Anxious Pirates fans shouldn't check Luis Ortiz's recent stats in Cleveland

When the Pittsburgh Pirates dealt right-hander Luis Ortiz to the Cleveland Guardians in a trade for Spencer Horwitz, it appeared that they were finally doing what fans had been begging them to do for years: dealing from their ample starting pitching depth to get some much-needed offense. Six months later, however, the Guardians are looking like the real winners in this deal – at least in the immediate term.

Ortiz tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings to lead the Guardians to a 4-0 win over the New York Yankees – the highest-scoring team in the American League this season – Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. The right-hander held New York to just three hits (all singles) and three walks while striking out seven.

The Guardians went on to receive contributions from throughout their lineup – what a concept – to close out their first shutout win at Yankee Stadium since Aug. 9, 2014. But it was Ortiz's strong start that set the tone by shutting down the AL's top offense.

Ortiz has, in many ways, been a microcosm of a Guardians rotation that struggled early in the season but seems to be hitting its stride. After pitching to a 5.30 ERA over his first seven starts with Cleveland, he has a 2.28 ERA in 27 2/3 innings over his past five.

Pirates already look like losers in the Luis Ortiz trade with Cleveland

Meanwhile in Pittsburgh, Horwitz's tenure with the Pirates got off to an incredibly disappointing start when it was revealed that he had offseason surgery to address a chronic wrist issue that would sideline him for all of spring training and the first six-plus weeks of the season.

Since his activation off the injured list, Horwitz is slashing .230/.299/.328 with one home run in 61 at-bats. Sadly, that passes for pretty darn good on a Pirates offense that has scored the second-fewest runs in the league this season (197).

Only time will tell whether the Ortiz trade will benefit both teams equally in the long term. In the meantime, the Pirates will have to wwatch from afar as Ortiz hits his stride with his new club.

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