Left-handed pitcher Bailey Falter, coming off what may have been the best season of his career, will take the mound on Saturday afternoon as the Pittsburgh Pirates face off against the Miami Marlins.
Falter finished last year with an 8-9 record and a 4.43 ERA, setting career highs in wins, home runs per nine innings (1.1), hits per nine (8.7), and starts (28).
He holds a 3-0 record with a 4.30 ERA in eight career games (five starts) against the Marlins.
Falter will be looking for significant support from Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz, who had a standout performance in Friday’s 4-3 win over Miami. Cruz went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs, two runs, one walk, and a steal.
“He’s Oneil Cruz — you have to pitch around him a little bit,” said Marlins starting pitcher Connor Gillispie after Friday’s game. “You know he’s going to do damage.”
The Pirates also made a roster move this weekend, adding 26-year-old infielder Enmanuel Valdez to replace second baseman Nick Gonzales, who suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left ankle.
Gonzales, who hit a home run in the Pirates’ 5-4 season-opening loss on Thursday, was placed on the 10-day injured list.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton praised Valdez’s versatility, saying, “He has a left-handed bat and can play all over the diamond, which is something we value.”
Meanwhile, the Marlins, who led the league with 117 errors last season, are still working to improve defensively. Miami committed four errors in Friday’s loss to Pittsburgh.
On Saturday, the Marlins will start right-hander Valente Bellozo, who made his MLB debut last season, finishing with a 3-4 record and a 3.67 ERA.
The 25-year-old Bellozo has faced the Pirates once before, going 0-1 with a solid 1.69 ERA. In that start on September 9 at Pittsburgh, he pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits with two strikeouts.
Bellozo will likely have Otto Lopez at second base on Saturday.
Lopez was hit in the face on Friday while trying to catch a throw from center fielder Derek Hill. Despite the blow, Lopez stayed in the game and later hit a home run off Pirates closer David Bednar in the ninth inning.
“The throw took a tricky hop,” said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough of the one-bounce throw from Hill to Lopez. “But Otto’s a tough guy.”
McCullough also praised the Marlins’ resilience, noting their ability to rally from a three-run deficit to win on Thursday, and despite trailing by four runs on Friday, they fought hard before losing by just one.
“It was great to see a lot of fight from our guys,” McCullough said. “Our guys are never going to quit. We keep giving ourselves chances late.”
For the Pirates, having to use high-leverage relievers like Bednar is significant, especially in a four-game series.
On the bullpen side, the Marlins received a major lift on Friday when reliever Tyler Phillips, acquired from the Phillies on Wednesday, pitched three scoreless innings.
“Right in the moment, you feel a lot of emotions,” Phillips said about the trade. “Super excited to be in Miami.”
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