PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates saw their starting pitcher exit early during his outing against the Los Angeles Angels at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, California.
Left-handed pitcher Bailey Falter left the game due to tightness in his lower back, the team confirmed. They added that Falter is being evaluated by the medical staff and that an update will be provided once more information is available.
Falter pitched four innings against the Angels, throwing 65 pitches. He allowed five hits and three earned runs while striking out five batters.
This marked his fifth start of the season. Over those five outings, he holds a 1-2 record with a 5.19 ERA in 26.0 innings, 20 strikeouts, seven walks, and a .258 opponents’ batting average.
Falter’s baseball journey started early in life. He was part of the U.S. national under-14 team that won the COPABE Junior Olympic Pan-American Championship in Venezuela in 2011.
A native of Chino Hills, California, Falter attended Chino Hills High School. In his senior year (2015), he posted a 6-2 record with a 1.20 ERA in 75.2 innings, racking up 97 strikeouts. As a sophomore in 2013, he also pitched a no-hitter, striking out 11 in an 11-0 victory over Bloomington Hills High School.
The Philadelphia Phillies selected Falter in the fifth round of the 2015 MLB Draft, taking him with the 144th overall pick. He signed with the Phillies for a $420,000 bonus, bypassing college ball at UC Santa Barbara, where he had committed.
Falter moved through the Phillies’ minor league system, spending 2016-2018 in various Single-A teams before advancing to the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils in 2019. There, he posted a 6-5 record with a 3.84 ERA in 77.1 innings, striking out 62 batters. However, he suffered an ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injury to his throwing arm in July, which sidelined him for the rest of the season, though he avoided Tommy John surgery.
The COVID-19 pandemic halted minor league play in 2020, preventing Falter from pitching that year.
He made his MLB debut on April 25, 2021, pitching two innings in a 12-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies. After being sent back down to Triple-A, he returned to the big leagues on June 15 and became a long reliever for the remainder of the season. Falter finished the year with a 2-1 record, a 5.56 ERA in 33.2 innings across 22 appearances, and a .262 opponents’ batting average.
In 2022, Falter bounced between the Phillies and their Triple-A affiliate, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. He posted a 6-4 record in 20 games, with 16 starts and a 3.86 ERA in 84.0 innings. He also impressed in the minors, going 4-1 with a 1.91 ERA in 47.0 innings for the IronPigs.
Falter was part of the Phillies’ postseason roster in 2022, making an appearance in the NLCS against the San Diego Padres, though his outing was brief, lasting just 24 pitches and giving up four runs.
His 2023 season with the Phillies was challenging, as he finished with an 0-7 record in eight games and seven starts, along with a 5.13 ERA in 40.1 innings. On May 15, the Phillies optioned him to the minors, and by August 1, he was traded to the Pirates in exchange for infielder Rodolfo Castro.
Falter made 10 appearances for Pittsburgh in 2023, including seven starts, and finished with a 2-2 record and a 5.58 ERA in 40.1 innings. In 2024, he became a full-time starter for the Pirates, making 28 starts with a 4.43 ERA over 142.1 innings, along with 97 strikeouts and 45 walks. His opponents’ batting average stood at .260.
Falter had a brief stint on the injured list in July 2024 due to left triceps tendinitis, missing only 24 days between starts.
In early January, the Pirates re-signed Falter to a one-year contract worth $2.2 million.
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