In the Arizona Fall League on Saturday afternoon, the Surprise Saguaros won 6-3 over Scottsdale. This was the first time all season that all three position players for the Pirates were in the lineup at the same time. Tanner Anderson was the starting pitcher and Edgar Santana also pitched, so it was a busy day for coverage. For the first four innings, Surprise was facing pitcher James Kaprielian, who was just named as the fifth best prospect for the Yankees.
Eric Wood started the game at first base, the second time he has played the position in the AFL. He batted third in the order and drew a seven-pitch walk during his first plate appearance. Wood saw six pitches his second time up, this time hitting his third homer of the AFL season off a 3-2 fastball. He walked again in the fifth inning, then scored on a home run. Wood was called out on strikes in the eighth inning. He went 1-for-2 with two runs scored and has a .375 average.
Connor Joe batted sixth and played left field. He grounded out in his first at-bat. He grounded out again in the fourth, though this time it ended in a double play. Joe led off the sixth inning and reached on an error in center field, going to second base on the play. He scored the fifth run of the game for Surprise two batters later on a single. Joe was called out on strikes in the eighth, dropping him to a .192 average and leaving him 0-for-4 on the day.
Jin-De Jhang was behind the plate and he hit seventh in the order. He walked in the second inning with two outs and no one on base. Jhang singled on a line drive to center field in the fourth inning, then grounded out in the sixth inning. He struck out swinging in the eighth inning, giving him a .393 season average and a 1-for-3 day at the plate. The opposition went 3-for-3 in stolen bases.
Tanner Anderson started the game off with a walk on four pitches. That was followed one pitch later by a bunt base hit. Anderson then got a strikeout swinging on a seven-pitch at-bat for the first out. Two pitches later he got out of the inning on a double play. His fastball topped out at 92.8 MPH, which is lower than the consistent 93-94 he has been hitting in his first three starts. He was throwing almost all fastballs among his 14 pitches.
In the second inning, Anderson made fairly quick work of Scottsdale. He got a ground out, a fly out and a strikeout, throwing a total of nine pitches. Seven of his pitches were fastballs, and he topped out at 93.2 MPH this inning, though he was still sitting 90-92.
Anderson started the third inning with a ground out to second base, then allowed a double two pitches later. A wild pitch moved that runner to third base. Anderson went to a full count on the next batter, getting a grounder to shortstop for the second out, though the runner from third base scored the first run of the game. He had the next batter at an 0-2 count before throwing four straight balls to issue his second walk. Anderson ended the inning with a strikeout swinging on a full count slider. He threw 22 pitches in the inning, nearly matching the 23 he had between the first two innings.
Anderson started off the fourth with a strikeout swinging on a slider. The next batter doubled off a 3-1 fastball. That was followed by a liner to shortstop, which ended in an unassisted double play. Despite the lower velocity, Anderson had a nice day with one run on three hits and two walks in four innings. He threw 31 of his 57 pitches for strikes, picking up four strikeouts and posting a 4:1 GO/AO ratio. In 14.1 innings, he has allowed seven earned runs on 15 hits and four walks, with ten strikeouts.
Edgar Santana came on for the fifth inning and got a quick ground out from the lead-off batter. He then picked up a strikeout on an 87 MPH slider. That was followed by a single to left field, then another strikeout swinging on a slider. Santana topped out at 97.2 MPH twice. He threw 15 pitches with 11 going for strikes.
Santana allowed a double to start the sixth inning, then picked up his third strikeout swinging on a slider. That was followed by his fourth strikeout swinging on a slider for the second out. The runner stole third base during this at-bat. Santana switched it up a little and got the final out on a slider, with the batter looking at strike three this time instead of swinging. In 8.2 innings this AFL season, he has pitched shutout ball, while posting a 0:15 BB/SO ratio.
Surprise has off on Sunday. They return to action on Monday afternoon for a home game against Glendale. Starting on Tuesday, Tim Williams will provide live coverage of the AFL. He will cover four games, plus the Fall-Stars game next Saturday.
