PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It was after his last start at PNC Park that Jared Jones said he was ‘getting lit up’ and he’s ‘not in a good spot at all’. Just a couple of starts later Jones was dominant going six perfect innings, two innings later his old teammate Joey Bart hit a 422-foot home run over the Northside Notch off Dennis Santana for a 3-0 Braves win.
Earlier in the game Bart was robbed of a home run as Bryan Reynolds reached over the wall in left.
The 29-year-old Bart played in 193 games with the Pirates hitting 19 home runs, only five of those in the last year-and-a-half before he was traded to Atlanta for reliever Hunter Stratton on June 19. It was his 12th career home run at PNC Park.
Drake Baldwin’s two-out single in the ninth off Isaac Mattson gave Atlanta the third run.
Jones best
It wasn’t only Jones’ best start of the season, but the best of his brief two-year career. The 24-year-old right-hander threw 14 pitches over 99 mph and another five over 100 mph in 84-degree heat with a real-feel index around 90 degrees.
After 77 pitches (matched season-high), 53 strikes, Jones, in his eighth start returning after missing all of 2025, was pulled and the crowd let manager Don Kelly have it. Loud boos as reliever Mason Montgomery was introduced and another barrage of upset thoughts after the lefty gave up a hit to the second batter he faced.
Before we get a chance to talk to Kelly, this is what Pirates GM Ben Cherington said before the game when asked about pitch counts for Jones.
“I would say, we think he’ll have pitch counts that allow him to get far enough into games that he can win in the role he’s in,” Cherington said Wednesday afternoon. “We don’t want to shut him down or anything like that. We want him to continue pitching for the rest of the year. We’ll be mindful of it.”
K ball
Jones, Montgomery, Santana and Mattson combined to strike out 13. The Pirates season-high was 15 against Toronto on May 22.
The Pirates struck out 11 times against the Braves, Esmerlyn Valdez had three, two each for Reynolds and Nick Gonzales.
Draft success
Several draft picks from last year and the year prior not only had big games at High A Greensboro, but have had good seasons.
(Their name, age, draft position, results on Wednesday)
- RHP Seth Hernandez (20-yrs-old, 1st round 2025) 3 inn, 2 hits, run, walk, 4 K
Overall 6-1, 2.61 ERA, 69 innings, 30 BB, 111 strikeouts, .183 BA, 1.07 WHIP
- 3B Murf Gray (22-yrs-old, Comp Bal 2nd round, 2025) 3-5, 2B, 3 runs, SB
Overall .336, 1.031 OPS, 18 2B, 22 HR, 68 RBI
- OF Joshua Tate (22-yrs-old, 8th round, 2025) 1-4, run
Overall .283, .362 on-base, .762 OPS, 10 doubles, 5 home runs, 23 stolen bases
- C Camden Janik (23-yrs-old, 12th round, 2024) 2-5, run, RBI
Overall .289, .435 on-base, .796 OPS, 16 stolen bases in 28 games
- 2B Dylan Palmer (22-yrs-old, 11th round 2025) 2-4, 2B, 3 runs, RBI
Overall .293, .378 on-base, .746 OPS, 35 stolen bases
Up Next
Veteran Mitch Keller (6-6, 5.02 ERA) against RHP Bryce Elder (5-6, 4.01 ERA) as Paul Alexander hosts the North Shore Tavern Leadoff Show at 11:35 and first pitch at 12:35 both on NewsRadio 100.1 FM and AM 1020 KDKA.
Pirates offense managed only 4 hits and left 6 on base
Pirates offense managed only 4 hits and left 6 on base
