Pirates' Thomas Harrington: Earns lengthy save Monday

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Harrington allowed three runs on four hits and one walk over four innings in Monday's 8-4 win over St. Louis. He struck out five and earned his first MLB save.

After making a four-inning start in his MLB debut last Tuesday against the Royals, Harrington shifted to the bullpen but ended up piggybacking starter Carmen Mlodzinski, who covered five innings before the rookie right-handed finished out the game. Harrington entered with a 4-1 lead and earned the save in the Pirates' four-run win, despite a shaky performance. Harrington has now given up nine earned runs and holds a 7:5 K:BB through eight innings, so he hasn't made a strong case for a more permanent spot in the Pittsburgh rotation just yet. That said, the Pirates have been committed to building in at least five days of rest between starts for Paul Skenes, so Pittsburgh could move back to a six-man rotation that includes Harrington on Friday, when the team begins a stretch of 10 games in as many days.