Pirates snap 8-game losing streak, blank Cubs, 6-0, behind quality start from Johan Oviedo

When the Pittsburgh Pirates acquired right-hander Johan Oviedo in late July as part of the deal that sent Jose Quintana to St. Louis, the 24-year-old had spent the vast majority of this season working out of the Cardinals’ bullpen.

But since debuting with the Pirates on Sept. 2, Oviedo has pitched strictly as a starter, which he had done initially coming up with St. Louis, posting 18 starts during his time with the team in 2020 and 2021.

While his first four starts for the Pirates were far from spectacular, featuring control issues and never more than five innings of work, Oviedo flipped the script Saturday evening against the Chicago Cubs, pitching seven scoreless innings in the 6-0 Pirates victory.

“I was not thinking about anything,” Oviedo (4-2, 3.13 ERA) said after the game. “I was just trying to compete every single pitch. I was not looking for strikeouts or the pitch count or anything. I was just trying to have fun every single pitch that I throw and forget about results, even if it was a good hit or bad or whatever happened.”

Oviedo struck out seven and walked none, surrendering just three hits and throwing just 82 pitches thrown.

“(He) came out, commanded the zone, was in control (and) was really efficient,” manager Derek Shelton said. “I think that’s something that we talked about, even in the pregame of him pounding the zone and going after it. He did a really good job today. It was a really good step forward.”

The win snapped an eight-game losing streak for the Pirates, with Oviedo’s heroics being buttressed by some strong offensive performances by the team’s rookies.

Diego Castillo got the Pirates on the board first with a sacrifice fly to right field that plated Bryan Reynolds.

Oviedo kept things in check through five innings, with the Pirates clinging to a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Pirates busted things open, scoring five runs, two off Cubs starter Wade Miley and three on his fifth-inning replacement, Adbert Alzolay.

Miley exited the game with no outs in the fifth inning, having botched a throw to second base to eliminate Ben Gamel, who was attempting to advance on a bunt attempt by Greg Allen.

Ji Hwan Bae, in his second career MLB game following Friday night’s big-league debut, opened up the scoring in the inning with a two-run double that scored Gamel and Allen.

Jack Suwinski, who entered the game to pinch-hit and in replacement of Castillo, then promptly crushed a three-run homer off Alzolay to make the score 6-0.

Shelton found the win, primarily earned by the club’s youngsters, to be encouraging.

“I think it keeps giving us glimpses of what we’re doing in player development is right,” Shelton said. “The guys we’re acquiring, like an Oviedo, are the right decisions. It makes you smile when you have a bunch of young kids and you see the energy they play with.”

Bae, in particular, has enjoyed an impressive first few games at the MLB level.

Before joining the Pirates on Friday, Bae was hitting .289 with eight home runs and 53 RBIs in 108 games at Triple-A Indianapolis.

However, upon being called up, Bae was not swinging the hottest of bats for the Indians, as he was hitting just .232 in 69 September at-bats.

Through two MLB games, Bae has notched his first career hit, extra-base hit, steal(s) and has walked once.

Bae’s fifth-inning double Saturday came on a 2-2 pitch.

“I think the thing that really stands out is, we get the situation with second and third, he gets to two strikes and he puts the ball in play,” Shelton said. “That’s really important and that’s going to be part of his game.

“… I think it’s a little bit of a sigh of relief for him. Like, ‘OK, I’ve got my feet wet here. I’ve done some good things here.’ He helped us win a ball game tonight, so it is important.”

​After Oviedo’s evening ended, Zach Thompson entered the game and pitched the eighth and ninth innings, maintaining the Pirates’ shutout.

The Pirates complete their four-game series with Chicago at PNC Park Sunday afternoon at 1:35.

Rookie Luis Ortiz (0-0, 0.84 ERA through two starts) takes the mound for the Pirates.