Perrotto: Thomas Harrington Does the Unexpected

PITTSBURGH – Thomas Harrington has long dreamed of his first major-league win. Little did he know that he would notch a save before getting a win.

Funny how baseball works out.

The Pittsburgh Pirates rookie right-hander pitched the final four innings Monday night to finish an 8-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals and was credited with the save in the opener of a three-game series at PNC Park. Harrington gave up three runs in his second major-league appearance and first as a reliever.

“I’m just doing whatever the team needs me to do and puts us in the best way to win,” Harrington said with a smile. “Just kind of doing whatever. It’s fun.”

Harrington is considered the second-best starting pitching prospect in the organization behind Triple-A Indianapolis right-hander Bubba Chandler. Harrington made his MLB debut last Tuesday as a starter and took the loss on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays, getting rocked for six runs in four innings.

This time, Harrington was needed in relief to help an overtaxed bullpen. Pirates relievers had pitched 38.2 innings in the first 10 games of the season.

“They needed a break,” Harrington said. “They’ve been really grinding for us, so it’s going to be nice to give them a little break.”

Harrington started the sixth inning in relief of starter Carmen Mlodzinski with the Pirates leading 4-1. It was Harrington’s second relief appearance in 49 professional games since being a supplemental first-round draft pick in 2022.

Harrington allowed a solo home run to Yohel Pozo in the sixth inning but preserved the 4-2 lead by getting three-time All-Star Willson Contreras to ground into a double play to end the seventh. The Pirates responded with four runs in the bottom of the seventh to make it 8-2, giving some cushion to Harrington, who surrendered a solo homer to Masyn Winn in the ninth.

Harrington was thrilled to pitch the ninth inning.

“It was sick,” Harrington said. “(Pitching coach Oscar Marin) came up to me in the dugout and was like, ‘You want to finish this thing?’ I was like, ‘Absolutely.’ It was really cool to get the last out. I think it was like the second time I’ve ever done that in a game, so it was cool.”

Pirates manager Derek Shelton believes finishing the game will bolster the 23-year-old Harrington’s confidence.

“Standing on the mound at the end of a Major League Baseball game, there’s something to be said about that,” Shelton said. “Going out and being able to finish that in the ninth inning, I would bet in his professional career he’s never stood on the mound in the eighth or ninth inning, even though he didn’t start that, he had to finish it. That’s really important and he stayed composed, which I thought was impressive.”

Harrington got the first four-inning save by a Pirates pitcher since Jason Christiansen in 1998. Harrington is also the fifth Pirates pitcher to work at least four innings while earning his first MLB save, joining Nellie Briles (1971), Larry McWilliams (1982), Cecilio Guante (1983) and Jim Winn (1984).

The outing left Harrington with a better taste than after his rocky debut.

“I was itching to get out there,” he said. “I was just excited to get back out there and touch the hill again. I think the first game, there was a lot of nerves and emotions pitching in that. This game, I felt much more comfortable out there. I think that was a big step for me, especially attacking guys and getting ahead early.”

The Pirates’ master plan for Harrington is for him to get wins rather than saves. However, they weren’t complaining on Monday night.