Three perfect innings with secondary stuff working to a near-perfection appeared to have set up Andre Jackson for a rock-solid follow-up to his rock-solid outing six days prior in Kansas City.
That previous start, in which he allowed just one run on two hits while striking out a career-high seven in nearly six innings of work, appeared to give some building blocks for a pitcher who had not started a major-league game in two seasons before arriving to the Pirates organization in 2023.
The opening three innings were positive. The inning and a third to follow were not.