![\"Don](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Kelly-1120x630.jpg\")
Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly stands in the dugout before a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo\/Matt Freed)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly stands in the dugout before a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo\/Matt Freed)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Pirates manager Don Kelly is a \u201cglass half full\u201d kind of guy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh flirted with disaster in the eighth inning of their 11-7 win over the Phillies<\/a> on Monday, June 29, allowing two runs and putting the go-ahead run on base. Embattled reliever Gregory Soto, who found himself at the center of the Pirates\u2019 bullpen blowup two days prior, allowed two runs, pushing his ERA to 13.50 for the month of June.<\/p>\n Yohan Ram\u00edrez managed to freeze Phillies\u2019 nine-hole hitter Justin Crawford on a curveball that just caught the outside edge of the plate \u2014 Crawford challenged the pitch unsuccessfully \u2014 to end the inning. Catcher Endy Rodr\u00edguez hit a three-run homer off former teammate Chase Shugart to give his bullpen more of a margin for error, saying Shugart tried and failed to trick him with a sweeper.\u00a0<\/p>\n The recurring relief issues could provide a reason for pessimism, a bullet dodged rather than a step in the right direction, but Kelly said he takes the positive view.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a glass half full guy, and I think that we\u2019ve seen our guys take steps forward. We need to continue to get better,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cI thought we threw the ball pretty well. We need to cut down on the walks and the free bases and find a way to dominate the strike zone.\u201d<\/p>\n The Pirates\u2019 bullpen ERA hovers near the bottom third of Major League Baseball; there\u2019s less room to debate their offense, which ranks in the top five with 5.04 runs scored per game. Pittsburgh trailed 5-0 after three innings but their bats didn\u2019t blink, chipping away at Phillies\u2019 starter Aaron Nola before blowing the game open with a six-run fifth.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t Blink<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a really good offense, and it\u2019s cool to see the way that we continue to chip away even when we\u2019re down,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cI think it\u2019s the confidence in the team that we\u2019re not out of it. Down five, on the road, there was no sense of panic in the dugout. \u2029It was just, \u2018let\u2019s get to work and find a way to claw ourselves back into this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Starter Braxton Ashcraft also played a role in the comeback, rebounding to complete six innings and retire 11 of the last 12 batters he faced after allowing five runs early.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt really just boils down to making better pitches, especially with two strikes,\u201d Ashcraft said. \u201cAs pitchers it\u2019s our job to limit damage. Damage is gonna come, we\u2019d be remiss to think that every outing is going to be six scoreless, seven scoreless. They\u2019re professionals too. Being able to limit damage when damage does come, and being able to swing the momentum back in my favor. That\u2019s the biggest part of being a starting pitcher, in my opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n For Kelly, the win reflects his team\u2019s identity over the course of the season.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way we\u2019ve gone through the season, ups and downs, I think today, just the game itself is a microcosm of that,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cJust really proud of the fight these guys show every single night.\u201d<\/p>\n With the Pirates\u2019 next 20 games coming against teams currently at or above .500<\/a>, they\u2019ll need to maintain that fight down the stretch. We\u2019ll know soon enough whether their optimism is well-founded.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMentioned in this article: Braxton Ashcraft<\/a> Don Kelly<\/a> Endy Rodriguez<\/a> Gregory Soto<\/a> Pirates<\/a> <\/p>\n