Prospect Watch: Duncan Throws Five Shutout Innings in Return from Disabled List

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Brandon Waddell was having trouble throwing strikes on Thursday night. Then when he did throw the ball over the plate, it got hit hard. He walked five batters and gave up four extra-base hits in a 6-1 loss in Trenton. Waddell went six innings despite giving up runs in three consecutive innings and running up his pitch count to 101 pitches, with 56 for strikes. Waddell had six strikeouts and a 7:2 GO/AO ratio, though four of those strikeouts came against lefty Tyler Wade, who had trouble laying off the curveballs in the dirt from the southpaw.

Altoona started the game with singles by Kevin Newman, Erich Weiss and Harold Ramirez, with the latter bringing home Newman with a run before a single out was recorded. Altoona wouldn’t score again, going 0-for-11 the rest of the game with runners in scoring position and stranding ten runners on base. Newman went 3-for-4 with a double and a walk. Weiss added another hit, while Barrett Barnes extended his on base streak to 22 games with a single.

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Bradenton trailed 1-0 after seven innings on Thursday and ended up with the 5-1 victory over St Lucie. Stephen Tarpley started and went six inning, allowing one run on seven hits and two walks. The lone run scored on a solo homer to start the second inning. Tarpley had five strikeouts and a 9:2 GO/AO ratio. He now has a 4.18 ERA in 71 innings this season. Henry Hirsch got the win with two scoreless innings and Junior Lopez struck out the side in the ninth on 13 pitches.

Tito Polo, Jordan Luplow, Chase Simpson, Michael Suchy and Wyatt Mathisen each had two hits in this game. Polo hit his 16th homer of the season and stole his 28th base. He also walked, singled and scored two runs. Luplow hit his 18th double, walked and drove in a run. Simpson drove in two runs, connecting on his 15th double. Mathisen is 11-for-32 in his last ten games, raising his season average to .292 through 20 games.

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West Virginia was rained out on Thursday. They will play a doubleheader tomorrow.

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Morgantown lost 3-2 on Thursday, as all three Auburn runs were unearned. Cam Vieaux started the game and went six innings, allowing two of those unearned runs on four hits, no walks and a hit batter. He had four strikeouts, a 9:3 GO/AO ratio, and needed just 69 pitches (47 strikes) to get through his outing. The sixth round pick now has a 3.38 ERA in 37.1 innings. Scooter Hightower pitched the final two innings and took the loss.

The Black Bears didn’t get their first hit until the seventh, then put together three in a row for their only runs. Will Craig broke up the no-hitter with a single, then scored on a Kevin Krause double. Albert Baur singled, then Krause scored on a wild pitch. Ty Moore added a double in the eighth inning for their fourth and final hit.

Stephen Alemais committed an error in the fifth than led to two unearned runs, while Will Craig’s 11th error of the season led to the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh.

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Bristol won game one of a doubleheader 4-2 over Elizabethton, behind a strong spot start from reliever Mike Wallace. The Pirates scored all four of their runs in the fifth inning of a game that took just 91 minutes to play.

The scoring for the Pirates started with an Alexis Bastardo double. He moved to third base on a single from Brent Gibbs, then Gibbs stole second base. Julio de la Cruz singled to score Bastardo, then Raul Siri tripled to score both de la Cruz and Gibbs. Siri would score on a Garrett Brown ground out. In three plate appearances, Gibbs had two hits and was hit by a pitch.

Wallace made his first start of the season, though he did throw 4.2 innings in relief earlier this month. On Wednesday night, he allowed two runs on six hits and two walks in five innings. He had three strikeouts and a 6:3 GO/AO ratio. Geoff Hartlieb faced the minimum over the final two innings for the save.

Game two was suspended in the bottom of the first and will be finished on Friday.

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The GCL Pirates lost 3-2 in 11 innings on Thursday afternoon. Starter Domingo Robles had a nice outing, giving up one run on four hits and no walks over five innings. He threw five shutout innings in his last start and hasn’t walked a batter in any of his last three outings. Robles was followed by Brian Sousa, who tossed two shutout innings. The Pirates took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth, but Oddy Nunez couldn’t hold it, then he lost the game in the 11th inning.

The Pirates tied the game early with a run in the bottom of the third. Victor Ngoepe tripled to lead-off the inning, then scored two batters later on a Henrry Rosario ground out. In the eighth inning, Felix Vinicio singled to start the frame. A sacrifice bunt moved him to second base, then a wild pitch got him to third. He scored on an RBI ground out from Boomer Synek. The Pirates went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. Synek had two hits and a walk.

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The DSL Pirates lost 6-1 to the Cubs1 on Thursday with their ace on the mound. Leandro Pina had allowed just two earned runs all season coming into this game. While he pitched well in this start, it still ended up being all the runs the opposition would need. Pina allowed two runs on five hits and a walk in five innings.He had three strikeouts and a 3:5 GO/AO ratio. He now has an 0.82 ERA in 42 innings, and the walk he allowed was just his fourth of the season.

The offense was quiet in this game except for Jeremias Portorreal, who had a single, a double and a walk, while driving in the lone run. He is 9-for-22 in his last five games, sending his season average from .190 to .236 over that span. Two singles from Francisco Mepris and another from Samuel Inoa accounted for the only other hits by the Pirates. Cristopher Perez drew a walk and scored the team’s only run. Rodolfo Castro committed two errors at shortstop, giving him 28 on the season. He is also 3-for-27 in his last ten games.