The Pittsburgh Pirates’ bullpen took a blow when left-handed reliever Dillon Peters was placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with a low back strain.
Peters (4-2, 3.86 ERA) tossed multiple innings in seven of his 12 relief outings this season and had pitched 12 scoreless innings in seven games (two starts) at PNC Park. He started the season by pitching 16 2/3 scoreless innings before giving up four runs against the Cincinnati Reds on May 8.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Peters dealt with back spasms.
“It just kind of crept up on him,” Shelton said. “He woke up or came in stiff and we thought had him loose. He went home and we thought he would be available the next day. He came in, he was moving around, we thought he was in a good spot and it locked up on him. It was just the time after multiple days, we needed to put him on the IL. Hopefully it’s just a 15-day thing and we can get it knocked out.”
To replace Peters, the Pirates recalled lefty reliever Aaron Fletcher from Triple-A Indianapolis.
Fletcher was 0-1 with a 9.35 ERA in 8 2/3 innings over eight appearances for the Pirates, giving up nine runs on nine hits – including two home runs – with six strikeouts and three walks. Fletcher went 1-1 with a 0.82 ERA in 11 IP in eight appearances with Indianapolis.
Fletcher spent his time in the minors working to improve his slider as a complementary pitch to his sinker and changeup. Shelton plans to use Fletcher against left-handed hitters and in a multiple-inning role. Fletcher allowed one run on three hits with two strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings in the 21-0 loss at the Chicago Cubs on April 23.
“I threw two-ups a lot, for most of my outings down there,” Fletcher said of his time in Indianapolis. “So it’s never been a question of how many ups can I go. When we were in Wrigley earlier this year, I was able to go three-ups. Extending myself isn’t one of the things I’m concerned about.”
