Pirates have likely seen the best days for Jason Grilli

Have the Pirates seen the best days for Jason Grilli? At age 36 you to have wonder.

Grilli gave up the decisive homer in the Pirates 5-4 loss to the Cubs Friday night and since coming off the disabled list, Grilli is showing no signs of being a pitcher the Pirates can count on in pressure situations.

Most concerning is Grilli’s down velocity as his fastball is sitting around 90-91. Manager Clint Hurdle continues to insist that he wants to get Hurdle back into the closers role but that looks like just wishful thinking at this point.

“We’ve got to keep getting him out there on somewhat of a consistent basis if we want to get him better,” manger Clint Hurdle said. “He’s not going to get better not pitching.”

In the midst of a pennant race, the Pirates can’t be messing around and throwing Grilli out there in the hopes that he gets back to form. Hurdle has to put his best relievers on the mound and Grilli right now isn’t one of them.

Grilli has been trending down as a reliever since June, posting a 3.00 ERA in June, 6.35 ERA in July and now 11.57 ERA in September.