Chris Stratton shows value for Pirates during lengthy relief appearance

Chris Stratton already had washed out with the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Angels when he landed with the Pittsburgh Pirates a little more than two years ago.

The right-hander never had lived up to his pedigree of being the Giants’ first-round draft pick in 2012. Despite once being the SEC Pitcher of the Year at Mississippi State, Stratton looked like a bust.

However, the Pirates purchasing Stratton’s contract from the Angels on May 11, 2019 — one of Neal Huntington’s last moves as general manager before being fired five months later — has turned out well.

Stratton has become a quality reliever for the Pirates, posting a 3.51 ERA in 77 games over three seasons, including a 2.90 mark in 22 games this season.

He showed his value again Friday night by pitching 3 2/3 perfect innings to close a 9-2 victory over the Miami Marlins at PNC Park. He was credited with his first save of the season and second of his six-year career.

Before coming to Pittsburgh, Stratton had a 15-16 career record and 5.11 ERA while being used primarily as a starter. However, he has found a home in the Pirates bullpen.

“I think just kind of knowing I belong is a big part of it,” Stratton said of his success. “I think just being comfortable and having the confidence to go out there and execute what you got. And I feel like my stuff is better now than it was when I first got up. I just feel like execution overall and the ability to go through a lineup.

“Obviously, I have some spurts when I was a starter with San Fran when I had some good outings, but overall, I feel like my stuff is better now than it’s ever been.”

Stratton is certainly pitching better than ever. The 30-year-old has been scored on just once in his last 11 appearances, allowing one earned run in 17 1/3 innings.

As his 11-out stint Friday showed, Stratton is also durable. His 61 innings pitched since the beginning of last season are the most of any major league reliever.

Stratton’s other save was also of the long variety. As a rookie in 2017, he pitched four innings in relief of Giants ace Madison Bumgarner to close out a game against the Pirates.

“I think we were playing the Dodgers next, and they wanted to save him for them,” Stratton said with a self-deprecating smile.

Like many Pirates pitchers, Stratton attributes a significant chunk of his success to catcher Jacob Stallings. The two have become close friends, and their families vacationed together at Disney World after the 2019 season.

“I think Stallings is one of the most underrated catchers in the game,” Stratton said. “Just his ability to call pitches and keep people off balance. He just always calls the right pitches at the right time is the best way to describe it. I’ve got four to work with, and I want to use all of them.

“And I feel like we were keeping them off balance for the most part (on Friday). When you get down like that in a baseball game, everyone is trying to do some damage, so I think it kind of helped with some early outs and helped me go a little bit deeper.”

The save came a day after Stratton got good news off the field.

Ace, his family’s dog, was found after getting loose from their backyard in Shadyside. The 50-pound Labrador-heeler mix was found Thursday.

“Man, what a relief,” Stratton said. “I can’t thank this city enough. As soon as he went missing, we put up flyers and tweeted out a few things, and it spread pretty fast like wildfire.

“He’s at home. He’s definitely sleepy. He’s not eating too much, so we don’t really know what he’s been getting into eating-wise, but somebody was feeding him. Either that or he was hunting down some wild game or something.

“Everybody was so kind,” Stratton continued. “Any person we ran into, we were asking, ‘Have you seen this dog?’ And they were like, ‘No, but what’s your number? If I see him, I’ll reach out as soon as I can.’ There was not one person who was like, ‘Nah, I haven’t seen him’ and just kept walking. Every single person just wanted to help, so thank you.”