging to Jesús Aguilar in the second inning for a long home run, but outside of that he afforded the Marlins one walk and one single through five innings. He hit Jazz Chisholm Jr. with a pitch and allowed Starling Marte to hit a single to begin the sixth inning, then an error by shortstop Erik González allowed a run to score on a fielder’s choice before Aguilar struck again on a sac fly.
But the ease with which Kuhl worked through most of his outing is a reassuring sign for the Pirates, given he came off the injured list last week after dealing with right shoulder discomfort.
A big contributor to Kuhl’s great start is a continuation of his trend of being stingy with walks. After affording 15 free passes through his first three starts of the season, the Pirates’ Opening Day starter has only allowed two in his past three outings.
Kuhl said it’s a continuation of some of the work he and pitching coach Oscar Marin have done to stabilize his front side as he goes to release the ball. Before, he was falling off to his left side, leading to his pitches -- particularly his fastball -- being a little bit off the mark.
“Getting that nailed down, it just translates to much better fastball command and getting back to the guy who I’ve been and want to continue to be,” Kuhl said.
But the decrease in walks is also due in part to his willingness to go after hitters and make them contact the ball vs. fiddle around outside the zone and induce whiffs. Kuhl even admitted he was a little frustrated when he drew 12 swings and misses on his slider last time out against the Royals on Monday; facing the Marlins, he induced only three with the slider.
“I felt like it got me too many swings and misses, when I kind of just really wanted the ball put in play,” Kuhl said of his slider last time out. “But it’s just one of those pitches where if it’s 2-0, or 3-1, or 3-2, I feel like I just have the confidence even when I’m behind in counts to throw the slider at any time, get action or just throw it for strikes.”
The bad news for the Pirates? The starter in the other dugout simply shoved. Sandy Alcantara pitched eight innings with one unearned run allowed, and Pittsburgh’s offense had very few answers for him.
“He had a really good changeup,” said Colin Moran, who returned from the injured list on Sunday. “It’s tough to cover that much mph — he’s got 99 that can be at the top of the zone and then a changeup that’s kinda looking like it could be a fastball down and falls out of the zone. So he had some good stuff. He was locating and pounding the zone.”
But getting Ke'Bryan Hayes and Moran back this week, with Phillip Evans on the way, one bad day at the plate won’t sink the spirits of the Pirates, who took three games in their four-game set vs. Miami. They’ve seen a lot of improvements over the weekend, and Kuhl’s promising signs on Sunday were just one more addition to the list.
“He was in the zone today and went right after them,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We had a tough [sixth inning], but I thought he was good.”