The New York-Penn League held their All-Star game on Tuesday night in Troy, New York and it was Tristan Gray who threw the big haymaker in this contest. His seventh inning home run gave the South All-Stars the lead, and his ninth inning single gave them an insurance run in their 5-2 victory. For his hard work, he was named the All-Star game MVP.
With five Morgantown players on the South squad, there was a lot of action to follow. Deon Stafford was the starting catcher, while Bligh Madris came off the bench to play right field, Gray played shortstop, and both Ike Schlabach and Adam Oller got an inning of work on the mound.
Stafford caught the first four innings of the game and kept the opposing second baseman busy. He grounded out and popped out, both to second base. When he left for a defensive replacement, both Madris and Gray entered the game. Gray came in as the shortstop, a position he has played just three times this season. Madris has only played right field as a pro, so he was in his normal spot.
While Gray was busy, Madris didn’t have any highlights. He grounded out to second base and grounded out to third base in his only two at-bats. Madris handled two plays in the outfield.
Gray homered in the seventh inning to break a 1-1 tie. His RBI single in the ninth capped off a three-run ninth for the South. Gray handled all three chances he had in the field. The game had a total of five errors, none from the Morgantown players.
Ike Schlabach pitched the fifth inning when all of the defensive switches took place, so he didn’t get to throw to his own catcher. He started by allowing two singles to put runners on the corners. After the runner from first base was throwing out stealing, Schlabach got the next two batters to strike out swinging.
Adam Oller pitched the seventh after Gray gave him the lead in the top of the inning. He picked up a strikeout, then allowed a single and a double to put two runners in scoring position. That was followed by his teammates helping him out on defense, with a line out to Gray, followed by a fly ball to Madris to end the inning.
These players now get to travel back to Morgantown for a game tonight, though you may not see any of them in the lineup today due to the travel and festivities while their teammates had two days off.
By the way, if you read the first sentence and immediately got the “haymaker” reference, you’re a good person in my book.
PLAYOFF PUSH
The Pirates trail in their division by 4.5 games. They are eight games back for the second wild card spot.
Indianapolis is in first place, with a 5.5 game lead. Their season ends September 4th.
Altoona is in first place with a one game lead. Their season ends September 4th.
Bradenton is in third place, five games behind. Their season ends September 3rd.
West Virginia is tied for second place, three games out of first. Their season ends September 4th.
Morgantown is in first place, 1.5 games ahead. Their season ends September 7th.
Bristol has been eliminated from the playoffs.
The GCL Pirates are in third place, five games behind. Their season ends September 2nd.
The DSL Pirates are in fourth place, 3.5 games back. Their season ends August 26th.
PIRATES GAME GRAPH
Source: FanGraphs
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pittsburgh Pirates lost 3-1 to the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night. The Pirates will send Gerrit Cole to the mound for his 25th start. He has posted a 2.70 ERA in six starts since the All-Star break. On the road this season, Cole has a 3.95 ERA in 13 starts. He has faced the Brewers three times this season and allowed one run over seven innings each time. The Brewers will counter with right-hander Jimmy Nelson, who has a 3.72 ERA in 145.1 innings, with 162 strikeouts and a 1.25 WHIP. He has faced the Pirates twice this season and allowed four runs over eight innings.
In the minors, Nick Kingham makes the start for Indianapolis tonight. He has allowed three runs over his last 30.2 innings and is coming off of a complete game performance on 85 pitches. Brandon Waddell gets the start tonight for Altoona. Sean McCool wrote about him yesterday. Pedro Vasquez goes for Bradenton. He ranks fifth in the FSL with his 3.01 ERA and third with his 1.13 WHIP. Luis Escobar goes for West Virginia. Tim Williams wrote about him yesterday. Max Kranick is scheduled for the GCL Pirates and Bristol has off today. The DSL Pirates are playing a two-game series versus the first place team in their division, so they could move to 1.5 games back with two wins.
