As virus hits Pirates' division, players wearing N95 masks while traveling

A week into the regular season, the Pittsburgh Pirates already have learned how rapidly conditions can change while trying to play during a pandemic.

For instance, while traveling to Wrigley Field for a three-game series that starts Friday night, the Pirates wore the more protective N95 masks medical personnel often wear, starting pitcher Mitch Keller said.

As opposed to cloth masks, which slow the spread of the virus by limiting the amount of respiratory droplets people expel into the air, N95 masks are more heavy duty, filtering out 95% of airborne particles.

The use of N95 masks in not mandated by MLB. The league has required only that players wear FDA-approved surgical masks while traveling.

The change comes as coronavirus has caused major disruptions to the MLB schedule, with the Miami Marlins experiencing an outbreak, the Philadelphia Phillies shutting down operations because of positive tests and a game between St. Louis and Milwaukee being postponed Friday, reportedly because of two covid cases on the Cardinals roster.

“I think it’s an eye-opening experience for us that it can happen to any team at any time, really,” starting pitcher Mitch Keller said in a video conference with reporters Friday afternoon. “We’ve been informed on how to prepare ourselves and to keep ourselves as safe as possible.

“One way we do that is just wearing our masks. I know we’ve all gotten the N95 masks now to help stop the spread and keep all of us safe when we’re on the road, especially.”

Manager Derek Shelton said the team has remained vigilant — from the front office to the dugout — dating to the outset of the covid-19 outbreak in March.

“We were the first team (in spring training) to have our place (in Bradenton, Fla.) sprayed down,” he said. “We’ve had a consistent message with our group about trusting each other. We’ve continued to hammer it.

“I hate team meetings, and I felt like we’ve had more team meetings in six games than we would over a whole season. They’re not team meetings to discuss anything that’s going on in the field. It’s just making sure we are abiding by protocols and continuing to discuss it.”

Friday’s announcement of the Cardinals-Brewers postponement also introduced a new wrinkle for the Pirates.

Previously, the outbreaks had been contained to teams in the NL East. Because of this season’s revamped schedule, the Pirates won’t play teams from that division.

The Cardinals, however, are in the NL Central with the Pirates. The teams played a three-game series at Busch Stadium last weekend.

“I wouldn’t say there’s any more concern, knowing that we’ve played them,” Keller said. “There’s a chance that any team we play has it. I think it just goes back to all of us knowing that we have to wear our masks everywhere, wash our hands and be distant.”

Shelton said even the most careful people sometimes can’t avoid the virus.

“You can contract this virus very easily in doing just general things,” he said, “even if you do follow the protocols.

“Where it becomes a problem is when we’re not. To my knowledge, and to our guys’ credit, we’ve done a good job of following protocols.”

He added players are concerned, but no one has voiced a desire to leave the team because of the virus.

“We haven’t had anybody show that level of concern,” he said. “We’ve had guys who are concerned, obviously. I’m concerned. I’m a parent.

“Any time we’ve had a guy show any concern, we’ve openly addressed it.”

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the use of N95 masks was mandated by MLB. The league has required only that players and staff wear FDA-approved surgical masks while traveling.

Jonathan Bombulie is assistant sports editor for the Tribune-Review. You can contact Jonathan at jbombulie@triblive.com or via Twitter @BombulieTrib. Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jerry by email at jdipaola@triblive.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.