Pirates Must Stick By Reliever After Brutal Showing
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PITTSBURGH —Dennis Santana is one of the best bullpen arms for the Pittsburgh Pirates since he joined almost two years ago, but his most recent outing was his worst of the season.
Santana came into the ninth inning with a 2-0 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the series opener at PNC Park on April 27, but struggled, giving up four earned runs and blowing a save in the eventual 4-2 loss to a divisional rival.
It was a rare, poor outing from Santana, who had allowed just one earned run in his first 12 appearanances of the 2026 season.
The Pirates lost a game they almost always win with Santana on the mound and it's crucial they continue on with him in his role and make sure he doesn't lose confidence in himself moving forward.
What Went Wrong for Santana vs. Cardinals
Santana followed a great performance from the Pirates pitching staff, who had a perfect game through the first 20 batters and had allowed just two hits up to that point.
He got a ground out, but then gave up back-to-back solo home runs to tie the game. He threw a slider that caught too much of the plate low to catcher Pedro Pagés and then a fastball over the middle of the plate to second baseman JJ Wetherholt.
Santana then loaded the bases by walking designated hitter Iván Herrera, giving up a soft single to first baseman Alec Burleson that just stayed fair before third base and walked right fielder Jordan Walker.
He allowed a double to José Fermín, which scored Herrera and Burleson, giving the Cardinals a 4-2 lead, before getting one more out on a diving grab from left fielder Jake Mangum, which ended his outing.
Santana was disappointed with himself after the game, acknowledging he didn't pitch well at all and that things went from bad to worse really quickly.
“One of those nights where you suck," Santana said. "I tried to do my best but things didn’t happen as I wanted to today. I take it.”
Why Pirates Should Stick With Santana
This outing is a poor one from Santana, particularly for a game the Pirates should've easily won, but it's not one that should cause the team serious concern at the moment.
Santana had been brilliant for the Pirates coming into this matchup, with a 0.69 ERA over 13 innings pitched in 13 appearances, a .116 batting average allowed (BAA) and a 0.85 WHIP.
He also had 33 consecutive appearances dating back to Aug. 6, 2025 where he hadn't given up more than one run in and only four of those outings did he even give up a single run
The Pirates acquired Santana off of waivers back on June 11, 2024 and he's been their best reliever since he's come on, posting a 2.38 ERA over 128.1 innings pitched and 123 appearances, a 0.93 WHIP.
Santana has only recently been in the closer role, following the Pirates trading David Bednar at the 2025 deadline, and this is just one of three outings he's given up multiple runs since.
He's also worked well with set-up man, left-handed pitcher Gregory Soto, as the duo from the Dominican Republic have made for a strong partnership in later innings
The Pirates would look foolish to change things after this outing and manager Don Kelly felt the same way postgame.
"Definitely tough," Kelly said on Santana's outing. "They put some good swings on the ball there in the ninth. Dennis has been so good for us, not just for this year, the last couple years since we got him. Just have full confidence in him. Just didn't have it tonight."
Santana has had these situations before and bounced back and the Pirates will need that from him going forward.
Luckily for them, their 30-year old closer won't stay down too long and should get back to his confident, hard-throwing self in the near future.
“Keep pitching. Keep pitching," Santana said about I’ve been throwing really good since I got here in Pittsburgh. I don’t feel invincible. One day I’m going to get hit; other days, I’m going to hit it, too.”
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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.