Weekly Report: 4-3 Mark, Skenes Only All-Star, Brax Wins A Pair, Bullpen Moves, Cutch - Minor League Deal w/Atlanta

Another split week..

Pirates Stuff:

• Paul Skenes, who was having a down year by his standards (6-8/3.62), was named to the NL All Star team for the third time. Teammates Bryan Reynolds (.284/12/55), Brandon Lowe (.242/20/60) and Braxton Ashcraft (9-3/3.24) ended up on the outside looking in.
• LHP Evan Sisk was placed on the 15-day IL (retro to July 1) with elbow inflammation. Recently reacquired righty Hunter Stratton got the call to take his roster spot. Sisk had been a bright spot; he was 1-0/2.23 in 32 outings so far for the Pirates; his absence and that of Wilber Dotel put a big hole in the inning-eater part of the pen.
• Bullpen deja vu: the Bucs recalled RHP Cam Sanders from Indy and optioned RHP Brandan Bidois back to AAA.
• 1B Spencer Horwitz is rehabbing in Florida with CF Oneil Cruz; no guess yet on when they return, although BC says it will be after the All-Star break but hopefully sometime in July.

Spence: 6-21-2026 photo/Pirates

• Pittsburgh is 23-23 on the road...now if they can only heat up at home.
• The Pirates swiped home on a double steal during the 4th of July matinee. Late-breaking Bryan Reynolds chugged into second, drew the throw and Konnor Griffin beat the relay to the dish. The Bucs last pulled off that ploy in 2014 when Andrew McCutchen touched home as Jared Triolo stole second against the Phils.
• Indy OF Dominic Fletcher exercised his contract opt-out and became a FA; the 28-year-old had played w/Arizona and the White Sox before signing with Pittsburgh during the off season. RHP Yunior Marte, who was signed by the Reds, released in June and claimed by the Bucs after a spending 2025 in Japan, was released to return there. 
• RHP Seth Hernandez and OF Edward Florentino will rep the Bucs at the Futures Game at Citizens Bank Park in Philly on Sunday, July 12th.

Game Stuff:

• Braxton Ashcraft had a rare bad outing, giving up three homers and five runs, but he still went six frames and K'ed 8 Phils. He was down 5-0 after the third, but the Buc bats bailed him out. He left up 8-5 after a well-rounded rally: seven Bucs had RBIs, six different guys scored, and Esmerlyn Valdez homered in his fourth straight game, joined tonight by Jared Triolo. Could the pen hang on for three frames? It was exciting, with Philly making it 8-7 after eight, but Endy Rodriguez banged a three-run shot in the ninth, and the Pirates opened with an 11-7 dub.
• Bubba was holding his own against Christopher Sanchez, down 2-0 after six. But it got away from him in the seventh, the bullphone phone rang, and before you knew it, Tyler Callihan was pitching and it was 8-0. That ended up the final count.
• Paul Skenes continued his recent mix of walks and HRs with sloppy play behind him, working four frames & leaving behind 8-2. The Pirates cut it to 8-6 - Jared Triolo had three RBIs and Hank Davis homered - but it was too little, too late as they dropped a 10-6 decision.

The Magician - June image/SportsNet.Pgh

• The Bucs got a Philly split as Esmerlyn Valdez had three RBI and Nicky G & Endy Rodriguez homered with the pitching in sync to take 6-1 dub. Jared Jones went four frames giving up a run, Carmen Mlodzinski piggybacked with three zippos and the backenders closed it out.
• Mitch Keller got banged for three homers and Isaac Mattson gave up two more bombs as DC set off the fireworks a day early. The final was Washington 9, Pittsburgh, 5. And it wasn't nearly as close as it looked; the Pirates scored four times in the ninth. 
• Braxton Ashcraft was touched for a leadoff homer by the Nats after Pgh. drew first blood on Konner Griffin's steal of home, but the Bucs small-balled their way back to a 5-1 lead in the second behind a barrage of bloops and bleeders. Brax kept it that way until he left in the sixth after ringing up seven Ks. The Pirates added a couple more runs late and cruised to a 7-1 dub.
• B-Rey bopped a homer and the bottom of the order came through early to give Bubba a 4-0 lead going into the third; it was 4-4 after four as Chandler gave up six hits and four walks to get 12 outs. It stayed that way into the eighth as both bullpens actually functioned before the Bucs put up a five spot in the eighth, keyed by Brandow Lowe's three-run shot. The final score ended up 11-5 with Gregory Soto, the Bucs fourth pitcher, earning the win after two innings of one-run work. 

MLB Stuff:

• DH/OF Andrew McCutchen signed a minor league deal with the Braves, so the ride may not be over yet.

Cutch - 2026 Topps

• LHP Anthony Banda, who worked out of the Buc bullpen in 2022 and has been with five other clubs since then, was put on the 15-day IL with a lat strain; he's expected to be out for months, not weeks.
• LHP Jalen Beeks, who came out of the Buc bullpen in 2024, will have flexor tendon surgery and be lost to his current club, the Rangers, for the rest of the year.
• The Orioles traded RHP Kyle Nicolas, a Buc who tossed from 2023-25 in Pgh before being moved to the Reds, to the Nats for a Class A IF.
• 1B Rowdy Tellez was DFA'ed by the Braves.
• RH reliever Geoff Hartlieb was DFA'ed by the A's.There were no takers; they outrighted him after he cleared.
• IF Pablo Reyes was released from his Padres minor-league deal, prob due to an exercised opt-out opion. He was hitting .310 in AAA, so it's possible the guy who started with the Bucs in 2018-19 will find an MLB job; he's already been carried on five big-league rosters.
• RHP Eddie Yean, who the Bucs got from Washington in 2020 as part of the Josh Bell deal and since has bounced around the minors, was called up by his current club, again the Nats. He made his MLB debut against the Bucs on Sunday and K'ed his first batter.