Pirates Takeaways: Skenes, Jones, O'Hearn Steal Show, But Still Not Enough
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen has been the culprit for many defeats this season and they were once again the problem vs. the Atlanta Braves.
The Pirates lost two out of three games vs. the Braves at PNC Park, taking the series opener 12-4 on July 7, but then suffering a 3-0 shutout in the second game on July 8 and falling 10-5 in the series finale on July 9.
Pittsburgh's bullpen played a big role in both defeats and didn't come through for the team when they needed it most.
The Pirates are back to .500, 47-47, and they know their bullpen must improve if they are serious about postseason contention.
Pirates Bullpen Was Bad vs. the Braves
There aren't many nice things to say about the Pirates bullpen in 2026 and there wasn't much they did well vs. the Braves.
Pittsburgh's bullpen allowed 12 runs over 12 innings pitched vs. Atlanta, good for a 9.00 ERA, and threw away great chances for them to get wins in the final two games.
Right-handed pitcher Dennis Santana has pitched poorly in 2026 and he continued that with back-to-back outings where he gave up a home run he couldn't allow.
Santana gave up a two-run home run in the eighth inning of the second game, putting the Braves up 2-0, then allowed a grand slam in the ninth inning of the series finale, making it a 10-5 lead for the road team.
He now has a 5.95 ERA this season, with a 2-4 record, a career-high seven home runs allowed, 36 strikeouts to 21 walks, a .248 batting average allowed and a 1.50 WHIP, a massive disappointment after a great 2025 season.
Fellow right-handed pitcher Cam Sanders also allowed three runs over just two-thirds of an inning pitched in the series finale, including a two-run home run to Braves shortstop Jim Jarvis, his first MLB home run, making it 5-2 in the fourth inning, after the Pirates had cut the deficit to one run.
The Pirates did have some solid showings from their bullpen, including two scoreless innings from right-handed pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski in the series opener.
Fellow right-handers in Yohan Ramírez throwing two scoreless innings in the series finale and Hunter Stratton bouncing back from two runs given up in the series opener and throwing a scoreless inning, while both left-handers in Mason Montgomery and Gregory Soto each threw a scoreless inning.
The issue is that the Pirates still can't rely on anyone for consistent outings and it's hurting their chances of holding on to leads, or rather in this series vs. the Braves, completing comebacks.
Pittsburgh has 25 days until the Aug. 3 trade deadline and these performances demand more urgency from the front office, which they no doubt feel even more as the season progresses.
Mitch Keller Ends Poor First Half of 2026
Pirates right-handed starting pitcher Mitch Keller usually has a great start to a season and then has his struggles towards the end, but he hasn't pitched consistently well in more than two months at this point.
Keller threw a season-low three innings in the series finale vs. the Braves, giving up a solo home run in the first inning and then two more runs in the third inning, before departing the game after 72 pitches.
He gave up 44 earned runs over 56.1 innings pitched over his last 11 starts before the All-Star break for a 7.03 ERA, including 11 home runs, 21 walks to 42 strikeouts.
This is in great contrast to his sensational start to 2026, with a 2.87 ERA over his first eight starts, a 4-1 record, 35 strikeouts to 14 walks, two home runs allowed and six quality starts (at least six innings pitched, no more than three runs allowed), compared to just three quality starts in his recent stretch.
Pittsburgh needs Keller back as their most efficient veteran starter, who may not dominate, but goes deep into games and gives them a chance to win every time he's out there.
He's currently not doing that and letting down a great offense and putting more pressure on a poor bullpen that has shown they can't take it.
Keller making a big turn around post-All-Star break would come as a huge benefit for the Pirates and they need him to do just that.
Offense Still Battling Despite Injuries
The Pirates lineup is quite different than what it should be, if it were at full strength, which they're nowhere near at this point in the season.
Center fielder Oneil Cruz and first baseman Spencer Horwitz are still down in Bradenton, Fla., working back from their respective left hand fracture and hamstring injury, while both shortstop Konnor Griffin and catcher Endy Rodríguez went on the injured list this week with a left ring finger sagittal band injury and a left glute strain, respectively.
Even with these set backs, the Pirates offense still had a solid showing in the series, outside of the shutout defeat, with Ryan O'Hearn leading the way in the series opener.
O'Hearn hit three home runs, a grand slam and two three-run home runs, for a franchise-record 10 RBI, becoming just one of 11 players in MLB history, since RBI became an official stat in 1920, to achieve that.
Center fielder Jake Mangum had a four-hit game in the series finale, including a two-run home run that he absolutely crushed and an RBI-single to make it 6-5 in the sixth inning.
Left fielder Bryan Reynolds and right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez hit back-to-back home runs in the second inning, making it 3-2.
Second baseman Brandon Lowe, third baseman Nick Gonzales and utility man Tyler Callihan all had big hits as well in this series for the Pirates.
The Pirates have had one of the best offenses in baseball this season and they'll need their veterans and young players to both step up with the injuries to their best hitters.
Paul Skenes, Jared Jones Excel vs. Braves
The Pirates needed some strong performances from their starting pitchers vs. the Braves and got them from both Paul Skenes and Jared Jones.
Skenes threw six innings, allowing eight hits, but just two runs and posting four strikeouts in the series opener win, which ended nine-consecutive starts of his the Pirates lost.
Jones threw six perfect innings in the second game, with eight strikeouts over 77 pitches, for the best outing of his MLB career.
The Pirates haven't gotten the Cy Young type performances from Skenes lately, but this was a good bounceback outing, after he allowed career-highs of eight runs and seven earned runs in the 10-6 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on July 1.
Jones would've gone further in his start in normal circumstances, as the Pirates are practicing caution with him after returning from internal brace surgery on his right elbow, but it was still a great outing.
Pittsburgh needs consistency from Skenes and Jones right now and the former is working out of a slump, while the latter made it back-to-back outings that he pitched well in.
Getting great starts from this young duo is a must for a Pirates team that is trying to make the postseason for the first time since 2015.
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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.