In the Arizona Fall League on Monday afternoon, the Surprise Saguaros defeated Salt River by an 8-5 score. Three Pirates took part in this contest, two out of the bullpen.
Eric Wood was the only player from the Pirates in the starting lineup. He batted fourth and played third base. Wood came into the game tied for the league lead with a .385 average, while ranking second with a 1.065 OPS. He led off the second inning with a line drive single to center field. In the third inning, Wood struck out swinging to end the inning. In the sixth inning, Wood brought his team within one run with an RBI single to make it 3-2. He scored the tying run two batters later. He was hit by a pitch in the eighth inning, then scored on a grand slam. Wood finished the day 2-for-3 with two runs, an RBI and a HBP. He now has a .400 average.
Alex McRae came on in the third inning with two outs, a runner on first, and Surprise trailing 2-0. He got a line drive to end the inning. In the fourth inning, McRae struck out the first batter swinging. He then got a grounder back to the mound for the second out. That was followed by a line out to shortstop to end the inning. It was an 11-pitch inning, with five fastballs (topped out at 93.5 MPH), four sliders and two changeups.
McRae came back out for the fifth and started things with a fly ball to left field. He then struck out the next batter looking, before getting a grounder to second base to end the inning. This was a ten-pitch inning, with eight fastballs and two sliders. He topped out at 93.3 MPH this inning. That was the end of McRae’s day, retiring all seven batters he faced on a total of 26 pitches. He now has a 4.38 ERA over 12.1 innings, with 12 hits, three walks and six strikeouts.
Montana DuRapau was out next and he was trying to build on two solid outings after a few rough weeks to start his AFL season. He struck out JaCoby Jones on three pitches for the first out, before issuing an eight-pitch walk. While his hardest pitches were all out of the strike zone, DuRapau hit 93.8 MPH this inning, his best so far in the AFL. The next batter ran the count full in an at-bat that included two stolen bases. On the 3-2 pitch, DuRapau allowed a single to bring home the third run for Salt River. The next hitter flew out for the second out, then that was followed by a line drive single to center field.
DuRapau got out of the inning on a line drive to the center field. This was typical of what we saw from him in the AFL before Tim Williams brought him good luck last week. He threw 26 pitches in the inning, leaving a lot of pitches up in the zone and a few right down the middle. DuRapau allowed a run on two hits and a walk in his only inning today. His three fastest pitches all missed the strike zone, though it is good to see him between 92.9 and 93.8 with those offerings. He was more effective with his cutter in this outing. DuRapau now has a 6.75 ERA in eight innings, with ten hits and five walks allowed.
Surprise travels to Mesa tomorrow for an afternoon game.
