Pirates' Jared Jones Comes Just Short of Greatness
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CHICAGO — It's not common that a pitcher comes close to a no-hitter, but Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed starter Jared Jones has been on the edge this season.
Jones dominated the Chicago White Sox, not giving up a hit until he allowed a double to shortstop Colson Montgomery with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.
He got a flyout to end his night on a high, with seven scoreless innings and giving up just one hit and two walks, while posting eight strikeouts in the 2-0 shutout win at Rate Field on Sept. 10.
Jones may not have made history in this start, but it's another fantastic outing for him in a crucial part of the season for the Pirates.
JARED JONES. SEVEN INNINGS, ONE HIT 👏
— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) September 11, 2026
7.0 IP, H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/pR1cEccjnp
What Made Jones So Dominant
Jones went with what has worked for him best this season against the White Sox, using his four-seam fastball and slider to overpower opposing hitters.
It's been a strategy Jones has used in many of his starts, including his six perfect innings against the Atlanta Braves on July 8 and his six scoreless innings against the Los Angeles Angels on Sept. 4, both at PNC Park.
Jones threw his fastball 50% of the time, averaging almost 98 mph and posting four strikeouts, while keeping his slider in the lower 90s and throwing that 37% of the time, with three strikeouts.
Jared Jones' Pitch Usage vs. White Sox
Pitch | Usage | Average Velocity |
|---|---|---|
Four-Seam Fastball | 50% (45/90) | 97.9 mph |
Slider | 37% (33/90) | 90.4 mph |
Changeup | 9% (8/90) | 91.8 mph |
Curveball | 4% (4/90) | 85.1 mph |
Jones' Pitch Mix/Whiffs/1st Pitch Strikes
Pitch | Strikeouts | Whiffs | First Pitch Strikes |
|---|---|---|---|
4-Seam Fastball | 4 | 24% (6/25) | 44% (4/9) |
Slider | 3 | 57% (12/21) | 75% (6/8) |
Changeup | 1 | 50% (2/4) | 40% (2/5) |
Curveball | 0 | 0% (0/1) | 100% (2/2) |
Jones relied on those pitches against the White Sox, particularly in the final two innings, when the pitch count started to rise.
"The last two definitely," Jones said when his fastball and slider were most important. "I feel like when I get behind in the count and I feel the slider, it just, it gets me out of some sticky situations and put me back into advantage counts. Get myself in a better situation than what I was in before."
Jones faced little pressure throughout his start, with him walking the leadoff batter in both the fourth and fifth innings, the most he dealt with before the seventh inning.
He didn't let either walk phase him, striking out the next three batters in the fourth inning and then getting back-to-back flyouts and a pop-out to end the fifth inning.
Jones was so locked in during his start that he didn't realize he had a no-hit bid until he looked up at the jumbotron after the sixth inning.
It made the great diving catch by Pirates left fielder Jake Mangum even better, despite the double Montgomery hit in the next at-bat.
"Thank God," Jones said on that play. "I mean, you guys play hard, and as a pitcher, you appreciate it a lot, especially when guys try and sacrifice their bodies to getting out for you."
Jones Coming Through When Pirates Need it Most
The Pirates really needed this start from Jones for many reasons and it played a big role in their sweep of the White Sox.
Jones covered seven innings a day after the Pirates used eight pitchers over nine innings in the 4-2 win over the White Sox on Sept. 8 and will use a bullpen game for their next outing vs. the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sept. 11.
It was his longest outing of the season, his first time pitching into the seventh inning, and just the fourth time in his career pitching that long.
Mangum praised Jones for his outing and said that pitching the way Jones did made everyone better defensively.
“Whenever a guy’s rolling like that, it keeps the defense in tune with the game," Mangum said. "Every single pitch, you’re expecting action, cause he’s just attacking the zone. Suffocating them on strikes. You mix in that he throws 100 mph with good offspeed. It was quick innings on defense, glad Oneil could get us two runs on the board and it was just a good team win. Good team sweep too.”
Jones has thrown 91 and 90 pitches, respectively, in his last two outings, as he's building up length more than three months after coming back from his internal brace surgery rehab.
The Pirates are in the middle of the National League Wild Card race and are now 74-73, one game above .500 for the first time since July 29 and four games back from the third spot with 15 games left.
Jones' performances in the 1-0 shutout of the Angels and the 2-0 shutout of the White Sox have been a big turnaround from his struggles in August and he's pitched like the elite arm the Pirates envision him as.
Pirates manager Don Kelly has loved what he's seen from Jones in September and that they need him to keep pitching like this the rest of the way.
"I think he’s done a great job," Kelly said. "He had the choppy ones there for a little bit. Pitch count got elevated four and five innings, then these last two, really dialed it in and was efficient in them. He also carried the stuff and command all the way through."
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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.