Pirates eager to welcome Ramirez
PITTSBURGH — Aramis Ramirez joined the Pirates for their game Saturday night against the Washington Nationals at PNC Park and his new teammates were eager to welcome the 37-year-old third baseman.
“He’s been around for quite some time and he’s a veteran that knows what he needs to do. (I) look forward to him coming here and doing his job and bringing another bat into the lineup,” center fielder Andrew McCutchen said.
The Pirates acquired Ramirez on Thursday from the Milwaukee Brewers in a trade for minor league reliever Yhonathan Barrios.
Ramirez will be the starting third baseman while Josh Harrison recovers from surgery to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb. Harrison was injured July 5 and is expected to be out through the end of August.
Ramirez is the last teenager to play for the Pirates as he made his debut as a 19-year-old during the 1998 season. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs on July 22, 2003, with the Pirates on the brink in insolvency and needing to shed player payroll immediately.
Pirates second baseman Neil Walker was a rising senior at Pine-Richland High School when Ramirez was traded.
“People weren’t very happy about it,” Walker said with a smile.
However, the fans — and Pirates — are happy to welcome Ramirez back.
Ramirez has a .294 career batting average in 2,499 plate appearances with runners in scoring position over 18 seasons. That is 10 points higher than his overall average.
“He’s a guy that’s a professional hitter, a guy that hits really well, particularly with guys in scoring position,” Walker said. “That’s something that’s tough to do at this level.”
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It only seemed fitting for A.J. Burnett to win a game in which he allowed six runs and 11 hits this past Monday in light of how little run support the right-hander received earlier in the season.
Burnett became the first major league pitcher this season to surrender that many runs and hits and still get credit for the victory as he was able to get through six innings in the Pirates’ 10-7 win over the Royals at Kansas City.
Since 1969 just eight other Pirates pitchers have notched a win in which they were tagged for at least six runs and 11 hits. Esteban Loaiza won two such games, in 1995 and 1997.
Also on the list: Steve Blass (1969), Ken Brett (1974), George “Doc” Medich (1976), Francisco Cordova (1997), Chris Peters (1999), Josh Fogg (2003) and Kris Benson (2004).
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Right-hander Gerrit Cole, who is 13-4 with a 2.31 ERA in 19 starts, will make his final start of the month Sunday when he faces the Nationals. The last Pirates pitcher to have 14 wins by the end of July was Dock Ellis in 1971.
Ellis was 15-4 with a 2.54 ERA heading into August, but came up short of a 20-win season, finishing 19-9 after going 4-5 with a 4.28 ERA in his last 10 starts.