Pirates Starting Pitcher Departs with Injury
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates had their starting pitcher leave early from his start against the Los Angeles Angels at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, Calif.
Pirates left-handed pitcher Bailey Falter left the game vs. the Angels early with low back tightness, the team announced. They also said that medical staff is treating Falter and they will provide an update when they have new information.
LHP Bailey Falter was removed from tonight’s game due to low back tightness. He is currently being treated by the Pirates medical staff.
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 23, 2025
We will provide an update as new information becomes available.
Falter pitched four innings vs. the Angels, throwing 65 pitches. He allowed five hits and three earned runs, while posting five strikeouts.
This served as his fifth start of the season. He is 1-2 in those five starts, with a 5.19 ERA in 26.0 innings pitched, 20 strikeouts to seven walks and a .258 opposing batting average.
Falter got his start in baseball early in life and helped lead the United States national under-14 baseball team to the COPABE Junior Olympic Pan-American Championship in Venezuela in 2011.
He hails from Chino Hills, Calif. and attended Chino Hills High School. He finished his senior season in 2015 with a 6-2 record, 1.20 ERA in 75.2 innings pitched and 97 strikeouts. He also pitched a no-hitter as a sophomore in 2013, striking out 11 hitters in an 11-0 victory over Bloomington Hills High School.
The Philadelphia Phillies then selected Falter in the Fifth Round, the No. 144 overall pick of 2015 MLB Draft. Falter chose the Phillies for a $420,000 signing bonus, over playing in college for UC Santa Barbara, who he committed to prior.
Falter would move through the Phillies' minor league system over the next few seasons, spending 2016-2018 in the various Single-A teams and then making it to the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils for the 2019 season.
He had a 6-5 record, 3.84 ERA in 77.1 innings pitched and 62 strikeouts, before suffering an ulnar collateral injury (UCL) to his elbow on his throwing arm on July 6. The injury didn't require Tommy John surgery, but he still had to miss the rest of the season.
Falter then wouldn't pitch in 2020, as the MLB shut down the minor league season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Phillies called Falter up on April 25, 2021 and he pitched two innings in a 12-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies.
Philadelphia sent Falter back down to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in Triple-A, but recalled him on June 15 and he served as the long-reliever out of the bullpen for the rest of the season. He finished with a 2-1 record, 5.56 ERA in 33.2 innings pitched in 22 appearances, 34 strikeouts to six walks and .262 opposing batting average.
Falter spent time between the Phillies and the IronPigs throughout the 2022 season, going up to the MLB level on seven different occasions.
He had a 6-4 record in 20 games pitched and 16 starts, a 3.86 ERA in 84.0 innings pitched, 74 strikeouts to 17 walks and a .263 opposing batting average with the Phillies. He also had a 4-1 record in nine starts for the IronPigs, with a 1.91 ERA in 47.0 innings pitched, 49 strikeouts to six walks and .157 opposing batting average.
Falter would pitch for the Phillies in the postseason, their first since 2011. He pitched in the opening game of the 2022 NLCS against the San Diego Padres, but he only lasted 24 pitches, as he gave up four runs before the Phillies went to the bullpen.
He struggled in the 2023 season with the Phillies, with an 0-7 record in eight games pitched and seven starts and a 5.13 ERA in 40.1 innings pitched.
Philadelphia sent him down to Lehigh on May 15 and eventually traded him to the Pirates for infielder Rodolfo Castro on Aug. 1.
Falter pitched in 10 games and started seven contests for Pittsburgh in 2023, finishing with a 2-2 record and a 5.58 ERA in 40.1 innings pitched. He spent a full season as a starter with the Pirates in 2024, with 28 starts, a 4.43 ERA in 142.1 innings pitched, 97 strikeouts to 45 walks and a .260 opposing batting average.
Falter only missed a minimal amount of time in 2024, going 24 days between two starts in July as he dealt with left triceps tendinitis.
The Pirates re-signed Falter to a one-year deal worth $2.2 million back in early January.
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.