TORONTO – The Pirates left Toronto having gone one for three at Rogers Center, but it felt more encouraging than that, largely because of what was learned before, during and even after Pittsburgh’s 4-1 victory over the Blue Jays.
Among the notable storylines: Mitch Keller’s quality start, a needed rebound from the bullpen, three home runs and the news general manager Ben Cherington pregame shared on the Pirates Insider Show: Jared Jones looks awfully close to being activated.
All things considered, the Pirates arrive at Memorial Day – often an important part of the baseball calendar – at 27-26, very much in the thick of things and staring at the potential for improvement later this week.
“It’s a good team here,” Brandon Lowe said Saturday. “There’s a lot of talent, but there are a few rough edges that need to get ironed out.
“The good news you don’t need to play your best baseball in May. You can play your best baseball later in the year.”
Rotation bump?
Pirates starters have a 3.62 ERA, which ranks seventh in MLB. That’s obviously not bad, but expectations are higher.
Having Jones back should improve the entire group, as well as the bullpen.
With his own performance, sure. He’s an elite arm. But Cherington also outlined how the Pirates might be on the verge of deploying a different type of starting rotation.
Essentially having secondary starters out of the bullpen to help manage innings while also playing to a team strength, the same as the GM floated back in Spring Training.
“You could see potentially, if Jared Jones is activated, we could have seven starting pitchers on the roster,” Cherington said. “That creates opportunity for us to think about deployment different ways.
It’s a combination of Jones’ return, Carmen Mlodzinski making a case to stick, Braxton Ashcraft’s innings total being high and the possibility that Bubba Chandler – if he pitches as well as he did Friday – might also be limited.
At the same time, any rotation needs anchors, and the Pirates have two good ones in Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller, who earned the win Sunday with his seventh quality start.
Keller allowed just one earned run over six innings while walking three and striking out five. It followed a pair of starts where Keller lasted 5 2/3 innings each time but gave up a total of 10 earned runs.
What carried Keller Sunday was how effectively he used his four-seam fastball and sinker, the first one of those early, the second one late. He blended them with five other offerings, including a bunch of sharp sweepers and curveballs.
“Using the full mix was a big thing for me,” Keller said.
It’s been said before but bears repeating: It’s a good thing the Pirates did not trade Keller, who’s been a very important part of their rotation thus far.
Power supply
Esmerlyn Valdez had experienced some struggles prior to Sunday’s sixth inning, going hitless in his first seven MLB at-bats with five strikeouts. That changed with one swing of the bat.
Valdez connected on an 0-1 sweeper Blue Jays reliever Chase Lee left over the middle of the plate for his first Major League hit, homer and RBI(s), increasing the Pirates’ lead to 4-1 with the two-run shot.
It showcased the type of power Valdez possesses, the type that led to 26 home runs in the Minor Leagues in 2025 and five in five Triple-A games prior to his promotion.
“I feel really happy,” Valdez said, with Major League coach Stephen Morales translating. “I'm thankful for the opportunity from the Pirates for putting me here. I'm taking my opportunity. I have no words to describe the happiness that I feel right now."
This has been a big week for the Pirates, as they promoted a pair of right-handed hitting outfielders in Valdez and Jhostynxon Garcia. They’ll get a chance to play, as the Pirates look to get Oneil Cruz more DH days. The Pirates also need help against left-handed starting pitching.
As for Cruz, he homered for just the second time in 23 games. His came on an 0-1 slider down and in, the perfect spot for a lefty, and Cruz sent it 415 feet at 105.8 mph to right for his 11th.
“Huge swing right there,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said.
Strong start
It’s been a point of emphasis for the Pirates to score early, and Spencer Horwitz did exactly that against his former team by homering on the game’s first pitch. Monster shot, too.
The Pirates first baseman connected on a fastball from Dylan Cease and drove it to the third deck in right field for his fifth of the season, continuing what has been an excellent month for Horwitz, who’s hitting .306 (19 for 62) with five doubles, a triple, a home run, 13 RBIs and 10 runs scored.
With Ryan O’Hearn out and Cruz scuffling, the Pirates have needed extra power. Horwitz has certainly provided it – and seemed to take some pleasure doing it to his former team.
“It was fun,” Horwitz said. “Definitely one of my favorite homers so far, to be able to do it back here, to do it with a team that I’m wanted on is definitely great. It seemed to get the guys going a little bit this morning.”
Getting relief
It’s no secret that the Pirates bullpen has had its issues in May, pitching to a 5.12 ERA prior to Sunday that ranked fourth-worst in baseball this month. When considering the entire year, the Pirates have blown 11 saves, second-most in MLB.
That storyline did not play out Sunday.
After Keller, Yohan Ramírez allowed a hit and a walk, but Mason Montgomery picked up the group with five huge outs. Nobody hit the ball out of the infield against Montgomery, while Gregory Soto closed it out to earn the save.
Montgomery, who’s been one of the bullpen’s top performers this season, was happy with how he pitched. He also thinks Sunday might be something to build on.
“I feel like we’ve done a good job trusting our stuff and continuing to stick to our plan,” he said. “There are gonna be ups and downs. This a good step forward. Hopefully we can stack it.”
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.