Perrotto: Johan Oviedo Move to Rotation Shaky So Far (+)
Johan Oviedo was hoping to be as good as his mound opponent Wednesday night.
Lotsa luck with that, kid.
Oviedo, the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander with two major league victories, faced two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets in the second game of a doubleheader. The outcome went as expected.
Oviedo didn’t make it out of the second inning while deGrom mowed through the Pirates’ lineup for seven dominant innings. The result was a 10-0 Mets’ victory and sweep of the day-night doubleheader at PNC Park.
“One of my goals today was to try to be as good as he is,” Oviedo said of deGrom. “I tried to put my plan in the first place and try development. Of course, I want to be next to him and go seven, but I tried to put my priorities first and the priority is the team first. Just try to do what I can control and that was it.”
It was a lack of control that made Oviedo’s night a short one. He walked five of the 11 batters he faced and threw a run-scoring wild pitch while lasting just 1.2 innings.
Though the National League East-leading Mets got only one hit off Oviedo, he wound up being charged with four runs. He needed 57 pitches to record five outs.
It was Oviedo’s second start since being called up from Triple-A Indianapolis.
The Pirates acquired Oviedo from the St. Louis Cardinals on Aug. 1 along with corner infield prospect Malcom Nunez in a trade for left-hander Jose Quintana.
Oviedo seemed to find his comfort zone as a reliever with the Cardinals earlier this season after bombing as a starter. Yet the Pirates optioned him to Indianapolis following the trade and began transitioning him back to starting.
The 24-year-old was outstanding in four starts in Indy, allowing one run in 11.1 innings for a 0.79 ERA.
Oviedo was also OK in his Pirates’ debut last Friday against the Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched three scoreless innings and struck out four while working around three walks and two hits. However, Oviedo took 77 pitches to retire nine hitters.
However, Oviedo couldn’t get out of his own way Wednesday night when the Mets chased him during a four-run second inning.
After a scoreless first inning, Oviedo issued four walks in the second. His bases on balls to Brandon Nimmo forced home the first run and a wild pitch allowed the second run to score.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton brought in Zach Thompson with the score still 2-0. However, Francisco Lindor greeted Thompson with a two-run double and the rout was on.
Oviedo is now 0-10 with a 5.48 ERA in 21 career starts in the major leagues. As a reliever, he has a sparkling 2.16 ERA in 14 games.
While it might be unfair to end the experiment with Oviedo starting again this early, the numbers strongly suggest he should be working out of the bullpen. His performance Wednesday night certainly suggested Oviedo is over his head as a starting pitcher in the big leagues.
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