The Scottsdale Scorpions sent Tyler Glasnow to the mound on Saturday afternoon, going up against Peoria, who was throwing Kyle Zimmer out there as his mound opponent. Recent scouting reports on the AFL, called Glasnow and Zimmer the two best looking pitchers in the league. Zimmer left the game after just one inning and pitch tracker had his fastball slower than normal, so the hyped match-up didn’t last long. Josh Bell and Dan Gamache were both in the starting lineup, as Scottsdale lost 4-3 in 11 innings to move to 5-6 on the season. They are off on Sunday.
Glasnow started the first inning by allowing an infield single. One pitch later, he allowed a line drive single to center field. Glasnow walked the third batter, but not before he picked off the runner at second base. He threw a wild pitch on a curve ball in the dirt after the walk, to advance both runners. On a 95 MPH fastball, Glasnow got the fourth place hitter to line to right field, which ended up being a double play with the lead runner out at home. He gave up two hits, a walk and threw a wild pitch, yet didn’t allow a run. He was 93-95 MPH with his fastball and threw four curves(76-79), three going for balls and one called strike.
The second inning started with a ground out to Dan Gamache on the first pitch. He got the second batter to strike out looking on a curve. Glasnow threw his first change-up this at-bat, resulting in a foul ball. He picked up his second strikeout to retire the side in order, this time swinging on a 93 MPH fastball. Glasnow threw just ten pitches in the inning, but again had trouble with the curve, throwing one of four for a strike.
Glasnow allowed a sharp single to center field on a curve to begin the third inning. He got the next batter swinging on a 93 MPH fastball. The third hitter reached on a bunt single, the fourth hit allowed by Glasnow. That batter was quickly erased on a double play started by Gamache to end the inning. Glasnow threw 15 pitches that frame, 11 of them were fastballs. That was the end of his outing. His fastball was mostly 93-95 MPH and he threw just one change-up all game. He threw a total of 38 pitches, 22 for strikes.
Josh Bell was at first base again and batting fourth. He came up in the first with two outs and a man on third base. Bell battled, fouling off three pitches, but he ended up grounding out to second base to end the inning. Bell also ended the third inning with a ground out to second base, this time with a man on second base. In the sixth inning, he hit his fourth double of the AFL season and came around to score Scottsdale’s second run. In the eight inning, Bell grounded out to second base for the third time.
If Bell had a game plan to ground out to second base as much as possible, he accomplished that goal with his fourth ground ball to second in the tenth inning. He ended the day 1-for-5 with a double and run scored. In the field, he committed his third error, a grounder in the seventh inning. He handled 14 other chances in the field cleanly.
Dan Gamache moved over to second base on Saturday, as he continues to flip between third base and second in the AFL. In his first at-bat, he flew out to center field. Gamache struck out in the fourth inning. He flew out to left field in his third at-bat, then walked in his fourth plate appearance. Gamache struck out again in the tenth inning. He was having a busy game in the field with great results until a throwing error in the seventh inning that led to a run. It was his first error of the AFL season.
Angel Sanchez made his second appearance in the AFL, coming into the league as a late addition. He followed Glasnow in the fourth inning and allowed one hit, a single to the lead-off batter. He got the last batter on a strikeout swinging with a 93 MPH fastball. His fastball was in the 92-94 MPH range and he went heavy with curves. Sanchez’s second inning lasted just seven pitches before he retired the side. He got two ground balls to Gamache and one back to him. Sanchez needed just 22 pitches for his two innings of work, 16 going for strikes.
Scottsdale continued to run out Pirates pitchers, calling on Adrian Sampson for the sixth inning. He had a quick inning, getting two grounders to Gamache and struck out the third batter to retire the side in order. That was the end of the day for Sampson, who has been on a limited pitch count out of the Scottsdale bullpen. He threw 12 pitches, nine for strikes and his fastball topped out at 92 MPH.
