Relievers making their own comebacks lend a hand to Johan Oviedo in win over Giants

Johan Oviedo waited almost two years to take the mound for a major league game, and the Pittsburgh Pirates were excited to see the right-hander return from Tommy John surgery and a lat strain.

The Pirates had no idea that Oviedo would last only one inning Monday night against the San Francisco Giants, but their bullpen was ready when called upon much earlier than expected.

Yohan Ramirez, Kyle Nicolas, Ryan Borucki and Dauri Moreta combined to allow two runs on five hits and two walks with eight strikeouts while covering the final eight innings of the 5-4 walk-off win.

“Phenomenal,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said, “when you’re talking about covering eight innings and doing what they were able to do.”

What the four relievers were able to do goes beyond covering eight innings, as they all have return stories of their own.

Ramirez was with the Pirates in 2022-23 before being claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox in September 2023. He bounced around to four teams the following season, going from the New York Mets to the Baltimore Orioles to the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Boston Red Sox. The Pirates signed Ramirez as a free agent, and he spent most of the season at Triple-A Indianapolis before an early-June promotion.

The 30-year-old right-hander provided 2⅔ scoreless innings against the Giants before giving way to Kyle Nicolas with two outs in the fourth. Nicolas, who has bounced back and forth between Pittsburgh and Indianapolis this season, walked the first two batters in the fifth before giving up a two-run triple to Jung Hoo Lee.

Nicolas recovered to get Patrick Bailey looking at a called third strike, then tossed a scoreless sixth and got the first out of the seventh with Matt Chapman’s lineout to short.

“Huge going 2⅔ and finding a way,” Kelly said. “I think it was four-ups because he got outs to end one, two and then going back out to get Chapman was really big to be able to bring Borucki in in a good lane.”

That marked Borucki’s return from the injured list. He had been out since June 21 with low back discomfort, the first time the left-hander had dealt with back problems in his career.

“I was kind of compensating a little bit for my back and my mechanics got a little out of whack, so at the end there I used the rehab to focus on my mechanics and get a more efficient delivery and repeatable one,” Borucki said. “I felt like it did that and jump-started into the Triple-A outings.”

Borucki gave the Pirates another scoreless 1⅔ innings, sandwiching a pair of strikeouts around a groundout, fly out and fielding Bailey’s bunt.

“Obviously, you just want to get out there and feel the mound again,” Borucki said. “Heart was pumping a little bit, which was nice, just to feel the jitters again. It was good to get out there and make some pitches and help this team get a win.”

Moreta’s entrance in the ninth marked his first for the Pirates since Oct. 1, 2023. Like Oviedo, Moreta missed all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. After completing his rehabilitation assignment, Moreta was optioned to Indianapolis before being recalled Saturday while the Pirates were in Colorado.

Nicknamed “Money,” Moreta retired the top of the Giants’ order in the ninth. He got Heliot Ramos to fly out to center, struck out Rafael Devers with his signature slider and got Willy Adames to line out to left.

“To have Moreta come out after those guys and throw a clean inning there, they did a great job,” Kelly said. “His stuff is still there, still mid-90s. But that slider is ridiculous.”

On a night that was rewarding for Oviedo after months of working to get back to the majors, he was grateful to the bullpen for picking him up.

“Man, amazing. Super excited and happy about how they came in and got after it,” Oviedo said. “Also, the defense, the hitting side, everything today was unbelievable. It was definitely exciting to be part of it. Thankfully, really grateful that my guys got my back.”