Johan Oviedo was unstoppable today.
The right-hander made his second start of the season, throwing 6.2 shutout innings with no walks, five hits, and five strikeouts. That performance, plus a Canaan Smith-Njigba triple, helped the Pirates beat the White Sox 1-0 on Sunday.
Oviedo got some protection from the Pirates offense in the bottom of the second. Smith-Njigba tripled to center with one out, and scored the lone run of the game on a sacrifice fly by Jack Suwinski.
From there, it was all Oviedo, who allowed just one hit until the fifth inning. That’s when he ran into a bit of trouble, putting runners on second and third with one out. Oviedo was in the 60 pitch range at this point, and Derek Shelton stuck with him in a high leverage situation.
Oviedo responded by striking out Seby Zavala for the second out, before getting Elvis Andrus to pop out to center to escape the jam.
Andrus had a rough day. There was some confusion as to whether the umpire had called a strike for a pitch clock violation on Andrus for not getting in the box on time. It turned out that Andrus was awarded a timeout, but when Oviedo threw a first pitch strike, everyone watching thought it was 0-2. The next pitch was a check swing strike by Andrus, which hit him, and caused confusion as to whether he was out. That’s when it was learned that there was no first strike. Oviedo wasn’t phased, getting Andrus to pop out on the next pitch.
In the next inning, Andrus was called for a violation for standing in the outfield grass. That turned a 2-2 strike into a 3-1 ball, which led to an Oneil Cruz walk. More on that later. Andrus was having a rough inning, leading to two key call reversals. We’ve certainly seen players having a brain fart on the field at PNC Park before. One of the more notable plays I’m speaking about was almost reimagined today. The difference was that Oviedo was locked in and having none of it.
given recent history i dont think there will be a more hilarious 1-3 putout this entire season pic.twitter.com/AclM9NO2Wy
— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) April 9, 2023
Oviedo stayed locked in during the sixth inning, including making a nice between the legs play to get the first out, before getting through the inning while in the mid-80s pitch range.
Oviedo doesn't skip PFPs. pic.twitter.com/3uPzp7Q9GV
— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) April 9, 2023
From there, Oviedo got two outs in the seventh, before turning the ball over to Dauri Moreta with the tying run at second. Moreta did his thing, getting Yasmani Grandal to strike out on a very generous call at the top of the zone.
Colin Holderman came on for his fourth hold, and David Bednar picked up his fourth save of the season, giving the Pirates the series win over the White Sox.
The downside came in the sixth inning, after Cruz drew his walk. Cruz stole second and moved to third on a single by Bryan Reynolds. He went for home on a ground ball hit by Ke’Bryan Hayes, but an awkward slide into home plate resulted in him turning his ankle. After the game, it was revealed that he had fractured his left ankle, which is obviously a blow to the hot start the Pirates have seen.
The Pirates, now 6-3, will take on the Astros tomorrow in the start of a three game series at home.
PIRATES SCOPE
**Prior to the game, I pointed out the strikeout issues from the bottom of the lineup. Canaan Smith-Njigba and Jack Suwinski have been two of the biggest culprits. They combined for the lone run today, and combined for one strikeout between them. It was a much better day at the plate for Suwinski, who went 0-for-1 with a walk, and a sacrifice fly to score Njigba.
**The Pirates had two hits on the day. The triple from Smith-Njigba was capitalized upon, and they were close to scoring after the Reynolds hit. While they didn’t have much offense, they did threaten more than the White Sox, who had six hits on the day.
**I continue to be impressed with Moreta coming up big in those situations where he’s bailing out the starter. He won’t be perfect, but if he can continue this level of performance, it’s almost like having a closer who can come in to pitch in the middle of the game.
