Jones, Mangum do their job to help Bucs get another win
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PITTSBURGH -- Jared Jones pitched six strong innings, Jake Mangum had an RBI double in the second inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the skidding Los Angeles Angels 1-0 on Friday night.
The MLB-worst Angels (53-88) lost for the 10th time in 11 games. The Pirates have won five of six games.
Jones (3-6) blanked the Angels on three hits to win for the first time in eight starts since beating Cleveland on July 18. He struck out nine, walked one, and threw 63 of 91 pitches for strikes.
Wilber Dotel pitched two innings, and Mason Montgomery worked the ninth to complete the four-hitter and the Pirates' ninth shutout of the season. Montgomery had his ninth save.
Ryan Johnson (3-8) was the hard-luck loser, giving up one run and four hits over six innings with six strikeouts and two walks. He has a 1.67 ERA in his last six starts and allowed zero or one run in five of those outings.
Prized rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin returned from the injured list for the Pirates and made an immediate impact when he scored the lone run from first base on Mangum's one-out double to right field in the second inning.
Griffin had been sidelined since July 6 after undergoing surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left ring finger. The Pirates signed the 20-year-old to a nine-year, $140-million contract, the richest in franchise history, in April.
The Angels hit back-to-back singles to open the top of the second, but Jones got Christian Moore to foul out, then struck out Jose Siri and Adam Frazier. The Halos have been shut out 12 times.
Roster moves
To make room for Griffin on the roster. Pittsburgh designated catcher Christian Bethancourt for assignment.
Additionally, the Pirates recalled right-handed pitcher Isaac Mattson from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned left-handed pitcher Brandon Eisert to Indianapolis.
The 20-year-old Griffin, who played in his last game with the Pirates on July 5 at Washington, was batting .276 (62-for-225) with 10 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 25 RBI, 16 walks, 20 stolen bases and 35 runs scored in 59 Major League games going into Friday night's game.
He was a combined 3-for-11 (.273) with two walks in three rehab games split between Double-A Altoona (one game) and Indianapolis (two games).
The 31-year-old Mattson, who was originally selected by Los Angeles (AL) out of the University of Pittsburgh in the 19th round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft, has a 4.91 earned run average and 34 strikeouts in 37 appearances with Pittsburgh this season.
Plans for 2027
The Pirates released their spring training schedule for the 2027 Grapefruit League season on Friday.
The schedule includes a total of 30 games, 15 of which will be played at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Florida. The Pirates will open up their 2027 spring schedule with a home game on Feb. 19 vs. Toronto.
The entire schedule is attached and can also be found at pirates.com/springtraining.
Up next
Angels southpaw Yusei Kikuchi (0-5, 5.65 ERA) faces right-hander Braxton Ashcraft (14-5, 3.59) on Saturday night in the middle game of the series.