Pittsburgh rookie sensation Paul Skenes has experience pitching in altitude, so he can talk with plenty of credibility about how to be successful in Denver. Skenes isn’t scheduled to be on the mound this weekend during the Pirates’ series at the Colorado Rockies, but he had advice for Saturday night’s starter, Jared Jones. “Don’t complicate it,” Skenes said Friday.
“The game doesn’t change, so don’t complicate it in your mind. You might have to adjust, but the game’s still the same.” Jones (4-5, 3.27 ERA), a right-hander, will take that advice when he opposes Colorado left-hander Ty Blach (2-4, 4.84) in the second of a three-game weekend set. Pittsburgh won the opener 5-2 on Friday.
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Skenes pitched two years at Air Force, north of Colorado Springs, before transferring to LSU after his sophomore season.
Pitching at 5,280 feet makes facing hitters tough, and it will be Jones’ first start at Coors Field. Jones, like Skenes, made his major league debut this season. He won his first start, striking out 10 Miami Marlins in a 9-3 road win on March 30. He faced the Rockies on May 4 in Pittsburgh, tying his career high with 10 strikeouts and allowing just one hit in seven innings. The Pirates won the 1-0 game, but Jones didn’t factor into the decision. On Saturday, Jones might be without shortstop Oneil Cruz backing him up.
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Cruz was a late scratch from Friday’s lineup with left ankle soreness. And catcher Henry Davis left the game in the seventh with concussion-like symptoms. “He took a shot an inning before and came up to me and said he didn’t look right,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of Davis. “He’s going through the concussion protocol.” Colorado catcher Elias Diaz went on the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain, a move retroactive to Tuesday, but Nolan Jones returned from the IL on Friday.
Jones had not played since April 28 due to a back strain but was in the lineup in left field. He finished 0-for-2 with two walks and two strikeouts. Blach has faced Pittsburgh five times in his career, with one start, and is 0-1 with a 6.17 ERA in those appearances. Blach joined the rotation on May 12 after coming out of the bullpen for three games and has pitched well at home, where he is 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA in seven appearances (five starts).
He’s a Colorado native and not fazed by the thin air. “I thought I threw the ball pretty well in the rotation last season, and that gave me a lot of confidence,” Blach said recently. “And I know I can pitch in this ballpark and adapt to the altitude changes. So I’m going to continue to refine my craft and do the best I can to help this team win baseball games.”
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