The Glendale Desert Dogs came into Wednesday’s game with an 8-10 record on the season. That put them three games out of first place with 12 games left on the schedule. They had all three hitters from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the lineup on Wednesday against Salt River, plus JT Brubaker also made an appearance out of the bullpen. Glendale lost 6-0, with Brubaker taking the loss, although most of the damage happened after he left.
Kevin Kramer batted lead-off and struck out to start the game. He grounded out to first base in the third inning, then was called out on strikes in the sixth inning. Kramer’s day didn’t get any better in the eighth, striking out for the third time. He finished 0-for-4, dropping him to a .225 average. He handled a pop out and a ground out in the field, his only two chances on the day.
Logan Hill hit seventh and was the DH in this game. He doubled on a line drive in the second inning, his second double of the fall. He popped out to the catcher in the fifth, then struck out swinging to end the seventh. Hill walked in the ninth with two outs to extend the game. The double broke a 1-for-22 streak, raising his average to .171 through 12 games.
Mitchell Tolman batted ninth. He grounded out to second base in each of his first two at-bats, the first time starting the third inning and the second time it ended the fifth inning. Tolman walked in the eighth, then had a chance to help his team in the ninth. He ended up striking out with the bases loaded and two outs to end the game. He’s hitting .184 through 11 games.
JT Brubaker came in to pitch the fifth inning with a 0-0 score. This was the second time we had PITCHf/x available for a game, though no Pirates were used during that first game. The first pitch by Brubaker was a 96 MPH fastball that was hit for a double. After a sacrifice bunt, Brubaker gave up a four-pitch walk, then allowed a sacrifice fly for the first run. Three of the first four batters put the first pitch in play.
The next batter struck out swinging on a pitch that registered at 97.5 MPH, which was slower than the 98.1 MPH first pitch he threw and the 97.8 MPH second pitch. Brubaker topped out at 99 MPH in his playoff start for Altoona, so he was still showing the same top velocity. That ended his day with just 11 pitches total. Besides the 95-98 MPH fastballs, he also mixed in three sliders and a changeup.
