The New York-Penn League held their All-Star game on Tuesday night and one player from the Pirates/Morgantown received some high praise. First the recap, and three players from the Black Bears were in the starting lineup. Kevin Mahala was the DH, while Sandy Santos played right field and pitcher Danny Beddes was on the mound.
Beddes put his team down early, serving up a home run to the first batter, followed by a single, triple and a wild pitch to bring home three runs total. He settled down in the second, getting two grounders and a strikeout to retire the side in order. The Pirates did pretty good with pitchers starting All-Star games. Leandro Pina started the DSL game, Mitch Keller started the South Atlantic League game, and Tyler Glasnow was picked as the starter for the IL game, but his Major League debut got in the way.
Brandon Bingel followed three innings later and got three consecutive ground outs to end his only inning quickly. He has been quite impressive for a late round pitcher, who doesn’t fit the draft mold of the Pirates. Bingel is only 5’10”, so he isn’t going to get much downward plane on his pitches, at least not compared to the 6’3″ and 6’4″ pitchers the Pirates usually draft. That being said, he made quick work of three All-Stars, and he has allowed one earned run in 18 innings this year. Fun fact because I like baseball history: A single back in the early days of baseball was referred to as a bingle. Not sure why/when that ever stopped, but it needs to come back. I now return you to the NYPL All-Star game news already in progress.
Sandy Santos batted twice, hitting a double and striking out. He was replaced in the bottom of the fifth on defense by teammate Hunter Owen, who batted twice in the game. In the sixth, he put his team up 8-3 with a sacrifice fly. In the eighth, he flew out to center field.
During batting practice, catcher Kevin Krause apparently put on quite the show, getting the attention of Hudson Belinsky from Baseball America.
https://twitter.com/hudsonbelinsky/status/765677635892547584
That’s a nice compliment for Krause, considering that he was talking about all of the hitters from two teams of All-Stars. The opposition apparently took notice as well. Krause came on as the catcher in the bottom of the fifth. In the sixth, he drew a lead-off walk. In the seventh, he walked again. In the ninth, you guessed it, he walked again. Krause ended up scoring one run and not getting an official at-bat.
Kevin Mahala flew out to center to end the second inning and picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly in the fourth. He was pinch-hit for in the sixth inning.
Belinsky also tweeted about Danny Beddes here, mirroring the live report Tim Williams had a little over a week ago.
The good guys won 9-5, and all six Morgantown players had to return back home right after the game, as the NYPL schedule starts right back up today. The Black Bears play straight through to the end, 20 games in 20 days.
** Altoona lost a game off their schedule yesterday due to rain. The first game of yesterday’s doubleheader was suspended and the second game was canceled. They will finishing the suspended game on Thursday. Also on Thursday, Nick Kingham will make his debut with Bradenton. I mentioned yesterday that if he started pitching right away, that would give him a chance to make five more starts, which would include one playoff game. If you missed it from last night, Yeudy Garcia was placed on the disabled list. I talked to him late last night and he expects to miss just one start. (UPDATE 1:00 PM: I was just told that Nick Kingham will start today for Bradenton, weather permitting of course. Tanner Anderson will start game two)
Keep in mind when you look at the Playoff Push section that each of the top five affiliates have about 20 games left, while Bristol and the GCL both end on September 1st.
PLAYOFF PUSH
The Pirates trail the second wild card spot by one game.
Indianapolis is in second place in their division, trailing by eight games. They trail by ten games for the lone wild card spot.
Altoona leads their division by four games. The top two teams in the division go to the playoffs, with the first place team getting the home field advantage in the first round.
Bradenton won the first half title. They have home field advantage in the playoffs.
West Virginia is tied for fourth place in their division, trailing first by three games.
Morgantown is tied for fourth place in their division, trailing first place by 12 games. They are 7.5 games back for the lone wild card spot.
Bristol is in fourth place, trailing by 7.5 games. The top two teams in each division go to the playoffs.
The GCL Pirates are three games back in their division. This is the only league where you have to win your division to make the playoffs.
The DSL Pirates have been eliminated from the playoffs. Their season ends August 27th.
PIRATES GAME GRAPH
Source: FanGraphs
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pirates won 4-3 over the Giants on Tuesday night. They will send Ivan Nova to the mound this afternoon for his third start since joining the Pirates. He allowed one run on nine hits and no walks over 5.1 innings against the Dodgers in his last start. In his first game with Pittsburgh, Nova gave up three runs over seven innings, also with no walks. The Giants will counter with Matt Cain, who has a 5.47 ERA in 79 innings, with 62 strikeouts and a 1.57 WHIP. In his last start, he allowed five runs on ten hits over four innings against the Orioles. His two prior starts were both against the Nationals. In those games, he threw ten shutout innings, including five no-hit innings on July 31st.
In the minors, it’s a strong day for pitching and we don’t even know half of the starters. Clay Holmes is scheduled to get the start in game one of Altoona’s doubleheader. He has allowed two runs or less in ten of his last 11 starts. Gage Hinsz starts for West Virginia. He has gone at least five innings in all 13 of his starts. Hinsz has 21 strikeouts in his last 15.1 innings.
