Khristian

Curtis

Lake Bachar got the start and took the loss after giving up one run over his two innings. It’s also worth noting that Khristian Curtis worked the final three innings of this game, and was more effective while allowing no runs and no hits in that action. Mlodzinski will likely work in bulk again versus the Cardinals next weekend, but that hasn’t been made official just yet. You don’t need to wait for that news to not use him.

The 24-year-old right-hander has made just one appearance for the Pirates this season, logging five scoreless innings with a 4/2 K/BB ratio in a bulk relief role. It’s unclear how the Pirates plan to deploy him this time around. Antwone Kelly was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis in a corresponding move on Sunday.

There is no word yet on what the injury might be. Curtis looked good in his first MLB appearance, throwing five scoreless innings in a bulk relief role on July 18. There was a chance that he could push for MLB starts down the stretch, but we will need to see what the injury is before we know if that possibility is gone.

Curtis came up big in his major league debut, only to watch the bullpen give up five runs behind him. As the 27th man for the doubleheader, he’ll return to Triple-A now, but at least he’s on the 40-man for the first time and in great position to get another look in the near future.

Curtis is likely ticketed for a long relief role after a strong showing on the doorstep of the majors to earn his first call-up to the majors. The unheralded 24-year-old has compiled a respectable 4.96 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 97/40 K/BB ratio across 74 1/3 innings over 18 appearances in the upper minors this season. He can be safely ignored in fantasy leagues for now.