Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis L. Ortiz delivers during the first inning of a baseball game … More
Pittsburgh Pirates fans are angry.
An hour before the home opener on April 4, a plane flew over PNC Park imploring owner Bob Nutting to sell the team. The fans have tired of Nutting’s tight-fisted ways, especially following an offseason in which the Pirates made no significant roster moves.
The Pirates are off to an 8-13 start and in last place in the National League Central. They failed in their attempt to win three games in a row for the first time this season when they lost 10-7 to the visiting Cleveland Guardians on Friday night.
While it is still early, the Pirates are playing like they are on the way to the franchise’s 29th losing season in the last 33 years.
The latest defeat stung more than most. It provided a first-hand look at offseason trade gone bad and only increased the fans’ desire for general manager Ben Cherington and manager Derek Shelton to be fired. The duo has been on the job for six years and a rebuilding process has gone on too long in the eyes of most fans.
Guardians right-hander Luis L. Ortiz allowed two runs in five innings to get the win while striking out eight. Meanwhile, losing pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski was rocked for five runs in four innings and failed to record a strikeout.
The Pirates traded Ortiz and two left-handed pitching prospects to the Guardians in a three-team deal during the Winter Meetings in December that also included the Toronto Blue Jays. The Pirates got first baseman Spencer Horwitz from the Blue Jays and hoped he would bolster a feeble lineup.
The Pirates could use Ortiz, especially with right-hander Jared Jones expected to miss a significant portion of the season with an elbow injury. Without Ortiz, the Pirates turned to Mlodzinski, a converted relief pitcher, to fill out their starting rotation.
Mlodzinski is 1-3 with a 7.41 ERA in four starts.
Horwitz has not contributed anything after undergoing right hand surgery just before the start of the spring training. The Pirates are hopeful he may be able to begin a minor-league rehab assignment within the next 10 days.
With Horwitz sidelined, the Pirates have been caught shorthanded at first base with Enmanuel Valdez making 10 starts, Endy Rodriguez making nine and Jared Triolo making two. Valdez and Triolo are utility infielders and Rodriguez’s primary position in catcher.
Somehow, the Pirates don’t have a first baseman on their major-league roster.
Thus, watching Ortiz set down the last eight batters he faced after fighting a case of nerves early in the game had to be tough for the Pirates to watch.
Conversely, the smile on Ortiz’s face after the game when asked the importance of beating the Pirates showed how happy to be with the Guardians. That is understandable as he moved from one of the worst organizations in baseball to a franchise that won the American League Central last season and has been to the postseason six times in the last nine years.
The two small-market franchises are located just 130 miles apart but the gulf appeared so much wider again Friday night.
“Just special because… this is not an easy game,” Ortiz said of the significance of the win. “We have to get back to it and fight through the fickleness. I think that’s what made it special.
“A lot of emotions. I think a bunch of time has passed since the trade and onto the season. A lot of familiar faces, guys that I know that I came up with. But still, I’m on the mound, my job is to get outs and attack, and that’s what I tried to do today.”