Frank Duncan is coming off a start in which he threw eight shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk, with three of those runners coming with two outs in the eighth. He is approximately 11 innings short of qualifying for the ERA title, otherwise he would rank third in the International League. I plan to watch both Hinsz and Holmes pitch on MiLB.tv, while Brian Peloza will cover Indianapolis live.
Altoona and Bradenton have doubleheaders today. Bradenton was supposed to play a doubleheader yesterday, but due to rain, it was changed to today. They played just one game last night. Bristol has off today.
MLB: Pittsburgh (61-56) @ Giants (66-53) 3:45 PM
Probable starter: Ivan Nova (2.92 ERA, 0:7 BB/SO, 12.1 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (63-62) vs Louisville (60-65) 1:35 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Frank Duncan (2.20 ERA, 21:74 BB/SO, 90.0 IP)
AA: Altoona (66-53) @ Portland (45-73) 5:00 PM DH (season preview)
Probable starter: Clay Holmes (4.02 ERA, 54:92 BB/SO, 123.0 IP) and Alex McRae (5.92 ERA, 21:46 BB/SO, 62.1 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (61-58) vs Palm Beach (50-69) 5:00 PM DH (season preview)
Probable starter: TBD
Low-A: West Virginia (61-59) @ Lexington (44-76) 12:35 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Gage Hinsz (3.31 ERA, 17:54 BB/SO, 70.2 IP)
Short-Season A: Morgantown (25-31) vs Vermont (21-35) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable Starter: TBD
Rookie: Bristol (22-30) vs Johnson City (30-23) 7:00 PM 8/18 (season preview)
GCL: Pirates (19-25) vs Tigers West (24-22) 12:00 PM (season preview)
DSL: Pirates (26-36) vs Yankees1 (29-33) 10:30 AM (season preview)
HIGHLIGHTS
Here is the walk-off grand slam from Alen Hanson on Monday night, his seventh home run of the year.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
8/15: Yeudy Garcia and Chase Simpson placed on disabled list.
8/15: Hector Garcia assigned to GCL Pirates on rehab.
8/15: Nick Kingham and Justin Topa assigned to Bradenton.
8/14: Tyler Glasnow assigned to Altoona on rehab.
8/14: Jason Creasy assigned to Altoona.
8/12: Chris Stewart assigned to Altoona on rehab.
8/10: Christian Kelley promoted to Bradenton. Raul Hernandez assigned to West Virginia.
8/10: John Kuchno assigned to Altoona.
8/9: Chad Kuhl promoted to Pirates. Curtis Partch optioned to Indianapolis.
8/9: Erik Lunde retired.
8/9: Kyle Lobstein placed on disabled list. Kelvin Marte activated from disabled list.
8/9: Raul Hernandez assigned to Bradenton.
8/8: Delvin Hiciano assigned to GCL Pirates on rehab.
8/8: Josh Outman assigned to Indianapolis.
8/7: Austin Meadows activated from Indianapolis disabled list.
8/6: Arquimedes Caminero traded to Mariners for two players to be named later. Curtis Partch recalled from Indianapolis
8/6: Jason Creasy assigned to Morgantown on rehab.
8/6: John Kuchno assigned to Indianapolis. Josh Outman assigned to Altoona.
8/6: Chris Harvey assigned to Morgantown
8/3: Colten Brewer suspended.
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
Five former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, including three who played for playoff teams and one who had a very brief career.
Chad Quall, 2012 pitcher. Came over from the Yankees at the trade deadline and really struggled, allowing 11 runs in 13.2 innings
Alex Cole, 1992 outfielder. The Pirates traded for Cole on July 4th and he went to right field, where he hit .278 in 64 games. Went 2-for-10 with three walks in the postseason.
Bill Landrum, closer from 1989 until 1991. Had a 1.67 ERA in 81 innings, with 26 saves in 1989. Had a 2.13 ERA the following year. Saved 17 games in 1991. Pitched three playoff innings between 1990-91, giving up one run.
Johnny Rawlings, second baseman from 1923 until 1926. Played 219 games for the Pirates, hitting .272, with 97 runs scored. Never won a Gold Glove, but he was an excellent fielder.
Arch Reilly, third baseman on June 1, 1917. His regular job was as a college math teacher and he didn’t join the Pirates until he was done with work that year on May 28th. He played one inning at third base in his only game, handling one play. He started at third base two days later in an exhibition game, which were often played during the season back then. Reilly was released to the minors the next day and he never appeared in the majors again.
His story coincides with a player named Marcus Milligan. During that exhibition game Reilly started, Milligan pitched the last four innings. That was the only game he played for the Pirates before also getting released to the minors with Reilly. Unfortunately for Milligan, he never got a chance to get into a real MLB game. He passed away in 1918 in a plane crash while training for WWI at the age of 22. You can read more about Milligan here.
On this date in 1971, Bill Mazeroski doubles for his 2,000th hit. He becomes the seventh player to collect 2,000 hits in a Pirates uniform. Willie Stargell is the only player to reach that mark since. Roberto Clemente was previously the last one to reach that goal with the Pirates before Mazeroski.
