Jared Jones hit in the elbow by a liner as Pirates narrowly defeat Rockies

DENVER — The Pittsburgh Pirates did well to avoid what would have been a gut punch of a sweep on Sunday. Now, they hope they’ve avoided a second.

Right-hander Jared Jones left Sunday’s 8-6 win against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field when he was hit by a line drive on his right elbow to end the third inning. Jones was clearly upset as he left the field, then was treated by Pirates medical staff.

The Pirates announced that initial images of Jones’ right elbow read as negative. He will be reexamined by team medical staff Monday in Pittsburgh.

Jones was in good spirits postgame, poking fun at his angry reaction. He believes he avoided the worst, although a full evaluation will be done Monday.

“It doesn't feel great, but kind of best case scenario that nothing's too messed up in there,” Jones said. “I feel like a little overdramatic, but getting hit in the elbow five starts coming off surgery kind of pisses me off. But yeah, everything's fine.”

He added that, if the liner had been slightly lower, a direct hit to the elbow could have shattered it.

“Thankfully, I'm so tall and all that stuff,” the 6-foot right-hander said. “It got me into the good part.”

Jones had allowed one hit, two walks and one earned run before the injury. He’d struck out three before TJ Rumfield’s liner, which deflected to shortstop Jared Triolo for a 1-6-3 putout.

Yohan Ramirez, Evan Sisk, Dennis Santana and Gregory Soto combined for the final five innings. Ramirez and Sisk both completed two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Santana and Soto allowed five runs in the final two innings.

Bryan Reynolds and Nick Gonzales both homered to lead the Pirates to the win. Gonzales hit a two-run shot off Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen in the fourth inning to go ahead 2-1, then Reynolds tacked on a three-run, second-deck shot off reliever Juan Mejia in the seventh. Reynolds’ homer proved to be the game-winner.

“No lead is safe here, we've seen that before,” Reynolds said. “The game can turn in a hurry, so all the insurance runs you can get here are big.”

Reynolds went 2 for 4 with the homer, a double, two runs scored and three RBIs. He’s reached base in 27 consecutive games, batting .371 (36 for 97) in that span.

The Pirates managed 13 hits. Jake Mangum went 3 for 4 with an RBI double and a run; Gonzales went 2 for 4 and scored twice; and Spencer Horwitz singled twice.

Manager Don Kelly thought the approach was much better after Kyle Freeland and Tomoyuki Sugano stymied the Pirates in Rockies wins Friday and Saturday.

“[We were] attacking the game plan that we set out to do against Lorenzen,” Kelly said. “And even through the bullpen usage they had, I thought we had consistently good at-bats throughout.”

It was over when …

… is a game ever truly over at Coors Field?

Reynolds’ homer put the Pirates up 8-1, but Santana allowed a three-run homer to Rumfield in the eighth. Soto appeared in a non-save situation and allowed two runs on a walk, Kyle Karros’ RBI double, a single and Brandon Lowe’s error, but Soto got Willi Castro to ground into a double play to end it.

On the mound

Jones pitched a 1-2-3 first, then did well to minimize damage in the second. An infield single (after review) and two walks loaded the bases, leading to a visit from pitching coach Bill Murphy. Jones then induced a grounder that was too slow for a double play ball, struck out Karros, then got a soft pop up from Brett Sullivan.

“First and third [innings] were pretty good, and I got myself into a lot of trouble in the second,” Jones said. “Came out with one run, think that's pretty damn good. Was happy with how it went today.”

Sisk and Ramirez were both impressive in relief, giving the Pirates two innings each of high-quality relief. Sisk was pleased with what he and Ramirez were able to do.

“Things happen and sometimes you've just got to do what you can and fill those innings, and that's part of the job,” Sisk said. “We look forward to doing that when we need to, and we were able to get it done.”

That said, the Rockies brought the tying run to the plate after entering the eighth inning trailing by seven. While better bullpens than the Pirates’ have endured nightmares at Coors Field, the Pirates still have major relief concerns.

At the plate

The Pirates put the game away between the sixth and seventh innings, a span of seven hits in eight batters. Gonzales and Endy Rodriguez singled, chasing Lorenzen, before Tyler Callihan brought in a run with a single off of Mejia. Rodriguez, running through third base coach Tony Beasley’s stop sign, was thrown out at third. Mangum followed with a double to score Callihan from first.

Up 5-1, Horwitz and Lowe singled to start the seventh. Reynolds scored them both with his blast.

Gonzales said he’s been working on some things with Pirates coaches, largely keeping old habits from creeping in. He was happy about the homer, but happier with the win.

“Obviously you don’t ever want to get swept, so finishing on a high note is good,” Gonzales said. “We’ll adjust, make our adjustments and do what we need to do on the off day, travel back and get ready on Tuesday.”

Bucs bites

— Reynolds is tied with the Athletics’ Zack Gelof for the longest on-base streak in the majors.

— Ramirez has allowed just one hit, a single, in his last six appearances, spanning nine innings.

— Santana, who had thrown five consecutive scoreless appearances and eight of his last nine, now has a 21.60 ERA in seven appearances (10 innings) at Coors Field.

Up next

The Pirates are off Monday before beginning a six-game homestand against the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds from Tuesday through Sunday. They’ll start on Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. ET with Mitch Keller (5-4, 5.25 ERA) on the mound against Mariners right-hander George Kirby (5-7, 4.10).

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