PITTSBURGH — Jared Jones’ first inning obtained off to a wild and scary begin, hitting Amed Rosario with a 100 mph fastball Saturday at PNC Park. There was no fracture for Rosario, who was faraway from the sport and wanted stitches, so it might have been a lot worse for the Rays’ third baseman.
It was nonetheless scary to see a participant go right down to the bottom and instantly have athletic trainers working in direction of him.
“That sucked,” Jones mentioned postgame earlier than he was requested a query. “I felt actually unhealthy. Clearly simply let a fastball go approach up and inside on him. That stuff actually simply cannot occur. I heard it is simply stitches however I actually hope he is OK.”
Catcher Jason Delay and pitching coach Oscar Marin went to the mound to attempt to get the 22-year-old right-hander to regroup. Whereas on the mound, Delay informed him to simply belief his stuff within the zone, a easy message that will have wanted to be heard after permitting a career-high six earned runs his final day trip towards the Rockies.
“I felt like he was perhaps attempting to do some bit an excessive amount of in that first inning,” Delay mentioned. “Whether or not he took that message, I do not know, you’d must ask him. However he appeared to settle in there.”
Jones did settle in and ended up bouncing again to ship one among his greatest begins of the season, placing out eight over seven innings of two-run ball to guide the Pirates to a 4-3 win over the Rays.
“He is good. He is actually good,” Rays supervisor Kevin Money mentioned. “… He commanded the ball extraordinarily nicely. A variety of first-pitch strikes. It appeared like that is why he saved us quiet, as a result of he was so good.”
Jones has talked about desirous to discover utilizing his secondary choices extra not too long ago, however confronted with adversity and needing to bounce again, he leaned on his four-seamer and slider and dominated. He allowed simply three hits over the ultimate six innings, with the lone run allowed being extra a product of Bryan Reynolds shedding a ball within the solar within the fourth moderately than a mistake pitch.
When requested what he attributed his turnaround to, Jones answered, “not desirous to hit a man within the face once more.” It’s clear the incident, whereas fully unintentional, did depart a mark on him, however didn’t impression how he went about pitching.
“That was a very scary second,” Jones mentioned. “Simply realizing I obtained to lock it again in and letting my stuff play via the zone early. I felt like we did a reasonably good job of that.”
Ah, emphasizing letting the stuff play via the zone? Seems like Delay’s message did resonate.
Saturday was the primary time Delay had caught Jones in a recreation since Spring Coaching. Jones’ standing as a prospect to a promising rookie pitcher and one half of the “Allegheny Electrical Firm” with Paul Skenes has been one of many highlights of this Pirates season. So is that this the identical man Delay caught three months in the past?
“I imply, the stuff nonetheless performs the identical,” Delay mentioned. “It is at all times been energy stuff. I do suppose he is matured slightly bit. Type of like I mentioned, simply the flexibility to reel again slightly bit and perceive that that first inning did not essentially go the way in which that he needed to. However, [he] took a step again and tried to do much less and had a very good outing for us.”
Jones was aided by an Oneil Cruz residence run that reached the Allegheny River on the fly within the first inning — changing into simply the sixth participant to take action in PNC Park’s historical past — in addition to RBI knocks from Bryan Reynolds and Rowdy Tellez within the third to bounce again from that Rockies begin and get again within the win column.
Jones was in a position to flush that unhealthy outing and scary second by not letting himself give attention to the unhealthy, and it labored. Supervisor Derek Shelton says he has to remind himself generally that Jones remains to be solely 22 years outdated. The rookie confirmed some moxie to bounce again.
“I feel it exhibits you he is resilient and that he is obtained actually good things,” Shelton mentioned.
