Jared

Triolo

Even though Gonzales is in the hunt for a batting title and has been quite a bit better against righties (.324/.385/.425) than lefties (.262/.330/.323), he had been held out of the starting lineup in two of the Pirates’ previous three games against righties, as things have gotten more crowded with Konnor Griffin and Ryan O’Hearn back. Gonzales is, though, getting a nod over Jared Triolo and Jacob Gonzalez tonight. It’s the first time since July 7, which was a few days before Gonzalez was acquired from the White Sox, that the Pirates haven’t included one of Triolo or Gonzalez in the lineup.

Triolo drew a two-out walk in the fifth inning and stole second base but wound up stranded there. He then led off the eighth inning with an infield single, again swiped second base and scored on an RBI single off the bat of Oneil Cruz. For the season, the 28-year-old infielder is slashing .248/.321/.318 with three homers, 29 RBI and 13 stolen bases (in 14 attempts) across 340 plate appearances.

Lowe will get a rare day off with left-hander Joey Cantillo toeing the slab for the Guardians. Nick Gonzales will slide over and cover second base while Jared Triolo starts at the hot corner and will bat second for the Pirates on Sunday afternoon in Cleveland.

Triolo doubled and scored on an RBI single by Henry Davis early in the fourth inning. He then delivered a two-run single later as part of the 10-run uprising in the frame. With his three-hit attack, the 28-year-old infielder is now slashing .233/.302/.306 with one homer, 16 RBI and six swipes in 215 plate appearances.

It’ll be Jared Triolo drawing another start at shortstop with Gonzalez presumably available off the bench for the nightcap of Saturday’s twin bill against Milwaukee. The 24-year-old infielder was picked up in a trade with the White Sox on Friday night. He’s likely to step in as Pittsburgh’s starting shortstop in place of an injured Konnor Griffin (finger) until early September.

Brannigan receives the call to replace an injured Konnor Griffin (finger) on Pittsburgh’s active roster. The unheralded 25-year-old was called up last month, but didn’t end up making an appearance. He’ll occupy a bench role behind Jared Triolo for the next couple weeks.

The Pirates are just being cautious with their star in his return from a forearm strain. Griffin returned last Friday and will now have sat in two of the team’s seven games since then. We would expect them to go back to playing him nearly every day after the All-Star break. On Thursday, Jared Triolo will bat ninth and play shortstop, and Jake Mangum will move into Griffin’s spot at the top of the order.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that the Pirates are going to manage Griffin’s workload carefully as he returns from a forearm strain that cost him nearly an entire month. The 20-year-old prodigy went 2-for-4 with a leadoff homer in his return from the injured list on Friday evening. He’s looked like a five-category fantasy monster since the start of May after taking a couple weeks to get acclimated to the big-league level. It’ll be Jared Triolo taking a turn at shortstop in his place. He should be ready to roll for Sunday’s series finale.

After nearly four weeks away due to a forearm strain, Griffin starting at shortstop and leading off in Friday’s game against the Reds. His return means that Nick Gonzales and Jared Triolo will go back to fighting for time at third. Gonzales figures to get most of the starts, but he is sitting in favor of Triolo tonight.

In classic Coors Field fashion, this game got crazy late. Triolo finally got his Pirates on the board with his double in the eighth that chased Kyle Freeland from the game and helped start a three-run rally. He also singled and stole a base earlier in this game as he tries to get himself going amidst a dreadful season thus far. Through 43 games, he has just a .238/.308/.277 slash line and has played shortstop in all but one game since Konnor Griffin went on the injured list more than three weeks ago.