Perrotto: Bailey Falter Proves to Be Good Teammate
PITTSBURGH – Bailey Falter took the high road.
It couldn’t have been easy for the Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander to put on a happy face early Saturday evening. He pitched perhaps the best game of his career, yet had nothing to show.
Falter was brilliant for seven innings, allowing only one run and two hits to the San Diego Padres at PNC Park. He struck out six and walked two in an efficient 89-pitch outing.
Yet Falter received only hugs, handshakes, and pats on the back from his teammates for his effort. There was no W in the box score.
Falter ended up with a no-decision as the Pirates lost 2-1 and dropped 10 games under .500 at 12-22. It’s four days into the not-so-very merry month of May, and the last-place Pirates are already nine games behind the National League Central-leading Chicago Cubs.
Falter left with the game tied 1-1, and the Padres scored the winning run in the ninth inning when Fernando Tatis Jr. doubled and eventually scored on David Bednar’s wild pitch.
Falter had every reason to be upset that the Pirates provided him with only one run of support. Yet he calmly answered questions from reporters after the game and scoffed at the idea that the no-decision was difficult to accept.
“No, not at all actually,” Falter said. “My job is to go out there and give our team the best chance to win, and I’m able to sleep easy and rest my head at night knowing that I went out there able to give this team a chance. That’s what I try to do every five, six days, whatever it is.”
What made Falter’s performance even more impressive was that the start of the game was delayed for one hour and 42 minutes because of rain. Falter tried to make the best of the situation.
“I think I did my (pre-game) routine about three times today,” Falter said. “Just trying to stay locked in and ready as much as possible. Been playing on the East Coast for quite a while, so I’m very familiar with this weather. Just got to try and stay as locked in as much as possible.”
Falter was indeed locked in.
The only run he allowed came on Manny Machado’s homer with one out in the seventh inning that tied the game 1-1. Falter otherwise mowed through a lineup stacked with eight right-handed hitters.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton was impressed with Falter’s outing.
“Challenging because you’re delayed … and then you go out and pitch as well as he did,” Shelton said. “I mean, that’s all he can do. Control what he can control, and he did a really good job of executing pitches throughout the entire game. Essentially, he made one bad pitch. It looked like it was a cutter or slider to Manny. But other than that, I thought he was pretty much in total control.”
Falter couldn’t control the Pirates scoring only one run against five Padres pitchers.
It’s been that way for the Pirates all season. When they pitch well, the offense doesn’t produce. In the rare times the Pirates score some runs, the pitching springs a leak.
It has left the Pirates almost out of contention before Mother’s Day. There is little hope the Pirates will get better. Falter, though, is keeping the faith.
“I know we’re struggling right now, but I have a good feeling that the boys are in here every single day working hard, not taking anything for granted,” Falter said. “It’s a long year. We’re going to turn this thing around pretty soon, and I’ve got full confidence in every single one that’s in this locker room.”
Falter is either a good teammate or delusional. Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and say good teammate.
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