Marco Gonzales picks up 1st win, leads Pirates in return from IL

It was anyone’s guess as to how Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Marco Gonzales’ first start in about three months would go Friday night against the Chicago White Sox.

Taking the mound at Guaranteed Rate Field after being sidelined since mid-April because of a left forearm muscle strain, Gonzales returned to action following a rehab assignment at Triple-A Indianapolis, which did not produce particularly strong numbers over two games.

Yet, before getting injured, Gonzales had an ERA of 2.65.

Though manager Derek Shelton limited Gonzales to a lighter workload of 60 pitches and five innings Friday, he looked like his April self, helping the Pirates to a 4-1 win.

Gonzales (1-0, 2.45 ERA) allowed seven hits and one run, striking out four with no walks while earning his first victory in a Pirates uniform.

“To be able to build back up, give us five good innings — and we were looking for five today — was really important,” manager Derek Shelton said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. “I think we just have to continue to build off it.”

Chicago began making contact off Gonzales early and went up 1-0 in the third after Luis Robert scored Tommy Pham, who doubled, with an RBI single.

The Pirates (46-48) caught an early break when White Sox starter Garrett Crochet, baseball’s strikeout leader entering the game, was pulled after only two innings.

Crochet struck out four with no hits in his brief outing, which ended as the 25-year-old prepares to make an All-Star Game appearance Tuesday.

The Pirates tied the score in the fifth, courtesy of a Jared Triolo RBI single off White Sox reliever Jonathan Cannon.

Triolo, who turned a solid 6-4-3 double play to help Gonzales escape a jam in the bottom of the fourth, plated Ke’Bryan Hayes, who singled.

Hayes took off for second on ball four to Joey Bart and took third when Chicago catcher Korey Lee committed a throwing error into the outfield.

After Bart got to third on a Jack Suwinski groundout, Michael A. Taylor put the Pirates up 2-1 with a sacrifice fly to deep left-center field.

In the sixth, Connor Joe got aboard with a sharply hit infield single and scored on a Nick Gonzales double, making the score 3-1.

The Pirates’ next batter, Hayes, put his club up 4-1, sending an RBI single up the middle to bring home Gonzales.

After Marco Gonzales’ departure, Carmen Mlodzinski entered the game in the sixth and pitched a scoreless frame.

“It was a good day,” Gonzales said. “Good to be back here with the boys and just competing at the highest level. It took a lot of time to get here, lot of hours put in, so it’s very gratifying.”

Mlodzinski stayed on in the seventh and got the job done efficiently again, retiring Chicago in order.

In the eighth, Colin Holderman got in a bit of trouble, allowing a single and a walk with no outs.

But the White Sox got no further than second base as Holderman got Robert to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Also returning from the injured list Friday was closer David Bednar, who took the hill in the ninth with a three-run lead.

Bednar looked sharp, recording a strikeout and retiring the White Sox in order while picking up his 17th save.