Hunter Barco had only experienced the positives of the major leagues until Saturday.
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ rookie left-hander debuted during the final week of last season. He pitched three scoreless innings in two relief appearances against the Cincinnati Reds.
Advertisement
Barco made his season debut on Saturday, and things weren’t so easy as the Pirates lost to the New York Mets 4-2 in 11 innings at Citi Field in New York.
Barco entered the game to start the bottom of the 10th inning with Pittsburgh leading 1-0. Though the Mets tied the game on Luis Torrens’ single. Barco did an outstanding job of keeping the score at 1-1.
The Mets had the bases loaded with none out, but Barco retired the top three hitters in the lineup. He got Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto to hit into force outs at home plate and Bo Bichette to fly out.
The Pirates went back ahead 2-1 in the top of the 11th on Bryan Reynolds’ infield single. Barco, though, couldn’t hold the lead as he walked Jorge Polanco, then gave up a game-winning three-run home run to Luis Robert Jr.
Advertisement
The loss dropped Pittsburgh to 0-2. The finale of the three-game series is on Sunday when Carmen Mlodzinski (5-8, 3.55 ERA in 2025) pitches for the Pirates against rookie Nolan McLane (5-1, 2.06).
Mlodzinski has pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings against the Mets in two career relief appearances with a 1-0 record. McLane has never faced Pittsburgh.
Relieving is still new to Barco, who started in 47 of his 54 minor-league appearances. He got an education on Saturday.
“It was definitely a crazy situation,” Barco said. “I had never come into anything like that. I really have to take the experiences out of it. I was lucky to get out of that 10th inning, and I got to give credit to Robert there. I executed a slider down and over the plate. It was down, but he just put a good swing on it.”
Advertisement
Pirates manager Don Kelly did not second-guess his decision to use the inexperienced Barco in a tight spot. Pittsburgh had already used high-leverage relievers Gregory Soto and Dennis Santana to keep the game scoreless after starter Mitch Keller pitched six strong innings in his season debut.
Keller allowed three hits, struck out three, and walked none. It was the 16th outing of Keller’s eight-year career in which he pitched at least six innings and allowed no runs.
“He did a good job getting that to the 11th, and Robert just got him at the end,” Kelly said of Barco. “It’s a tough spot on the road, extra innings, and I think he’ll learn a lot. You saw he’s a fierce competitor out there, doesn’t back down, found a way to push it to the 11th inning, and that’s what we love about him is his ability to compete on the mound.”
Pirates Roundtable also offers a fan community and message board. We’d love to have you join us to talk all things Pirates. Click the “Join” button at the top of the page to join our community for free.