‘Starting pitching is the key’ for Pirates

Even before the Pittsburgh Pirates embarked on their seven-game road trip to Milwaukee and Chicago, which concluded Sunday with a series win over the Cubs, manager Derek Shelton already had a good feeling about the nucleus of his starting rotation.

On paper, any combination of Mitch Keller, Jared Jones and Paul Skenes looks to be a formidable chunk of the Pirates rotation of the future.

“It’ll make you smile,” Shelton said. “It’s a good situation to be in. I mean, we’re talking about a guy in Mitch that we’ve locked up longterm. We’ve seen the ups and downs in his development and finally feel we’re in a really good spot. We’ve seen the start that Jared’s off to in his career, and obviously we have hopes for Paul to be a really good major-league pitcher. I think that speaks volumes.”

And then, the Pirates arrived at Wrigley Field, taking three of four games from the Cubs, all of which featured superb starts by Keller, Jones, Skenes as well as Bailey Falter.

Jones (3-4, 2.89 ERA) began the series Thursday, picking up the win through six innings of work, over which he allowed three runs on seven hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.

Skenes (1-0, 2.70 ERA) followed Friday, also earning a win after delivering a lightsout second MLB start behind six no-hit innings, walking one and striking out 11.

On Saturday, it was Falter on the hill, and he put together the best start of his big-league career, going 7+ innings with no runs, two walks and two strikeouts.

Falter, despite his innings pitched being a career-best, took a no-decision thanks to the Cubs’ controversial ninth-inning walk-off win.

On Sunday, it was Keller’s turn.

The 28-year-old, who signed a five-year, $77 million contract in February, was the winning pitcher, going six innings and allowing two runs on two hits.

Together, the four starters gave the club 25+ innings in Chicago with a combined ERA of 1.75.

Inside the Pirates clubhouse, the team’s starters seem to be feeding off one another.

“The competition between us is really fun,” Keller (53, 3.84 ERA) told reporters in Chicago Sunday. “Everyone’s in a groove right now and we’re just trying to keep it going. Just trying to throw up as many zeroes as possible is fun. We’re having a good time together, and I think it’s showing out there.”

Of the aforementioned pitchers, Falter has been the most pleasant surprise.

Acquired from Philadelphia last year in exchange for Rodolfo Castro, Falter is 2-2 with a 3.53 ERA.

He’s managed to bounce back from a less-than-impressive spring training as well as a rough 2024 debut, turning into an increasingly dependable rotation member.

Whether Falter can continue to compete at such a high level moving forward remains to be seen.

His long-term future in Pittsburgh, unlike Keller, Jones and Skenes, also is far from guaranteed.

But for the time being, Falter is doing just what the Pirates need.

Keller’s future with the Pirates is secured, while Jones and Skenes, both rookies, are under club control for the foreseeable future.

Jones, 22, is well on track to accruing his first year of MLB service time (spending at least 172 days on the 26man roster).

Six years of service time are required before players can hit free agency (with some performance incentive exemptions), meaning Jones will likely remain under club control in Pittsburgh through 2029.

The 21-year-old Skenes won’t accrue a full season’s worth of service time this year, having only made his MLB debut on May 11.

For now, he’ll stay under Pirates team control through 2030.

Already, Jones is getting used to pitching a day before Skenes within the Pirates’ rotation.

“It’s awesome. Having two pretty electric guys going back-to-back days, I think it’s going to last a very long time,” Jones said.

Veteran Martin Perez, following a solid month-plus to begin the season, has not been sharp of late. The 33-year-old is 0-2 with a 9.39 ERA through three May starts.

Following an off-day Monday, Perez next takes the hill for the Pirates when they welcome the San Francisco Giants to PNC Park on Tuesday.

It will take more than the long-term presences of Keller, Jones and Skenes to take the Pirates where they want to go: the postseason for the first time since 2015.

But those three increasingly appear to be the major puzzle pieces around which the Pirates can continue to build.

“Starting pitching is the key,” Shelton said. “It’s why teams win, it’s why teams go deep into the season, because if you have that every night, you’re going to give yourself a chance. … All you ask your starters is, give us a chance to win the game. Our guys have done that.”