Pirates and Guardians postponed due to air quality

Jones drew the starting assignment for the front-end of Saturday’s doubleheader at Progressive Field and touched triple digits 11 times during an impressive 74-pitch outing where he leaned almost exclusively on his fastball and slider. The lone run against him came on an RBI triple from Travis Bazzana with two outs in the third inning. The Pirates have been cautious with his workload as he returns from Tommy John surgery, but he’s looked outstanding since the start of July, allowing just two runs while compiling a 23/3 K/BB ratio over 15 innings across his last three starts. He should be rostered in all fantasy leagues at this point based on his strikeout upside alone.

Williams notched his fifth double-digit strikeout performance of the season but was burned by the long ball in this one, serving up three homers to a suddenly red-hot Pirates lineup. He managed to shake off an early two-run blast from Jacob Gonzalez before giving up a two-run shot to Esmerlyn Valdez and a solo tater to Nick Gonzalez in the sixth. The result was a bizarre-looking pitching line where he somehow managed to dominate for most of his outing while still ending up being saddled with a loss. He’ll square off against the Twins on Thursday in his next outing.

Parker Messick will get some extra rest after throwing a scoreless second inning in the All-Star Game. He’ll presumably face the Twins or Monday or Tuesday, with Slade Cecconi starting the other game.

That means the team will push Mitch Keller to next week. It makes sense to use Jones, who is clearly on a pitch count, in the first start after the break because it means the bullpen will be fresh.

Williams struck out 11 and walked one while throwing 71 percent of his pitches for strikes. He got ahead with his four-seamer and sinker and then had lots of success putting hitters away with a sweeper that had a 26 percent swinging strike rate. Unless Statcast updates its data, this will have been the first start that Williams didn’t use his cutter, which could be why his four-seam usage was up 13 percent. Regardless, he was fully comfortable with his arsenal today and looked great. He gets a tougher matchup against the Pirates after the break.

Per Opta Stats, Jones became the first pitcher in modern history to throw at least six innings, retire every batter, and still not get the win. He left with the game in a scoreless tie before Dennis Santana served up a two-run homer to former Pirate Joey Bart. Pittsburgh went on to lose 3-0. This was Jones’ first time throwing more than five innings since returning from elbow surgery. He was at 77 pitches when pulled, while his season high is 81. It was his final start of the first half. The Pirates visit the Guardians coming out of the All-Star break.

Williams was solid in this one, keeping the White Sox off the board through the first four innings. In the top of the fifth inning, however, he ran into a bit of trouble. Williams allowed singles to the first two batters he faced in the frame, but retired the next two on a sacrifice fly and a fielder’s choice. With runners on first and third and two outs, Williams nearly escaped the frame, but a three-run homer by Miguel Vargas broke things open for the White Sox in the inning and gave them a 3-1 lead. The game would then go into a rain delay shortly after Vargas’ homer, which ended Williams’ night. He’s now allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of his last three starts and is next scheduled to toe the rubber on Thursday against the Twins.

Jones was pulled at 73 pitches in a tie game, so Don Kelly does not care about our wins column. Jones allowed just three hard-hit balls and touched 100 with his fastball, while he generated 11 whiffs on 31 swings. The lone run scored on an RBI double by Bryce Harper. Everything looks good under the hood for Jones to be a dynamite pitcher down the stretch in fantasy leagues, but it’s hard to trust him on this current pitch count. He’ll draw the Braves in his final start before the All-Star break next week.

After a scoreless first inning, the Mariners put a run on the board with two hits in the second. Two walks, a hit, and an error brought two more runs in to score in the third. Williams would complete two more innings, ending his day after five with six strikeouts. The 26-year-old right-hander will take a 3.81 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and a 117/34 K/BB ratio across 101 2/3 innings into a start against the White Sox in Cleveland on Friday.

Jones surrendered a solo homer to Sal Stewart in the first inning. The Reds brought a second run in on a pair of hits in the third. A walk, double, and a fielding error brought two more runs in to score in the fifth. Jones would depart with two outs in the inning at 81 pitches. He struck out four. The 24-year-old right-hander has completed five innings in just one of six starts so far in his return. He’ll take a 5.76 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and a 25/9 K/BB ratio across 25 innings into a start against the Phillies in Philadelphia on Thursday.