Gregory Soto gets save for scoreless 10th

Montgomery got the call to guard a one-run advantage after Camilo Doval tossed a scoreless eighth inning. He managed to work around a one-out single from Joey Ortiz by striking out Brice Turang and Jackson Chourio to extinguish the threat. He’s likely going to take a back seat to newly acquired high-leverage veteran Luke Weaver, but could wind up vulturing the occasional save chance against lefty-heavy lineups.

Soto’s save was his 14th of the season. He recorded one strikeout in a perfect ninth inning. Soto’s save was just his third since June 16. He’s allowed two runs in 11 1/3 innings since the beginning of July.

Ramirez racked up four strikeouts on the night. The Reds threatened against him in the opening inning as Elly De La Cruz walked and swiped second base, but Ramirez was able to strand him there. The 31-year-old hurler got seven swings and misses on 39 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 31 percent. For the season, he now boasts a 3.10 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and a 66/34 K/BB ratio over 58 innings.

Montgomery allowed a single to Dansby Swanson to begin the ninth before striking out Pete Crow-Armstrong. However, Suzuki connected for a two-run shot that turned an 8-5 game into a one-run lead. Montgomery then recorded the final two outs to still land the save. Notably, he was chosen for the opportunity despite neither him nor Gregory Soto having pitched since Friday. They each now have two saves in July, so this looks like a committee going forward. Of course, the upcoming trade deadline could further shake up this bullpen.

Mason Montgomery was uninvolved in the late game mix tonight, as he opened and threw a scoreless first inning. The Pirates had Brandon Eisert begin the eighth with a 3-0 lead, but he gave up three singles to load the bases with one out. Soto entered then and allowed all of the inherited runners to score before escaping the inning. Santana took over in the ninth in a tie game and gave up hits to all three batters he faced. The second of those was a double that saw the winning run thrown out at home plate. However, that just served to set up Travis Bazzana’s walkoff homer. Montgomery seems like the Pirates’ best late-game reliever right now, but with the way Don Kelly is managing things, it’s hard to recommend any of the team’s relievers.

It sounds like this will be a bullpen game, as Montgomery is not someone who is built up enough to go more than an inning or two. Fantasy managers looking to steal a win should look elsewhere, as it’s hard to fathom he’ll go the necessary number of innings to qualify.

After Gregory Soto converted a save in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Brewers, Montgomery got the chance in the second game with a one-run lead. He worked around a walk, striking out two batters to shut the door on Milwaukee for his first save as the Pirates swept the doubleheader.

Soto was summoned to protect a one-run lead in the final frame and immediately got into trouble when he surrendered a leadoff single to Christian Yelich before issuing a one-out walk to Brice Turang and a single to William Contreras. He somehow managed to wriggle out of the bases-loaded jam completely unscathed by coaxing a game-ending double-play ball from ensuing batter Andrew Vaughn. He’s converted 12 of 16 save chances for the Pirates this season to go along with a lackluster 4.05 ERA across 40 innings.

Brandon Marsh homered with one out and Bryson Stott singled with two outs, at which point Soto was pulled. Yohan Ramírez took over and allowed the inherited runner to score before finishing the inning. That might have created a save chance for Mason Montgomery, but the Pirates scored three times in the top of the ninth to take it away. Montgomery then pitched a hitless ninth with a four-run lead. Soto has blown two saves and given up runs in two other appearances this month, so it looks like the closer’s role in Pittsburgh is open again. Montgomery, Dennis Santana and Ramirez could all factor into the mix, with Carmen Mlodzinski also possibly picking up some multi-inning saves.

Soto took the mound in the ninth inning with a one-run lead and allowed the first two runners to reach before inducing a double play on a grounder. He then issued a walk to put runners on the corners with two outs before serving up a three-run homer to Eugenio Suárez to blow the lead and fall in line for a loss. It hasn’t been the best stretch for the 31-year-old left-hander, giving up nine runs over his last seven outings, raising his ERA to 3.93 across 34 1/3 innings.