The Pittsburgh Pirates were not supposed to win this game. They have not been supposed to win many games in recent memory. But on opening day against the Chicago Cubs — a franchise that arrived at PNC Park with playoff expectations and a payroll that dwarfs Pittsburgh's by $140 million — a 22-year-old pitcher named Dominic Barraza threw eight innings of one-hit ball and dismantled a Cubs lineup that hadn't faced someone like him before. Because nobody had.
Barraza's velocity wasn't extraordinary — he topped out at 95 mph. What was extraordinary was his command. He threw 96 pitches, 71 for strikes, and induced 14 swings and misses on a slider that Cubs batters described as 'unhittable' in the postgame. The box score: 8 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 11 K. Pirates won 3-0. The kid got a standing ovation in a city that needed one.
MLB scouts who were at the game are already filing reports. Four teams have reportedly reached out to ask about Barraza's contractual status. He is under team control for five more years. Pittsburgh, for once, has found something worth protecting.
