Jared Jones Forcing Pirates to Make Tough Decision
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have been extra careful with right-handed starting pitcher Jared Jones, but his recent outings are making that harder and harder to do.
Jones excelled in his most recent outing, throwing six innings and giving up a solo home run, while allowing just two hits and a walk with five strikeouts over 83 pitches against the Chicago Cubs in the series opener at PNC Park on July 24.
It was another fantastic start in July for Jones, who has a 1.29 ERA over four starts and 21.0 innings pitched, 28 strikeouts to four walks, .100 batting average allowed, 0.52 WHIP.
His pitching this month is showing the Pirates that can go further and still maintain efficiency, somehting they need from him going forward.
Jared Jones tonight:
— Platinum Key (@PlatinumKey13) July 25, 2026
6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 1 HR
83 pitches, 55 strikes, 7 whiffs
HE'S BAAAAACK. 1.29 ERA in July now (21.0 IP) pic.twitter.com/d8tZVXHEqK
Jones Working Back to Full Starter Role
This was the 10th start of the season for Jones, who made his season debut back on May 29, about two months ago.
Jones missed all of 2025 and the first two months of 2026 recovering from an ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his right elbow that he underwent internal brace surgery for in May 2025.
He has worked back from that surgery and has seemingly settled in to the starting pitcher role again at the major league level.
Jones struggled through the end of June, posting a 5.76 ERA, .270 BAA and a 1.41 WHIP, but has dominated in July, not allowing more than one run to score in an outing and just three runs total this month.
It's not the easiest for a pitcher to come out early in games, like Jones did in this one or when he threw 77 pitches over six perfect innings against the Atlanta Braves on July 8 at PNC Park.
Jones is staying confident and is feeling "fantastic" after each outing, focusing more on the health aspect rather than pushing it.
“When the time comes," Jones said on if he'll go further. "Just taking it start by start, and if I come out of the start healthy, it's a win for me.”
Don Kelly Addresses Plan With Jones
One person that has great confidence in Jones and him becoming the pitcher they envisioned following his return from injury is Pirates manager Don Kelly.
The Pirates have mostly held Jones to 80 pitches and five innings per outing, going with his pitch limit first and then his innings usually mark around there.
Kelly always wants to keep his best pitcher out there, but noted that they have to make the hard decision and keep Jones from re-injuring himself at this point of the season.
“It’s really hard when you’re trying to take him out," Kelly said. "When you take him out after 83 pitches in six innings and knowing him coming off the internal brace procedure and what he has gone through and the plan that we’ve put together to try to make sure he stays healthy. It is hard and it’s in the moment, it’s the right decision to make.”
There's not necessarily a timetable for when Jones will eventually go further in games and pitch without restrictions, but that the goal for Kelly and the Pirates is to get their young starting pitcher to that level once again.
“Yeah there’s always conversation with the training staff and Jared and trying to figure out and what is best to do there as far as for Jared and for the team. We’re going to continue those conversations and see how he continues to rebound and understand the long haul of what we’re trying to bring him back to be able to accomplish.”
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.