Ortiz (5-2) picked up the win Saturday, allowing three hits and two walks over seven scoreless innings in a 4-1 victory over the Phillies. He struck out two.
The right-hander continued an impressive stretch that has seen him give up only three runs in 26.2 innings over his last five appearances (four starts) with a 23:3 K:BB. Ortiz may not be able to hang onto a rotation spot once Jared Jones (lat) gets healthy no matter how well he does, but he's making a strong case to be in the Pirates' long-term pitching plans. Ortiz will take a 2.57 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 59:21 K:BB through 73.2 innings this season into his next outing, which is scheduled to come on the road next weekend in Arizona.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Pitches well in no-decision
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Ortiz did not factor into the decision in Saturday's 6-2 win over the White Sox, allowing one run on four hits and one walk with five strikeouts over 5.2 innings.
Ortiz tossed five scoreless innings before allowing an RBI single in the sixth. He was pulled just shy of a quality start at 94 pitches and has now yielded a total of two earned runs in his three opportunities to start this season. While it is unclear if the 25-year-old will remain in the rotation after the All-Star break, he has likely earned additional starting opportunities by posting a 2.84 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 57:19 K:BB across 66.2 innings this season.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Productive again in spot start
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Ortiz did not factor into the decision in Sunday's loss to the Mets. He threw six shutout innings, giving up four hits and striking out five.
Ortiz is making a strong case to keep a spot in the Pirates rotation, especially with Bailey Falter recently hitting the IL with arm discomfort. Ortiz was given his second start of the season Sunday, and for the second time he hurled six impressive frames as the opener. The 25-year-old is pitching to a 2.95 ERA and 1.18 WHIP across 61 innings in his third big-league season.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Starting Sunday
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Ortiz will start Sunday's game against the Mets, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
After being deployed as a starter or bulk reliever for most of June, Ortiz had made a two-inning relief appearance in most recent outing Tuesday versus the Cardinals. Given that the 25-year-old covered a season-high six innings in his prior appearance June 26, he should be able to handle a typical starter's workload as he steps back into the rotation Sunday. Through 55 innings on the season, Ortiz owns a 3.27 ERA and a 47:18 K:BB.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Works in relief Tuesday
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Ortiz struck out four and allowed one run on three hits and no walks over two innings out of the bullpen in Tuesday's 7-4 loss to the Cardinals.
Ortiz had covered six innings while striking out seven batters -- both season highs -- while serving as a starter in his previous appearance June 26 in Cincinnati, but the Pirates seem to have moved him back to the bullpen following Martin Perez's return from the injured list. The Pirates have since placed another starter in Jared Jones (lat) on the IL, but Quinn Priester (lat) could be on track to return from the IL to fill Jones' open rotation spot, which next comes up Sunday versus the Mets. Ortiz would be a candidate to start Sunday if the Pirates insead elect to have Priester make another rehab start in the minors before coming off the IL.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Ties career high in Ks
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Ortiz (4-2) picked up the win in Wednesday's 6-1 victory over the Reds, allowing one run on four hits over six innings. He struck out seven without walking a batter.
The seven Ks tied the right-hander's career high, set back in September 2022 in his third career MLB start. Ortiz was making his first start of 2024 after spending the first part of the season in a long relief role, and he generated an impressive 19 swinging strikes among his season-high 85 pitches. Martin Perez (groin) is expected to come off the IL this weekend, but Ortiz made a solid case to return to the rotation later in the campaign should a spot open up. Through 53 innings this year, he sports a 3.23 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 43:18 K:BB.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Roughed up in bulk role
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Ortiz didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 10-3 loss to the Rays, coughing up six runs on 10 hits and a walk over four innings. He struck out three.
While Carmen Mlodzinski wound up taking the loss as the opener, Ortiz made things a whole lot worse for the Pirates after he entered the game in the second inning, with a pair of homers by Josh Lowe accounting for most of the damage off the right-hander. Ortiz saw his ERA jump by nearly a full run after this performance, and he'll take a 3.45 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 36:18 K:BB through 47 innings into his next outing. If the Bucs keep him in his current bulk relief role and on schedule, he'll take the mound on the road next week in Cincinnati.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Slated for bulk relief
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Ortiz is in line to serve as a bulk reliever in Friday's game versus the Rays, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
Carmen Mlodzinski will open for the Pirates before handing things off to Ortiz. Each of Ortiz's last two appearances have come in bulk relief and he's fared well, yielding just one run with a 6:1 K:BB over 9.1 innings of work.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Earns win in bulk role
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Ortiz (3-2) picked up the win Friday against the Rockies, yielding one run on seven hits and no walks over five innings. He struck out three.
After Carmen Mlodzinski tossed a scoreless opening frame, Ortiz entered in the second as the bulk reliever for a scheduled bullpen day. The Pittsburgh righty held his own at Coors Field in his longest outing of the season, firing 69 pitches en route to his first win since May 5, which also came against Colorado. Ortiz has been a dependable option in the Pirates bullpen, throwing 43 innings with a 2.51 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 33:17 K:BB.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Excellent in bulk relief
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Ortiz allowed three hits and one walk while striking out three across 4.1 scoreless innings Saturday against the Twins.
