The Pittsburgh Pirates have not listed a starter for Sunday\u2019s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, and they face some tough roster decisions. Or maybe they\u2019re not so tough at all.<\/p>\n
When Mart\u00edn P\u00e9rez<\/a> and Joey Bart<\/a> were placed on the injured list<\/a> on Tuesday, the Pirates reinstated Ke\u2019Bryan Hayes<\/a> from the IL and selected the contract of Triple-A catcher Grant Koch<\/a>. The fact that P\u00e9rez\u2019s turn in the rotation wouldn\u2019t come up for a few days allowed the Pirates to add two position players and postpone a decision on which starter would get the call. Now it\u2019s decision time.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also possible that the Pirates could kick the can down the road and have a bullpen game on Sunday. However, that seems unlikely in light of Friday\u2019s 14-inning loss to the Blue Jays, during which the Bucs used six relief pitchers, some for multiple innings. The Pirates managed only six hits before Toronto\u2019s hottest hitter<\/a> Davis Schneider<\/a> ended it with a home run. Moreover, the Pirates didn\u2019t get any hits after the sixth inning. They can\u2019t afford to cut loose a position player who\u2019s contributing to the offense. That narrows the choices down.<\/p>\n The obvious choice for a starter has been Quinn Priester<\/a> all along. His turn in Triple-A Indianapolis\u2019s rotation has coincided with P\u00e9rez\u2019s turn with Pittsburgh. Priester joined the Pirates on April 19 and made five starts. His record is 0-4, with a 4.33 ERA and 1.519 WHIP. He\u2019s been better at Indianapolis, with a 3.28 ERA and 1.135 WHIP. Although his major league stat line won\u2019t be mistaken for Tarik Skubal<\/a>\u2019s anytime soon, under normal circumstances the Pirates would have given him some more run. The only reason he was returned to Indy was that Paul Skenes<\/a> was coming up and somebody had to go. Priester is listed as the starter for Indianapolis tonight, but the needs of the big club take precedence. Indy\u2019s starter can be changed.<\/p>\n This Quinn Priester sinker to strike out Jackson Chourio was just FILTHY<\/p>\n 93.0 MPH, 2147 RPM, 30 inVB, 15 inHB pic.twitter.com\/Q55i2nRie8<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Platinum Ke\u2019Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) May 15, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nPirates Need a Starter and Face Tough Roster Decisions<\/h2>\n
Who’s Coming?<\/h3>\n
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