Quinn Priester avoided giving up a homer for just the fourth time in 16 MLB appearances. What proved inevitable, though, was a big inning plaguing the Pirates hurler. Priester yielded three of his four earned runs in the fifth inning of Sunday afternoon’s 5-4 loss to the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
Although he alternated singles and outs in that frame, manager Derek Shelton lifted him with two away for Hunter Stratton, the Pirates at that point leading 3-2.
Former Pirates slugger Daniel Vogelbach promptly cleared the bases with a double, giving Toronto its first lead of the day, and one it didn’t look back from. For much of the afternoon, Priester was able to pitch around the hard contact he permitted. Per Baseball Savant, the Blue Jays’ average exit velocity on balls put in play was above 95 mph, yet their sole run through the first four innings came courtesy of a wild pitch from Priester.
While two of Priester’s three strikeouts came on sliders, it was his sinker that allowed him to induce six groundouts. Priester was efficient, too, avoiding any walks for the first time as a big leaguer. But in being around the plate all afternoon, he was quite hittable. Priester yielded eight hits, two shy of his career high and one behind his most recent MLB start before being demoted to Triple-A Indianapolis.
While Priester fared adequately the first two turns through the Blue Jays’ order, it was his third try that proved arduous and led to his relatively early dismissal. Could Priester have effectively meandered in and out of traffic for one more inning, the Pirates could have taken the series in Toronto. Instead, they dropped the three-game set north of the border before returning home to face the vaunted Dodgers on Tuesday.
ON THE MOUND
Although Stratton got Justin Turner to pop out to first after Vogelbach’s go-ahead double in the fifth, his second inning of work proved less endearing. Daulton Varsho singled with one away, and then advanced to third on a throwing error by Stratton on a pickoff attempt. Davis Schneider proceeded to double down the left-field line to plate Varsho. While the run was unearned considering Stratton’s gaff, it was an unneeded blow in the Pirates’ comeback bid that came up short.
Carmen Mlodzinski, who provided two scoreless relief innings Friday night, tossed a zero before Kyle Nicolas did the same. All told, it was a solid weekend for the Pirates bullpen Collectively, they combined to give up only three earned runs across 14 innings in the series.
AT THE PLATE
Rowdy Tellez’s return to Toronto, where he spent the first three and a half years of his MLB career, was punctuated by arguably his most productive game with the Pirates. Tellez drove in four runs, his most in a contest this season.
With two away in the third, Tellez perfectly squared up a hanging curveball from Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt. Two innings later, he cleared the bases with a double to right-center. And in the ninth inning with two away and two strikes, Tellez singled to left, trimming the Pirates’ deficit to one.
While it’s been a disappointing first two months in Pittsburgh for Tellez, who signed a one-year, $3.2 million deal this offseason, Sunday’s showing was at the very least a rare encouraging sign for the scuffling first baseman.
Other than Tellez, though, the Pirates did little with the numerous run-scoring opportunities they created. In the contest’s first six frames, the Pirates left 11 runners on base.
UP NEXT
Tuesday: Dodgers at Pirates, 6:40 p.m., PNC Park
Probable pitchers: RHP Jared Jones (3-5, 3.55) for Pirates. … RHP Tyler Glasnow (6-3, 3.04) for Dodgers.
Key matchup: Glasnow, a former top prospect with the Pirates, has never pitched against Pittsburgh since he was traded to Tampa Bay in 2018. Now with Los Angeles, Glasnow has compiled a 3.17 ERA after the Pirates dealt him.
Hidden stat: The Pirates are 19-3 this season when scoring at least five runs in a game.
Wednesday: RHP Paul Skenes (2-0, 2.45) for Pirates; LHP James Paxton (5-0, 3.29) for Blue Jays
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