Bailey Falter takes no-hitter into 7th, as Pirates beat Marlins for series sweep

Derek Shelton made no secret of the need for left-hander Bailey Falter to follow a bullpen game against the Miami Marlins by providing a strong start for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the series finale.

Falter went above and beyond, delivering the finest performance of his career by throwing six no-hit innings and 7 1/3 scoreless as the Pirates beat the Marlins, 3-1, on Wednesday afternoon before 10,252 at PNC Park.

Even as his teammates steered clear of Falter in the dugout as he locked in, his focus was not so much on the no-hitter but protecting the ’pen.

“No, I don’t really worry about that stuff,” Falter said. “My job is to go out there and put up zeroes and get those guys off the field as quickly as possible.”

The Pirates (70-76) completed a sweep of the three-game series, their first since taking a three-game series at the Chicago White Sox from July 12-14. The Pirates also swept the Marlins (54-92) in the season-opening, four-game series at Miami from March 28-31.

Falter (8-7) allowed two hits and three walks while striking out five, throwing 57 of his 93 pitches for strikes against a Marlins lineup loaded with seven right-handed hitters. Falter credited catcher Joey Bart for calling a good game, as he relied on his four-seam fastball and slider, which combined with his curveball to generate 14 of his 18 whiffs.

“He’s proven that he’s a major-league starter,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “Last year, we traded for him and gave him the opportunity in different situations, but I think the ability to execute and more importantly the ability to execute a lot of times against completely right-handed or right-handed dominant lineups, which are challenging for left-handers.”

It marked the fifth time in 32 starts for the Pirates that Falter pitched seven or more innings and served as his longest start since going 7 1/3 innings in an 11-5 win over the Atlanta Braves on May 24. Falter allowed three hits in 7 2/3 scoreless innings at the Chicago Cubs on May 18, but the Pirates lost 1-0.

“That’s about as good as we’ve seen him in two years,” Shelton said, “at a time where we needed a big start.”

It couldn’t have come at a better time for the Pirates’ depleted bullpen, as seven relievers pitched in Tuesday’s 6-4 win over the Marlins, and Dennis Santana and Aroldis Chapman were unavailable for high-leverage situations after pitching in back-to-back games.

“That was the biggest thing for me after having the bullpen game last night, I knew that I was going to have to come out here and do my job,” Falter said. “I’m just happy I got that done for the bullpen.”

Falter struck out the side in a 10-pitch first inning and fanned four of the first five batters he faced. He didn’t require more than a dozen pitches to get through his first four innings on a day when Shelton noted that the Pirates bullpen was “taxed,” causing him to count innings and wonder whether Falter would cover enough.

Falter’s counterpart, Marlins lefty Jonathan Bermudez, wasn’t as effective in his first major-league start. After Bryan Reynolds doubled to right, Joey Bart was hit by a pitch and Nick Gonzales singled. Then Oneil Cruz drew a bases-loaded walk, and Connor Joe hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Bart to make it 2-0.

Jared Triolo hammered a 2-0 fastball for his eighth home run to lead off the second inning, giving the Pirates a three-run lead.

The Marlins pulled Bermudez after allowing three runs on three hits and one walk in two innings, only for John McMillon to leave the game with right elbow tightness after giving up a leadoff single to Gonzales in the third.

That forced Miami manager Skip Schumaker to turn to Xzavion Curry, who retired 13 of the 15 batters he faced in 4 2/3 scoreless innings.

Falter didn’t give up a hit until one out in the seventh inning, after Otto Lopez drew a leadoff walk and Jake Burger flied out to center. Jonah Bride hit a first-pitch fastball for a flare to left field that Billy Cook caught on a bounce and threw to Jared Triolo at third to tag Lopez out. Falter fielded a comebacker by Jesus Sanchez for the final out, then tipped his cap as he walked off the field to a standing ovation.

Shelton sent Falter back out for the eighth, where Christian Pache led off with a line drive single to center. Falter was finally pulled after Cruz made a spectacular sliding catch to rob Kyle Stowers of a hit, and walked off to another ovation.

Colin Holderman relieved Falter to get the final two outs in the eighth. David Bednar entered in the ninth, giving up a leadoff double to Lopez in the ninth before Burger reached on a fielding error by shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Bednar recovered to strike out Jonah Bride and Sanchez, but Pache singled through the middle to drive in Lopez to cut it to 3-1.

Shelton pulled Bednar, opting for lefty Jalen Beeks to face the lefty-hitting Stowers, who reached on a slow roller to second base to load the bases. But Beeks got Xavier Edwards to fly out to right to earn his 10th save and end a game that was more about how Falter saved the bullpen than the other way around.

“That was big time personally for me, too, especially after my last three starts haven’t been really good,” Falter said. “To go out there and do that today, it’s a confidence booster for sure and I’m just happy we helped out the bullpen today.”