Pirates Pitcher Denies Intentionally Hitting Reds Batter

Pirates manager Don Kelly came out and argued with Porter, but to no avail, as he had to make a pitcher change, with right-handed relief pitcher Yohan Ramírez coming in place of Devenski.

"I don’t know. They felt he intentionally threw at him," Kelly said postgame. "I didn’t see the whole thing happen beforehand, so I’m not sure. It looked like an inside pitch. Devo said he did not throw intentionally at him. I’m not exactly sure, but they felt he intentionally did."

Ramírez would get Stewart out on two pitches, as he hit a fly ball right to Billy Cook playing in right field.

This marked the first time the Pirates have had a pitcher or a player ejected from a game in 2026.

Devenski Denies Throwing at Stewart

This was just the second outing for Devenski for the Pirates, since they brought him up from Triple-A Indianapolis on April 29.

Devenski has 10 years of experience as a major league pitcher and said that he was never trying to hit Stewart there, especially with the Pirates up by nine runs at that point.

“Going hard in to start an at bat, I know the guy likes to dive over, that’s about it," Devenski said. "Just trying to execute my pitch there and I think he took it the wrong way. It is what it is. Hey, I’m not going to back down from anything either.”

Kevin Gorman of the Tribune-Review spoke with Porter following the game, who said that they believed Devenski intentionally threw at Stewart and that the batter's timeout and how Devenski reacted to it led to his ejection.

“We had the situation lead up to it with (Devenski) stepping off the rubber and (Stewart) stepping out of the box," Porter said to Gorman. "Still had time and stepped out. After that, (Devenski) stepped up and he fired the pitch and, we believe, threw it at him intentionally. That’s why we ejected him.”

Chris Devenski's Time with the Pirates

The Pirates signed Devenski to a minor league deal this offseason and even made him a non-roster invitee to Major League Camp at Spring Training.

Devenski struggled in his appearances with the Pirates, posting a 6.75 ERA over 5.1 innings, a .381 batting average allowed (BAA) and a 1.69 WHIP.

He did suffer a setback during Spring Training, taking a batted ball that put him on the injured list. He went on a rehab assignment for Single-A Bradenton and then made his way back to Triple-A Indianapolis on April 10.

Devenski pitched well for Indianapolis in five appearances and one start, posting a 1.13 ERA over eight innings, 14 strikeouts to two walks, a .143 BAA and a 0.75 WHIP.

The Pirates selected his contract on April 29 and he made his team debut that day vs. the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park.

Devenski struggled in that game, giving up two hits and an earned run in the 5-4 defeat, a part of the four-game sweep to the Cardinals.

The Pirates will hope that Devenski finds his form and plays an important role in the bullpen moving forward.