Jared Jones makes Brewers' Brice Turang look foolish with a nasty slider
The Pittsburgh Pirates are coming off getting swept by the Red Sox in three games this past weekend. The Pirates have lost six games in a row overall and would turn to Jared Jones against the Brewers to put an end to their skid.
The 22-year-old rookie was all business and unleashed eight four-seam fastballs that touched triple digits in the first inning. His heater touched 100.8 mph in the game, and his secondary pitches keep the Brewers off balance.
Brice Turang learned that the hard way, when Jones turned a nasty slider down, causing him to swing through the pitch and dropping him to one knee.
Jones was asked postgame what he thought about Turang’s at-bat and dropped him to his knees.
"I was laughing on the inside,” Jones said with a smile postgame.
Pirates catcher Henry Davis thought Turang was hurt following the swing. “I thought he was hurt at first,” Davis said when asked about the strikeout. “But no, that was just a really good pitch.”
Jones was dominant, striking out seven batters and getting 25 whiffs in the Pirates 4-2 win. The 25 whiffs are the most of any pitcher this season. The Calif. native has induced 98 swings and misses this season, and he’s tied for eighth in that category amongst pitchers through their first five starts.
His only blemish in the game was surrendering a solo homer to Rhys Hoskins in the fifth inning.
"I think that’s a testament to the kid,” manager Derek Shelton said following his team’s win Monday night. “Sixth inning, bases loaded, and to get [Blake] Perkins out there, that’s a growth moment because he’s legitimately had four games without a lot of stress. There’s no bigger stress than bases loaded there.”
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound righty is now 2-2 on the season with a 2.79 ERA with 39 strikeouts and a 0.83 WHIP over 29 innings pitched.
Jones put his reeling team on his back and tossed a gem, and in the process, he rewarded the club with arguably his best outing this season.
