CLEVELAND — The story of the game was the Pirates bullpen blowing another save, but Jared Jones’ frustration was impossible to ignore back on June 27 against the Reds at PNC Park.
It was Jones’ sixth start back from internal brace surgery. Cincinnati tagged him for four runs (three earned) in 4 2/3 innings, raising his season ERA to 5.76.
“I’m getting lit up,” Jones said. “That’s not a good spot to be in.”
Fast forward three weeks, and the only thing lighting up around Jones has been the radar gun.
After a half-dozen starts to seemingly knock off the rust, the 24-year-old right-hander has once again looked like his dominant self, Jones’ five innings of one-run ball comprising a primary ingredient in the Pirates’ 7-1 victory over the Guardians in game one of a doubleheader Saturday at Progressive Field.
Jones reached triple digits 11 times in the first two innings while finishing with 11 total whiffs on 33 swings, nine via his four-seam fastball. To notch a season-high nine strikeouts, Jones went with heat five teams and on four occasions — including twice looking — fooled Guardians hitters with his slider.
It was precisely the type of performance the Pirates needed, as they won for the ninth time in 14 games during a difficult stretch that has included series against the Phillies, Nationals, Braves and Brewers before the break, the Guardians, Yankees, Cubs and Diamondbacks to open the second half.
The strong start from Jones wasn’t an isolated incident, either.
Since that forgettable outing against the Reds, Jones has allowed just two earned runs over 15 innings (1.20 ERA), walking three and striking out 23.
His reasoning for the uptick? Jones went 609 days between Major League outings (Sept. 27, 2024 to May 29, 2026). It simply took a beat for him to get comfortable again.
“Coming back was a little bit shaky, extra nerves that I haven’t felt before,” Jones said. “Kind of just feels like I’m able to get in my groove a little bit easier now.”
That’s been extremely obvious over Jones’ past two starts, when he delivered six perfect frames on July 8 against the Braves and when he struck out five of the first six Cleveland hitters he faced on Saturday.
In fact, when you consider Jones’ past three starts, his recent run of success has been historic, retiring 30 hitters in a row before Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan singled with two outs in the third.
Only twice in the past 70 years has a Pirates pitcher retired 30 or more hitters in a row: Jim Bibby (32) from May 19-24, 1981 and Harvey Haddix (38) from May 21-26, 1959.
“Giving up a run, I had some choice words for myself,” Jones said, referencing the triple from second baseman Travis Bazzana that scored Kwan. “But hearing those numbers and sitting back and realizing what I’ve done over the last three, it’s been pretty cool.”
And timely.
This is what the Pirates have been waiting for from Jones. Shoot, this is what Jones has been waiting for from Jones: the fastball with late life, the aggressiveness on the mound and the knee-buckling slider.
The wrinkle this year has been Jones improving his curveball and changeup, as well as the frequency with which he uses those pitches — though neither was needed much in this one.
Prior to Saturday, Jones was throwing his curveball and changeup 27.5% of the time, up from 15.8% last season. Those pitches will never supplant Jones’ four-seam-slider combo. However, they’ve forced hitters to try and cover more offerings.
The next frontier involves length.
In nine starts this season, Jones has pitched five or more innings three times and cleared 80 pitches once (81 on June 27). It’s hardly a critique; the Pirates are being conservative with Jones because he’s hugely important.
At the same time, you know he wants to push the envelope.
“He was really, really good again [Saturday] and retired a lot of guys in a row,” Kelly said. “When you talk about him getting in a groove and getting the slider back, I think that’s the biggest thing. He threw a lot of good ones [Saturday].”
The first inning for Jones featured 15 pitches, eight strikes and the same number at 100-plus. Shortstop Brayan Rocchio had no chance on 101.1 at the knees, the second-hardest pitch Jones threw. Henry Davis smartly challenged for the third out.
Jones located well against Kahlil Watson to end the second, hitting his spots at the top of the zone and eventually blowing 100.0 past the Guardians center fielder for strike three.
Over his past three starts, Jones has looked more and more like the pitcher Pirates fans adored when he debuted in 2024 and why so much was made of his rehab and return.
Jones wanted to punch something that night after getting roughed up against the Reds. Apparently he settled for simply punching back.
“It’s hard when you’re down that long,” Kelly said. “You want to get back to the big leagues, and then when you get back, knocking the rust off, the emotions, the energy … those first few starts you’re trying to get back into a rhythm and get a good feel for the emotion of the game.
“I think he’s done a great job of doing that, getting into a good flow.”
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.