PITTSBURGH — Jared Jones had one of his best starts since returning from elbow surgery, and Konnor Griffin made his presence known in his first game off the IL as the Pirates beat the Angels 1-0 at PNC Park on Friday night.
Bottom 2nd, 1-0 PIT:Konnor Griffin scored from first base on Jake Mangum's double to right field off Ryan Johnson (3-8). Griffin stumbled around third but slid head first into home to just beat the throw and give the Pirates (70-72) the advantage.
Jared Jones (3-6) didn't have to work from the stretch much, but he wiggled out of a big jam in the second inning. The Angels (53-88) had runners on the corners with no outs, but Jones prevented a run from scoring thanks to a foul out and a pair of punchouts.
Jared Jones threw a season-high 91 pitches and matched a season-high with six innings and nine strikeouts. He blanked the Angels on three hits and only one walk.
The Pirates had lost each of Jared Jones' last seven starts dating back to the first game of a doubleheader in Cleveland on July 18. Jones had gone 0-5 during that time.
Jared Jones: 6.0 innings, three hits, no runs, one walk, nine strikeouts, 91 pitches/63 strikes
Wilber Dotel: 2.0 innings, two hits, no runs, one walk, two strikeouts, 34 pitches/24 strikes
Bryan Reynolds: 2 for 4, one double
Jake Mangum: 1 for 3, one double, one RBI
The Pirates improved to 7-3 over their last 10 games.
Mason Montgomery notched his ninth save of the season.
The Pirates reinstated SS Konnor Griffin from the 60-day injured list. C Christian Bethancourt was designated for assignment. Additionally, the Pirates recalled RHP Isaac Mattson from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned LHP Brandon Eisert.
Prior to the start of the game, the Pirates honored their 2026 Hall of Fame inductees in a pregame ceremony. The class consists of SS Jack Wilson , LHP John Candelaria and LHP Wilbur Cooper.
RHP Braxton Ashcraft (14-5, 3.59 ERA) starts for the Pirates in the second game of the series on Saturday night. LHP Yusei Kikuchi (0-5, 5.65 ERA) gets the ball for the Angels. First pitch: 6:40 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh/93.7 The Fan.
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