Pirates Finally Fixed Their Bullpen

Pirates Trade Deadine Acquisitons on Mound

Bachar had his best outing in his spot start vs. the Boston Red Sox at PNC Park on Aug. 16, with three scoreless innings and four strikeouts, working out of two jams to help the Pirates earn an 8-3 win.

Weaver has an inflated ERA, thanks to the three runs he gave up in the ninth inning vs. the Red Sox on Aug. 15, but has posted three scoreless outings outside of that.

Doval hasn't been the most effective, with a few more walks and hits allowed than he'd like, but he's avoided giving up that many runs and had success with the Pirates.

Yates has been the Pirates' best performer from the trade deadline, giving up just two runs over eight outings and pitching in back-to-back games at 39 years old, showing his veteran leadership.

It's given the Pirates four dependable arms and made them able to fight longer in games, while also helping out those who were already here.

Internal Improvements From Pirates Relievers

The Pirates have had three relief pitchers who have greatly improved over the past couple of months, including left-handers in Mason Montgomery and Gregory Soto and right-hander Yohan Ramírez.

Montgomery has emerged as the Pirates' closer, something they didn't have earlier in the year, and has been fantastic doing so, with a 0.96 ERA over his last 20 outings and 18.2 innings pitched since June 29, just two earned runs allowed and 38 strikeouts to six walks.

Soto bounced back from a poor June and has posted a 1.86 ERA over his last 18 outings and 19.1 innings pitched.

Ramírez has had his best season yet, but more impressive was his one earned run over 22 appearances and 32.2 innings pitched for a 0.28 ERA from June 6-Aug. 11.

The Pirates have gotten the most out of Montgomery in the closer role, Soto in both low/high-leverage and then having Ramírez as their middle reliever alongside Bachar.

Pirates Seeing Great Bullpen Results Since Deadline

It's been a great showing for the Pirates since their bullpen additions post-trade deadline, minimizing mistakes and also holding onto the leads they have.

The Pirates haven't blown a save since the trade deadline, something the bullpen struggled massively with prior, and have posted a 3.49 ERA, compared to a 4.21 ERA before that.

Pittsburgh saw this come to fruition in their 4-3 comeback win over the Detroit Tigers at PNC Park on Aug. 19, as the bullpen threw 4.2 scoreless innings.

This included Soto, Doval, Weaver and Montgomery all coming through when the Pirates needed it, with just three hits and one walk allowed combined.

It allowed the Pirates offense to get the victory, with two home runs for Rafael Flores Jr. off the bench and the walk-off home run from second baseman Brandon Lowe.

Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes threw just 4.1 innings in that outing, but credited the bullpen massively for giving them the chance to win.

"They did a great job today," Skenes said. "They've done a great job. Glad we can get the game in their hands and today they kept it kind of where it was and let the offense do its thing, so it's nice."

Flores has spent most of his time catching for starting pitcher Braxton Ashcraft in his complete game and near-complete game, but came off the bench in the seventh inning and won the game for the Pirates from both sides of the plate.

He's also noticed the bullpen's improvements and how crucial they've been as of recent, giving them five wins in the past seven games.

“They’ve been nails," Flores said. "Obviously, the bullpen is huge for us. With Ash on the mound, we don’t use them as much. I think the bullpen is what has been keeping us winning games. If they can stay sharp, we’re going to be all right.”