MLB: Pittsburgh (58-61) @ Brewers (62-59) 2:10 PM
Probable starter: Gerrit Cole (3.96 ERA, 36:132 BB/SO, 147.2 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (68-53) @ Buffalo (54-68) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Nick Kingham (3.70 ERA, 25:79 BB/SO, 90.0 IP)
AA: Altoona (63-57) @ Portland (57-61) 6:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Brandon Waddell (3.83 ERA, 22:39 BB/SO, 42.1 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (65-53) vs Daytona (44-72) 6:30 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Pedro Vasquez (3.01 ERA, 28:93 BB/SO, 122.2 IP)
Low-A: West Virginia (58-59) vs Lexington (54-65) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Luis Escobar (3.55 ERA, 50:142 BB/SO, 111.2 IP)
Short-Season A: Morgantown (31-22) vs State College (29-23) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable Starter: TBD
Rookie: Bristol (11-40) vs Elizabethton (31-22) 5:30 PM 8/17
GCL: Pirates (17-27) vs Yankees East (21-21) 12:00 PM
DSL: Pirates (34-28) vs Rangers1 (37-24) 10:30 AM (season preview)
HIGHLIGHTS
Here is the last out of five no-hit innings by Clay Holmes on Sunday.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
8/15: Gregory Polanco placed on disabled list. Elias Diaz recalled from Indianapolis.
8/15: Austin Meadows activated from disabled list. Jackson Williams assigned to Indianapolis.
8/15: Tomas Morales activated from Altoona disabled list.
8/14: Gage Hinsz activated from disabled list. Jake Brentz assigned to Altoona and placed on disabled list.
8/12: Phil Gosselin claimed on waivers by Texas Rangers.
8/10: Jhan Marinez claimed on waivers by Texas Rangers.
8/10: Nick King assigned to GCL Pirates.
8/9: Joey Terdoslavich placed on Indianapolis disabled list.
8/8: Matt Anderson placed on West Virginia disabled list. Blake Cederlind activated from disabled list.
8/8: Jerrick Suiter activated from Temporary Inactive List. Jake Brentz assigned to Bradenton.
8/7: Dovydas Neverauskas optioned to Indianapolis. George Kontos added to active roster.
8/7: Danny Ortiz sent outright to Indianapolis.
8/7: Gage Hinsz placed on disabled list. Alexis Bastardo released.
8/7: Carlos Munoz promoted to Bradenton. Brent Gibbs activated from West Virginia disabled list.
8/7: Austin Meadows assigned to Morgantown on rehab.
8/6: Max Moroff optioned to Indianapolis. Sean Rodriguez added to active roster.
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
Ten former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, including a player included in the worst trade the Pirates ever made.
Rick Reed, pitcher from 1988 until 1991. He eventually became a good Major League pitcher, but it was well after the Pirates released him in 1992. Reed pitched just 31 games for the Pirates over his four seasons.
Al Holland, pitcher for the Pirates in 1977 and 1985. He was acquired in exchange for Kent Tekulve in 1985. He was dealt away later in the season as part of a six-player trade with the Angels.
Curt Roberts, second baseman in 1954-56. First African-American player for the Pirates. Spent time in the Negro Leagues before playing in the minors. A few players born on this date met tragic endings at an early age. Roberts was hit by a car at age 40, while he was changing a tire.
Gene Woodling, 1947 outfielder. Spent 17 seasons in the majors, while also serving two years in the military during WWII.
Tiny Bonham, pitcher for the 1947-49 Pirates. He made the AL All-Star team twice while with the Yankees and won 103 career games. During the 1949 season, he went to the hospital for an appendectomy and found out he had intestinal cancer, passing away two weeks later at the age of 36.
Andy Bednar, pitcher for the 1930-31 Pirates. Pitched five Major League games, all for the Pirates. Died in a car accident in 1937 at the age of 29.
Bill Keen, first baseman for the 1911 Pirates. Got injured in his first game and was used strictly as a pinch-hitter after that. He is why I encourage people to read the link above for more information. Very interesting story about his short career, confusion with his name, and his minor league stats being attributed to someone else.
Gene Steere, shortstop for the 1894 Pirates (or Braves if you want to be correct) Hit .205 in ten games and committed five errors.
Willie Clark, first baseman during the 1898-99 seasons. Hit .306 in 57 games in 1898 and led all NL first baseman in fielding the next season.
Hank Robinson, pitcher for the 1911-13 Pirates. Won 28 minor league games in 1911 before he joined the Pirates. He had a 2.26 ERA in 1912 and 2.38 in 1913, before he was dealt to the Cardinals in an inexcusable trade that also saw Chief Wilson (the single-season triples leader and 1909 right fielder) and Dots Miller go to St Louis for Ed Konetchy, who Pirates’ owner Barney Dreyfuss had a man-crush on. I’m not just saying that because I’m still mad about them dumping Miller. Dreyfuss tried often to trade for Konetchy, to the point he finally gave up way too much to get him. His reward for the trade? Konetchy played poorly in 1914, then jumped to the Federal League after one season.
