Injuries Continue To Pile Up For The Pittsburgh Pirates Pitching Staff

For the second time this season, Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jordan Lyles has been placed on the 10-day injured list.

Unfortunately, injuries continue to be the main headline grabber for the 2019 Pittsburgh Pirates. On Monday, the team announced that starting pitcher Jordan Lyles will be going on the 10-day injured list due to hamstring tightness.

This injury comes at an awful time for the Pirates as the team is already without starters Trevor Williams and Jameson Taillon, both of whom are on the IL. However, Williams did pitch in a simulated game on Saturday in Milwaukee. So, he may be just one minor league rehab start away form rejoining the Pirate rotation.

The Pirates have had a Major League high 23 different players hit the IL this season. This will be the second IL stint this season for Lyles, who started the year on the IL due to a blister issue that popped up late in Spring Training.

In 12 starts this season Lyles has been the team’s most consistent starting pitcher posting a 3.64 ERA, 3.63 FIP, and a 1.3 fWAR in 64 1/3 innings pitched. His last four starts, however, have not gone as well. In these four starts he allowed 16 earned runs in 18 2/3 innings pitched. In the second start of this four start stretch he exited the game early due to his hamstring tightness first starting to pop up. So, it is not unreasonable to think that hamstring issue is the main reason he struggled in his most recent starts.

With the Lyles injury, the Pirates will now have to figure out what to do with their starting rotation. As of this writing, both Wednesday and Thursday’s starters against the Braves are listed as TBD. All signs seem to point toward Mitch Keller being promoted to make the start on Wednesday, but that still leaves Thursday afternoon’s game in flux.

The Bucs could look to get a spot start form someone such as Clay Holmes or Alex McRae. Chris Stratton, who also pitched in a simulated game over the weekend, could be an option as well if he is deemed able to return from the IL. Looking to Triple-A Indianapolis does not provide any clues, as their starter for Thursday is currently listed as TBD as well.

To take Lyles spot on the 25-man roster the team recalled reliever Montana DuRapau. In 8 2/3 innings pitched for the Pirates this season DuRapau owns a 7.27 ERA. However, he has struck out 11 batters while walking just three. His ERA is inflated due to a poor outing against the Rockies in which he allowed a 3-run home run, while recording just two outs. While with the Pirates, DuRapau flashed a plus slider and looked like he belonged in a MLB bullpen.