Weekly Report: 3-3 Week; Player Musical Chairs Continues, Skenes Get Brief Break, Cruz Still Out, Endy Back On IL

Summertime, summerime…

Pirates Stuff:

• It never ends…3B Nick Gonzales was removed from Friday’s game after being hit on the helmet by a heater. Nicky G seemed fine, but was yanked as a precautionary move per the club. He had a contusion but no concussion and sat out the weekend.
• Endy Rodriguez was officially placed on the 10-day IL with hip inflammation, retro to Monday (when he was recalled off the IL, ironically). IF Jack Branningan was called up. Ps Isaac Mattson and Evan Sisk were swapped out – Mattson is back in the bigs, Sisk was optioned to Indy. Branningan lasted through Saturday before he went back.

Yo-yo Wilber Dotel – 2026 photo Pirates/Los Piratas

• OF Jhostynxon Garcia was optioned back to Indy (no surprise considering how little playing time he was getting) and RHP Yohan Ramirez, the main man in the pen, was placed on paternity leave. Billy Cook was called up to replace Password; Wilber Dotel took Yohan’s spot. Wilber got an outing and was returned to Indy; OF Nick Yorke and LHP Hunter Barco were called up from AAA.
• Oneil Cruz had his rehab switched from Indy to Altoona. It’s a move to keep him close at hand; the Curve is home this week while Indy is at Nashville. The latest word is that his bones have mended but he’s still feeling soreness in his hand.
• Indy 2B Termarr Johnson was placed on the 7-day IL with a left knee injury suffered over the weeked running out a grounder. It was later diagnosed as tears to the ACL and LCL, ending his season. 
• The Pirates had lost seven straight series until they took 2-of-3 from Boston over the weekend. Oddly, that was Pittsburgh’s eighth consecutive home series win against an American League opponent, done for the first time since interleague play began in 1997.

Game Stuff:

• Paul Skenes started off the week’s festivities at Miami on Tuesday. He went five although his pitch count was just 65, giving up two runs and having another pair saved when B-Rey stole a homer. That would be it; the Pirates managed four singles all night and lost the opener 2-0.
• Didn’t work out much better the next night, either; Carmen Mlodzinski and the Bucs fell 8-2.
• It was Braxton Ashcraft to the rescue – he threw his first complete MLB game, an 85-pitch three-hitter w/10K, on the same day Pirate batters figured out what the piece of wood they carried was for as the Bucs rocked ‘n’ rolled to a 13-1 dub. Rafe Flores slugged a pair of three-run bombs (one off a position player), Jared Triolo went ​3-for-4 with a homer (it bounced off of a Miami mitt, but hey…), a walk, three RBIs & three runs scored and Jake Mangum went 3-for-4 with a single, double & triple plus HBP, plating a run while tallying three times. Nick Gonzales also went long. 

Braxton Ashcraft – 2026 image Pirates/DLC

• And it was back to PNC Park to host the Red Sox. The afternoon was wet and dreary, but the sun came out, Bubba was solid and the Bucs took an 8-4 dub, with Brandon Lowe’s three-run bomb the big blast. Rafael Flores kept up his bopping too with a solo shot. 
• 38,408 fans showed up to catch Jared Jones; it was the fifth PNC Park sellout of the season. It the third-largest crowd for a game at PNC Park this year, behind only July 25 vs. the Cubs (39,105) and April 3 (Home Opener) vs. Baltimore (38,986). The team didn’t put up much of a batting show for the crowd – JJ left down 1-0, and the BoSox added three more off Luke Weaver in the ninth to win 4-0 & even the series.
• It was Paul Skene’s day to toss, but the Bucs pushed his outing back a couple of days ’til Wednesday to give him some extra breathing room; Lake Bachar got the ball. He spun three scoreless frames, tho Hunter Barco later gave up e three-run bomb. But the Bucs were up 7-0 by that time; Esmerlyn Valdez, Bryan Reynolds & Brandon Lowe had six hits, five runs and four RBI v the Beaneaters by then. Then it thundered, lightning’ed, galed & rained in the seventh, holding up the ballplayin’ until after 6PM. It finished quietly from there and the Bucs bullpen game ended up an 8-3 dub for the good guys.
• It will be the Tigers turn to visit the North Shore this week before the Bucs start a Friday set against the Dodgers in la-la land. Monday’s game will be on ESPN, the first PNC Park-ESPN pairing since 2019.

MLB Stuff: 

• Curious just how the Pirates defense rates? SABR has a list ranking the players’ glovework; some of the results are kinda obvious, but a couple may surprise you.
• RHP Chris Devenski signed a minor-league deal with the Mets after he opted for free agency rather than a return trip to Indy after rehab.
• RHP Bryse Wilson, who was recently DFA’ed by the Brewers and declared for free agency, played his cards right; he re-signed an MLB deal with the Brew Crew and is back in the bullpen.
• RHP Brent Honeywell, who appeared in a couple of games for the 2024 Pirates, signed a minor league deal with the Padres.
• The D-Backs, who stashed RHP Dennis Santana in AAA after he was released by the Bucs, called him up over the weekend. 
• 1B Carlos Santana got his release from Atlanta’s AAA Gwinnett squad and is now a free agent.