Pirates Bring Back Lefty Reliever for Cardinals Series
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates need the best from their bullpen going forward, and they're hoping a new pitcher will provide that for them.
The Pirates recalled left-handed relief pitcher Evan Sisk from Triple-A Indianapolis ahead of their series opener vs. the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Aug. 28.
Pittsburgh optioned right-handed relief pitcher Noah Murdock to Indianapolis, making room for Sisk on the 26-man roster.
It's a move the Pirates make as they try and get the most out of Sisk and hopefully keep him in their bullpen for the remainder of 2026.
Why The Pirates Brought Sisk Back
The Pirates have mostly gone with two left-handed pitchers over the past month in Mason Montgomery and Gregory Soto.
Montgomery has become the Pirates' closer and excelled in that role, while Soto works mostly in high-leverage situations and has done well recently.
The Pirates don't have many other left-handed options on the 40-man roster aside from Sisk, with rookie Hunter Barco and Brandon Eisert the other two.
Barco is more of a middle reliever/bulk role type of pitcher, while Eisert struggled with the Pirates, posting a 7.71 ERA over seven outings and has spent most of the past month down at Triple-A.
The Pirates have six other bullpen arms, all right-handed, in Lake Bachar, Camilo Doval, Carmen Mlodzinski, Yohan Ramírez, Luke Weaver and Kirby Yates.
Having another southpaw option in Sisk makes the Pirates bullpen more versatile and gives them a unique pitcher profile to go along with it.
Murdock also pitched for the Pirates in the 3-0 loss to the San Diego Padres in the series finale at Petco Park on Aug. 26, throwing just five pitches and recording one final out in the eighth inning, but enough that the Pirates would want a fresh arm, even with the day off.
What the Pirates Hope to Get Out of Sisk
Sisk was excellent for the Pirates in his first stint with the team, posting a 2.23 ERA over 32 outings and 36.1 innings pitched, 43 strikeouts to 13 walks, a .231 batting average allowed and a 1.18 WHIP.
He joined the Pirates from Indianapolis on April 13 and stayed with them until he went on the injured list in early July with left elbow inflammation.
Sisk worked back from his injury and eventually returned to the Pirates on Aug. 5, but struggled in four outings over that next week, giving up a run in each of his final three outings and allowing all five inherited runners to score.
The Pirates sent him back down to Triple-A on Aug. 13, and he gave up three earned runs over 5.1 innings in five outings, with all those runs coming in one appearance.
Sisk must show his effectiveness that he displayed earlier on in 2026, baffling hitters with his deception and using his extension to get ahead of batters, putting himself in advantageous counts early on.
He also induces some of the weakest contact rates of any pitcher in baseball, and him being able to do that again will be crucial for him having success back in Pittsburgh.
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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.