SAN FRANCISCO — A 5-2 loss to the Giants on Friday did not sit well with anyone inside a silent visitors' clubhouse at Oracle Park. However, the Pirates did enjoy two performances that may actually mean something in the long run.
Carmen Mlodzinski gave the Pirates a quality start, spinning six innings of two-run ball, while Marcell Ozuna finished with a home run among his two hits, his former teammate and current manager later saying he believes Ozuna is on the verge of a breakout.
Obviously the win matters most, but the Pirates do need more from their designated hitter and the best version of Mlodzinski, regardless of what happens when Jared Jones returns.
"I was efficient," Mlodzinski said of his 74-pitch outing Friday, which was about 25 pitches shorter than most would've preferred. "That played a big factor. Kinda set that as a goal this week. Leverage as many counts as possible and not think too much about contact because then if I get ahead, I’m going to be able to go deeper into games. I thought that was good."
The Pirates arrived in San Francisco looking to build on momentum generated during a series victory over the Diamondbacks, squaring off with a Giants team that had lost eight of 10 and was sporting the world offense in Major League Baseball.
Unfortunately for Don Kelly’s team, things didn't exactly follow that script.
Pittsburgh mustered just five hits and struggled against Giants starter Robbie Ray, who allowed one earned run over six innings, striking out seven and racking up 18 whiffs.
"Robbie’s a really good pitcher," Kelly said. "I thought he had some really good stuff [Friday]. We had some opportunities. ... We need to find a way to get runs and score."
San Francisco pounded out a dozen hits and broke things open when Justin Lawrence entered in the seventh with Mlodzinski at just 74 pitches, scoring three more times to leave with a relatively easy win.
Should Kelly have kept Mlodzinski in? When I asked postgame, Kelly said they thought Mlodzinski was tiring, and they liked the right-on-right (three out of four) matchups for Lawrence.
The loss was just the second in seven May games for the Pirates, who dropped to 21-18 on the season.
As for Mlodzinski, he wasn’t necessarily dominant; he registered just three whiffs and one strikeout. But he did enough to deliver a quality start — just the second for Mlodzinski this season — and did so in efficient fashion.
What helped: Mlodzinski commanded his fastball and stuck with the hard stuff the second and third time through instead of deviating. The sinker and four-seam fastball have not been weapons for Mlodzinski this season, but they were on Friday.
"When you struggle the second or third time through the lineup, you think you need to change something," Mlodzinski said. "I think [Friday] it was us hammering back down on what we’re throwing is working, so we don’t need to change it just because it’s the third time I’m seeing these guys.
Ozuna gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead with his 300th career homer in the second inning when he went down and got a 1-2 slider from Ray, knocking it over the left-field fence.
In the process, Ozuna became the 15th player from the Dominican Republic to reach that number.
"It means a lot," Ozuna said. "[Having 300 homers] is amazing, especially for my country. People will be able to come and see what I do here. I feel blessed."
The home run was Ozuna's fourth this season. He's still only hitting .198 with a .593 OPS, but he believes his confidence and timing are in a way better place.
Kelly agreed.
"Sometimes we don’t see the translation from the work and batting practice into the game right away," Kelly said. "I think we’re starting to see that. We’re starting to see him drive the ball. Even the base hit later, he stayed through it, got it into the outfield. He’s a good hitter. He’s coming around."
The lead for the Pirates didn’t last long, as first baseman Rafael Devers homered on a mistake sinker from Mlodzinski. Two innings later, after a few solid defensive plays, left fielder Heliot Ramos shot a Mlodzinski curve back up the middle to make it 2-1.
The Pirates kept it close until the seventh inning, when the Giants rallied against Lawrence and Evan Sisk, scoring three more times.
Pittsburgh had just two hits after Ozuna's home run, though one was Spencer Horwitz's pinch-hit, RBI-single in the ninth inning, driving in Oneil Cruz.
Around the horn
• With his stolen base in the second inning, Konnor Griffin now has nine in 33 games without getting thrown out. Since caught stealings were first tracked in 1951, that’s tied for the third-most successful steals by a Pirate to begin his career. The only ones with more were Donn Clendenon (13, 1961-62) and Chase d’Arnaud (11, 2011). Andrew McCutchen stole nine in a row in 2009 before he was thrown out.
• More impressive than the steal for Griffin was his diving play up the middle to rob Ramos in the second inning. Much like the baserunning, Griffin’s range at shortstop is very impressive.
• Nick Gonzales walked three times, the first three-walk game of his career.
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.