Ortiz entered the game in the second inning in a designed bullpen game for the Pirates. He threw 58 pitches and turned in his longest outing of the season. Though Ortiz wasn't able to get the run support to earn a win, he has now turned in 10 scoreless innings with a 9:1 K:BB across his last three appearances out of the bullpen.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Notches three-inning save
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Ortiz gave up a hit over three scoreless innings of relief Saturday to record his first career save in an 8-1 win over the Blue Jays. He struck out three without walking a batter.
With the Pirates coming off a 14-inning game Friday and holding a five-run lead when he took the mound, Ortiz gave the rest of the bullpen a much-needed breather by wrapping things up on his own. The right-hander has been effective in long relief -- he's pitched two or more innings in five of his last six appearances, posting a 2.57 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 13:6 K:BB over 14 innings during that stretch. While his role doesn't afford him much high-leverage work, he does have two wins and a hold this season in addition to Saturday's unconventional save, and Ortiz has value in deep NL-only formats due to his bulk Ks and respectable ratios.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Poor outing in loss
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Ortiz (1-1) allowed three earned runs on two hits and a walk while striking out none across 1.2 innings to take the loss Tuesday against the Mets.
Ortiz entered the game in the sixth inning, immediately following Jared Jones while being tasked with protecting a one-run lead. He retired the first four batters he faced but then ran into trouble by allowing three consecutive hitters to reach base. Ortiz was then let down by Jose Hernandez, who allowed two inherited runners to score. Ortiz has been used in multi-inning relief after losing out on a rotation spot in spring training, and he's posted a subpar 5:6 K:BB in his first 9.1 innings of work.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Opening in bullpen
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Ortiz will begin the season as a long reliever in the bullpen, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
The 25-year-old made a solid case for a rotation spot during spring training with a 3.46 ERA, and 15:7 K:BB across 13 innings, but Bailey Falter and Jared Jones will begin the campaign as Pittsburgh's Nos. 4 and 5 starters. Ortiz should remain stretched out and should see some action as a bulk reliever, especially as a right-handed complement to lefties like Martin Perez and Marco Gonzales.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Making case for rotation spot
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Ortiz allowed three earned runs on three hits and three walks while striking out six across three innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers.
The stat line isn't particularly positive, but Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette provided more context for the outing by noting that Ortiz was struggling with his fastball velocity. Even without that, he settled in for a solid showing after allowing four baserunners and two earned runs in the first inning. Ortiz still has inconsistent command -- he has five walks across eight innings this spring -- but he has racked up 11 strikeouts in three Grapefruit League appearances. He's competing for the fifth rotation spot and has arguably made the best case for himself among the likes of Quinn Priester, Bailey Falter and Roansy Contreras.
Ortiz has shown good movement on his changeup and sinker early in camp, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
Ortiz had some hype heading into the 2023 season, but he fell flat and ended up spending a significant amount of time at Triple-A Indianapolis. He relies heavily on his fastball, sinker and slider, so developing another offering could be a key to him taking a step forward. Early on in camp, Ortiz has shown a greater comfort level throwing his changeup, and he drew a whiff with the pitch from Oneil Cruz in a live batting practice session Monday. He'll be battling for a spot in the rotation along with Roansy Contreras, Quinn Priester and Bailey Falter this spring.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Sent down to minors
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The Pirates optioned Ortiz to Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.
Ortiz put up a 4.78 ERA and 1.70 WHIP through 86.2 innings with the Pirates and was solid during his last outing Thursday, surrendering one run through five frames and picking up a win. He'll head back to Triple-A in favor of Cody Bolton, who was promoted from Indianapolis. Ortiz projects to be in the mix for Pittsburgh's Opening Day rotation in 2024.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Allows one run in win
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Ortiz (5-5) gave up one run on four hits and two walks across five innings, earning the win in Thursday's 3-2 victory over the Phillies. He struck out four.
Ortiz was able to settle down after a first-inning solo shot to Kyle Schwarber, keeping the potent Phillies lineup in check to secure his fifth win of the season. The young right-hander has split time between the starting rotation and bullpen this year, but has not yet clicked in either role. Ortiz pitched to a 4.78 ERA and 1.70 WHIP with 59 strikeouts across 86.2 innings in the majors while also logging 56.2 innings as a starter at Triple-A.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Pitches in bulk relief
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Oritz allowed three earned runs on four hits and two walks while striking out five across 3.2 innings Friday against the Reds. He didn't factor into the decision in the Pirates' 7-5 win.
After serving as a traditional starter for his last three turns through the rotation, Ortiz worked in bulk relief Friday. The results weren't impressive after he entered the game in the second inning, and he also worked inefficiently, needing 81 pitches to get 11 outs. Since rejoining the big-league club Aug 23., Ortiz has a 5.14 ERA and 1.171 WHIP with only a 21:20 K:BB across 28 frames. He'll likely make one more appearance prior to the close of the regular season, though his exact role remains unclear.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Walks six in loss
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Ortiz (4-5) took the loss Saturday, allowing four runs on six hits and six walks over 4.2 innings in a 6-3 loss against the Yankees. He struck out two.
Ortiz struggled to find the strike zone, doling out a season-high six walks while failing to log five innings of action. He now owns a 50:44 K:BB over 78 innings of action this season. However, Ortiz has allowed two or fewer runs in three of his last four appearances. He's tentatively scheduled to take on the Reds at Great American Ball Park for his next outing.
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Player Bio
HT/WT: 6-2, 240 lbs
Birthplace: San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic
