Pirates' Derek Shelton Goes Off on Reporter
Things couldn't have gone much worse for the Pittsburgh Pirates in their 12-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday at Wrigley Field.
Pittsburgh was the first team to be no-hit by the Cubs at Wrigley Field since 1972, and the lopsided loss led to first basemen Rowdy Tellez making his third relief appearance on the mound this season. Tellez's three pitching outings have all come since Aug. 24 and he has closed out each of those appearances, which is more than Pirates relievers Aroldis Chapman, Jalen Beeks and Dennis Santana since Aug 24.
Pirates (65-74) manager Derek Shelton was asked about Tellez pitching instead of one of the team's top relievers on Wednesday, and he gave the kind of fiery response one would have hoped to have seen on the field during the game.
"It's 11 to nothing," Shelton said. Bednar and [Colin] Holderman both pitched yesterday. Santana's been our best reliever. Chapman, I'm not going to pitch in that situation. Come on. You've watched enough baseball to know that. It's 11 to nothing. Seriously. No, no, you don't have to ask. There's a better question than that. Seriously. I mean, it's 11 to nothing."
Derek Shelton was furious when asked why Rowdy Tellez pitched the 8th pic.twitter.com/A3qhYI1CRi
— Austin Bechtold (@AustinRBechtold) September 5, 2024
The no-hit loss was another disappointing performance in a second half that has been full of them for the Pirates. Pittsburgh entered August with an outside shot at making the playoffs via a Wild Card spot, then the wheels completely fell off.
The Pirates went 8-19 in August and have gone from being in the hunt to being relegated to having to play spoiler for teams vying for a spot in the playoffs. Pittsburgh hasn't made the playoffs since 2015 and has only finished over .500 once since that season.
Pittsburgh has promising pieces in place with Rookie of the Year candidate and All-Star pitcher Paul Skenes, rookie right-handed starter Jared Jones, center fielder Oneil Cruz, left fielder Bryan Reynolds and the emergence of catcher Joey Bart. But with Shelton being in his fifth season as manager and minimal progress appearing to be made, it's fair to wonder if a different path forward may be Pittsburgh's best option.
NATHANIEL MARRERO