'Just be free, man': Priester flashes potential across six scoreless frames

SAN FRANCISCO -- By the bottom of the sixth Friday night, Quinn Priester felt the sinker was the only pitch that was working late, so he decided to lean into it against Jorge Soler. Either it would be hit on the ground for an inning-ending double play, or he could get a much-needed punchout with two runners on and one out in a scoreless game.

It ended up being the latter. Priester came in with three sinkers and got Soler to go down swinging.

“It felt like the only right decision there,” said Priester following a 3-0 loss to the Giants at Oracle Park. “We knew we had gotten him on a slider before. Felt like a really obvious time to go with the slider, so we just tripled up."

Priester would then get Michael Conforto to bounce a 2-2 changeup to first baseman Connor Joe to end the inning -- and his night. As he exited, he said something into his glove and exited back to the Oracle Park visitor’s dugout, looking noticeably relieved. After a turbulent start to his Major League career, six shutout frames for the former top-100 prospect was a very welcome sight.

“He showed today what I’ve seen a whole bunch of times coming up through the Minors,” said Jared Triolo.

Alas, Priester’s efforts would wind up being for naught. While he put up six scoreless frames with six strikeouts and a career-high tying 14 whiffs, the offense could not give him any support. The Pirates would end up stranding 11 runners, which included Bryan Reynolds striking out with the bases loaded in the seventh and grounding into an inning-ending double play in the ninth, before Patrick Bailey took David Bednar deep for a three-run homer to deliver a Giants win.

Offensive issues have bedeviled the Pirates for most of the season, causing them to not capitalize on their strong starting pitching early.

“We have to get runners in,” said Derek Shelton. “We left what, 11 guys on? You cannot do that. We have to put the ball in play, we have to drive runners in. I mean, we gave ourselves opportunities tonight. It wasn't like there wasn't opportunities for us to score a run. We just did not execute when we had those opportunities."

Failing to score caused the Pirates to dip below .500 for the first time this season at 13-14. It also meant that Priester didn’t get the W he deserved. Talking postgame, he was subdued by the loss, but looked more confident than he did after his first Major League start last Friday when he allowed three home runs.

He did make one change between those starts, but it wasn’t mechanical. He was going to go out there and “just be free, man.”

“I felt like I put a lot of pressure on myself that first one, and for good reason,” Priester said. “Obviously, wanted to help the team win and very excited to be back in the big leagues. But today, just tried to treat it like any other start."

The first two frames, Priester relied heavily on the slider and got five quick whiffs with it. He pulled back on it as the start progressed, but that first trip through the order gave most of the Giants’ lineup a look at what his slider looks like when it’s clicking. That gave him opportunities to expand his arsenal and where he could attack.

“I think it just opens up the entire plate,” Priester said. “You get chase off and under [the strike zone]. Really helps everything else get back onto the plate."

"I think that's the big thing, when the slider's in the zone,” Shelton said. “Then he's able to go strike to ball with it. And then it just makes the sinker so much more effective."

Friday marked Priester’s second Major League quality start, the other coming Sept. 24 of last year. With Marco Gonzales on the injured list and Paul Skenes still just a bit away from The Show, Friday was an important outing for Priester to show why he belongs in the Majors.

And if he’s able to keep pumping strikes and missing bats, that will continue to affect his confidence.

"Keeps building it,” Priester said. “Last week, we felt like we were one pitch away from a good one. This week, we were together and battled through some tough innings, and then also had our quick ones. Just continue to build on that, and put one foot in front of the other. Not do too much, and we'll be all right."