Updated

Updated · New York Post · Jul 8

Pirates Pull Jared Jones After 6 Perfect Innings and 77 Pitches Following Elbow Surgery

Updated

Updated · New York Post · Jul 8

Pirates Pull Jared Jones After 6 Perfect Innings and 77 Pitches Following Elbow Surgery

Q: Can O'Hearn's heroics carry the Pirates to the playoffs without their injured rising star?

Probably not by himself, but O’Hearn can keep Pittsburgh in the race if the rest of the roster holds up. His impact is real. O’Hearn’s 10-RBI, three-homer night was historic, and it fits a strong season: .293, 16 homers, 61 RBIs and an .851 OPS through July 7. Over the past two weeks he has been one of the Pirates’ hottest hitters, and Pittsburgh’s offense has been good enough overall to rank near the top of the National League in runs and among the leaders in home runs. That gives the club a legitimate path to stay in the wild-card mix. The bigger issue is that one player rarely carries a team to October for three months. The Pirates are 47-45, three games out of the final NL wild-card spot and 11 back in the division, with playoff odds around 39% to 40%. That makes this a plausible chase, not a likely one. O’Hearn can swing games, but Pittsburgh still needs steady production around him. Konnor Griffin’s injury matters because he had given the lineup speed, defense and competent offense at shortstop, hitting .276 with 20 steals in 59 games before the finger injury that is expected to sideline him 8 to 10 weeks. Replacing that with Jared Triolo or Jack Brannigan is a downgrade, especially for a team with little margin for error. The Pirates’ best hope is a formula: O’Hearn anchoring the lineup, Paul Skenes returning to ace form after his recent slump, and the fill-ins at shortstop preventing Griffin’s absence from becoming a major drain.

3 articles · Updated · New York Post · Jul 8

Six perfect innings from Jared Jones ended with Pirates manager Don Kelly removing him at 77 pitches in Pittsburgh’s 3-0 loss to Atlanta.
Kelly said the decision was about protecting Jones, who is returning from internal brace elbow surgery and had been expected to throw only about five innings.
Eight strikeouts over 18 batters underscored how dominant Jones was; he said the limit "does suck" in that spot but added he completely understood it.
Pittsburgh’s shutout bid unraveled after Jones exited, with Joey Bart hitting a two-run homer off Dennis Santana in the eighth before Atlanta added another run in the ninth.
The move reflects the Pirates’ longer-term priority of keeping Jones healthy for the rest of the season, even at the cost of a rare no-hit chance.