Who is Jared Jones? The Pirates right-hander was pulled during a perfect game bid after six flawless innings, sparking questions about the surprising decision.
Jones’ perfect game bid ended suddenly, with the 24-year-old already in the dugout. The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander was pulled after six flawless innings against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park on Wednesday night, and reliever Mason Montgomery allowed a hit to Ozzie Albies on his very first batter of the seventh.
The score remained 0-0 after the hit, meaning Jones’ work still stands as one of the cleanest starts of a comeback season built almost entirely around managing what his arm can handle.
Jones’ Perfect Game Ends on Bullpen’s First Batter
GettyATLANTA, GEORGIA – JUNE 06, 2026: Mason Montgomery #46 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches during the sixth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on June 06, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Jones finished with 18 batters retired in order, eight strikeouts and just 77 pitches thrown, 53 for strikes, to complete six hitless, walk-free innings. Zero hits. Zero walks. Zero hit batters, for six innings straight.
Pittsburgh turned to Montgomery for the seventh, sticking with the workload plan that had capped Jones near 80 pitches all year. Albies broke the bid immediately, singling with one out, and Montgomery’s outing ended scoreless despite the hit. Atlanta’s radio affiliate, 680 The Fan, confirmed the sequence in real time, reporting Jones’ removal after six perfect innings and Montgomery’s hit allowed to Albies with the score still 0-0.
GettyOzzie Albies #1 of the Atlanta Braves.
Jones’ Long Road Back to Pirates Rotation
Jones, a right-hander who bats left-handed and stands 6-foot, grew up in Whittier, California, and pitched at La Mirada High School before Pittsburgh took him in the second round, 44th overall, in the 2020 draft. He signed instead of honoring a commitment to the University of Texas.
He climbed the system quickly, reaching Double-A and Triple-A by 2023, and made the Pirates’ 2024 Opening Day roster. His debut came March 30, 2024, against the Miami Marlins, when he struck out 10 batters over 5â innings. A strong first half that season, a 3.56 ERA through mid-summer, ended when a right latissimus dorsi strain sent him to the injured list in early July. He returned in late August but scuffled badly down the stretch.
The bigger blow came in 2025. Jones underwent right elbow ligament reconstruction surgery that May and missed the entire season. He opened 2026 on the 60-day injured list and wasn’t activated until May 29. Since then the Pirates have capped his workload deliberately, building him back up one start at a time.
Entering Wednesday, Jones had compiled a 1-1 record and 5.28 ERA across seven starts this season, a modest line built entirely around caution rather than results, and hardly a hint of what six perfect innings against a playoff-caliber Braves lineup would look like. For his career, he now stands at 7-9 with a 4.36 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP and 163 strikeouts across 150â innings, numbers built on swing-and-miss stuff that touches triple digits when healthy. He reached those innings gradually, climbing from Low-A Bradenton in 2021 through High-A Greensboro, Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis, earning a MiLB.com Pirates Organization All-Star nod along the way before ever reaching the majors.
No Pirates pitcher has ever thrown a perfect game in franchise history, and Wednesday’s bid ended up as close as any Pittsburgh starter has come in recent memory.
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