PITTSBURGH -- Bailey Falter established himself as a core member of the Pirates’ rotation last season, but 2025 has been a mixed bag for the southpaw. He’s tossed a couple of quality starts, but has also been beaten up a couple of times, including this past road trip. His start in Anaheim was abbreviated because of lower back tightness, but in his two outings in California last week, he allowed 10 runs (eight earned) over 8 1/3 innings.
That’s not going to fly for someone with a competitive edge like Falter. Not when this rotation has this high of expectations.
“I think my last couple starts, the starting staff has been picking up me,” Falter said. “I felt like the weak link right now.”
Falter certainly wasn’t the weak link Saturday, throwing seven innings of two-hit ball with just one run allowed. It wasn’t enough for the Pirates to get back into the win column, as three double plays on offense and a spectacular trip around the bases for Fernando Tatis Jr. in the ninth ended up resulting in a 2-1 Padres win at PNC Park Saturday.
Getting Falter back on track is a step to trying to reverse this cold stretch the Pirates are experiencing. For him, that starts with the fastball, and despite the rain interfering with what should have been a normal routine, it felt good in the bullpen, and he and catcher Joey Bart opted to attack with it.
Last season, Falter’s fastball usually played its best whenever he was throwing it to his gloveside, or inside to right-handed hitters. Not only was he able to do that Saturday, he consistently was able to hit the upper corner of that zone with his four-seam fastball and the lower corner with his sinker:
“I know whenever we’re able to establish the fastball in and paint those corners, it usually sets us up for some good success,” Falter said.
Location and execution are key, but there was another factor in play Saturday: timing.
Falter also tweaked his delivery out of the stretch Saturday, setting his glove lower and then bringing it up, rather than just keeping it up and then going through his delivery. This isn’t foreign to him and something that he’ll occasionally break out, and it gives him another opportunity to try to get the hitter uncomfortable.
“I just try to do it with every pitch, as much as possible, to not be in the same routine, the same motion,” Falter said. “I try to mess with the timing, mess with the hitters a little bit. It’s like a game of chess. … I feel like everyone is geared up for the heater, so I try to play the mind game as much as possible.”
Falter did just that Saturday, with his one hiccup being a hung slider that Manny Machado took deep. It’s hard to find much fault in a two-hit, two-walk performance when you strike out a half-dozen.
It helps to not feel like the weak link.
“My job is to go out there and give this team the best chance to win,” Falter said. “I’m able to sleep easy and rest my head at night knowing that I went out there and [was] able to give this team a chance. That’s all I try to do every five, six days.”
Falter’s issue this year has been consistency. He’s had some great outings, but has yet to string them together. That’s plagued many a Pirate so far this year, hence their 12-22 start. But if there’s optimism that Falter can get things going, he sees the same for his team.
“I know we’re struggling right now, but I have a good feeling that the boys are in here every single day working hard, not taking anything for granted,” Falter said. “It’s a long year. We’re going to turn this thing around pretty soon. I’ve got full confidence in that and every single one that’s in this locker room.”