Jared Jones said he’s getting lit up

PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It was an obvious frustration that happened on the mound, in the dugout and overall with the final result Saturday in a 9-7 Pirates loss to the Reds. Starting pitcher Jared Jones said he flatly needs to be better.

It started about the outing 4.2 innings, 4 hits, 4 runs, 3 earned, a walk and 4 strikeouts. The walk scored. He also had a balk and two wild pitches.

“I thought that I was throwing the ball pretty good today,” Jones said. “Everything felt great coming out of the hand. Gave up a homer and had a messy fifth inning, so pretty frustrating.”

Jones said it was hard to feel the ball and said he just stopped throwing strikes. He didn’t blame some bad breaks (error, infield hit), but there was a conversation in the dugout caught on camera of Jones walking away from catcher Endy Rodriguez, where the two appeared to have a disagreement.

“I wouldn’t say we got into it,” Jones said. “We were just trying to get on the same page.”

Asked if that impacted his start?

“No. I need to get the ball over the plate,” Jones said.

It’s not the first time the two have worked together. Pirates manager Don Kelly said he lacked information about that situation and Rodriguez said he thought they were on the same page the whole game.

A strike from a win, Pirates lose to the Reds

But it’s bigger than just that for Jones. Now on the season the right-hander’s ERA is 5.76 with a 1.44 WHIP giving up 17 runs (16 earned) in 25 innings with nine walks and 25 strikeouts.

“Not in a good spot,” Jones said. “I have a five and a half ERA through six starts and giving up homers. Not in a good spot at all.”

“I'm getting lit up. That's not a good spot to be in.”

He knows what the fix is, it’s now just about doing it.

“Throw the ball over the zone more,” Jones said. “Make more competitive pitches. I got burned by a lot of two-strike counts right down the middle.”

He’ll be challenged in working through those issues as he’s scheduled to pitch in Philadelphia on Thursday.