LOS ANGELES -- It has been over a month since Roansy Contreras moved out of the Pirates' rotation and into the bullpen in what has always been billed as a temporary move. The team views him as a starter in the long term, but the demotion was a way to try to get him on track.
And a little more than a month in, it's hard to see exactly how, or if, the right-hander is making strides to getting back to the rotation.
Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium was one of the tougher outings to watch for the Pirates' struggling 23-year-old right-hander, not just because he allowed a pair of home runs in his lone inning pitched that played a huge part in the team's 6-4 loss to the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, but because the pure stuff he possessed a year ago has just not been there, especially the fastball.