Your daily Pittsburgh Pirates Prospect Watch article for recaps of all of today’s games. Be sure to pick up your copy of the latest Prospect Guide in our store, available as an ebook or a limited edition paperback.
INDIANAPOLIS
(7:05pm)
Starting Pitcher: Miguel Yajure 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Notable Performances:
Tucupita Marcano 1-5
Jared Oliva 2-4, BB, SB
Cody Ponce 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Game Recap:
Indianapolis (49-53) scored twice in the bottom of the eighth for a 4-3 comeback win over Iowa. The inning started with three straight walks. The tying run scored on a ground out and Jared Oliva singled in the go-ahead run with two outs. Miguel Yajure started and went four innings, allowing one run on a solo home run and also an unearned run. Yajure came out having thrown 77 pitches. Cody Ponce threw two scoreless innings to get the win and Tyler Bashlor pitched the ninth for the save. Oliva had two hits and a walk. Ethan Paul also reached base three times. Bligh Madris had a double and his eighth home run.
ALTOONA
(6:35pm)
Starting Pitcher: Trey McGough 2 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Notable Performances:
Oneil Cruz 2-4, SB
Ji-Hwan Bae 0-3, BB
Rodolfo Castro 0-4
Mason Martin 1-4
Matt Fraizer 2-4
Cal Mitchell 2-4, 2B
Jack Suwinski 0-4
Game Recap:
Altoona (52-48) lost its second straight blowout, 11-2, to Akron. The Curve have lost their last two by a combined 26-5. Trey McGough had an uncharacteristically bad start, giving up five runs in two innings. Steven Jennings came on to allow another six, five earned, in three innings. Noe Toribio threw two scoreless innings and Nathan Kirby one. Oneil Cruz, Matt Fraizer and Cal Mitchell each had two hits. The two runs scored on a double by Mitchell.
GREENSBORO
(6:30pm)
Starting Pitcher: Santiago Florez 5 IP, 10 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Notable Performances:
Liover Peguero 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, 2 SB
Nick Gonzales 3-5, 2 HR (16)
Jared Triolo 1-4
Blake Sabol 0-4
Will Matthiessen 1-3, HR (12), BB
Game Recap:
Nick Gonzales hit a walkoff grand slam to give Greensboro (65-38) a 9-7 win over Hudson Valley. Gonzales had two dingerz and a single in the game, along with seven RBIs. That gives him 15 RBIs in his last two games. He has 16 home runs despite missing over a month, and a 303/369/567 batting line, albeit with a huge home/road split. Santiago Florez started and pitched shutout ball for four innings, but came unglued in the fifth. He served up four gopher balls in the inning and allowed five runs. Bear Bellomy followed with three scoreless innings, keeping the game tied, 5-5. Enmanuel Mejia gave up his first two earned runs of the season in the top of the ninth, setting up Gonzales’ dramatics. Liover Peguero had a double and two walks, and scored three runs. He also stole two bases, giving him 21 on the season. Will Matthiessen hit his 12th home run since joining the Hoppers.
BRADENTON
(6:05pm)
Starting Pitcher: Nick Garcia 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Notable Performances:
Jackson Glenn 1-5, BB
Endy Rodriguez 3-4, 3B, HR (11), BB, HBP
Dariel Lopez 4-5, HR (8), BB
Jack Herman 1-5, HR (10)
Jase Bowen 3-5, HR (14), BB
Hudson Head 2-6, 2 HR (14)
Maikol Escotto 1-5, HBP, SB
Justin Meis 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Game Recap:
Bradenton (63-38) mauled Tampa, 19-7. The Marauders trail their overaged rivals by four games in the standings, but have won five of seven head-to-head. Each team had six home runs, including one by Yankees’ uber-prospect Jasson Dominguez, but the Marauders had help from seven walks, four hit batsmen, two wild pitches and four errors. Nick Garcia had a solid start, giving up just a solo home run in four innings, but came out with his pitch count at 80. After Garcia left, Alex Roth gave up three solo shots and Justin Meis one. Carlos Campos gave up a two-run homer in the ninth. Endy Rodriguez and Dariel Lopez had big days for Bradenton. Rodriguez had a triple, his 11th home run of the year, and a walk. He scored four times and drove in three. Lopez had three singles and a grand slam, his eighth homer of the year. Jack Herman also drove in four, three of them on his tenth Bradenton home run. That came off a catcher who took over when Tampa’s last actual pitcher got hurt. Hudson Head had a pair of solo shots, giving him 14 homers on the year. Jase Bowen had three hits, including his 14th homer. Jackson Glenn scored and drove in three runs. Everybody in the lineup had at least one hit except Francisco Acuna, who got plunked twice, drew a walk and scored twice.
FCL PIRATES BLACK
(Noon)
Starting Pitcher: Christopher Cruz 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Notable Performances:
Game Recap:
The Black team (16-20) got blanked by the Rays, 7-0. Christopher Cruz had a solid start, allowing one run over four innings. Other than that, nothing much positive happened. Three relievers gave up six runs over four innings before Yunior Thibo threw a scoreless ninth. The team managed only three hits. Solomon Maguire and Francisco Quintero each had doubles, and Bubba Chandler had a single. Chandler played short. He’s been playing regularly, alternating between short and DH. The Pirates reportedly had an understanding when he signed that they’d develop him as a two-way player and they appear to be honoring it. He hasn’t pitched yet, but neither have either of the other prep pitchers drafted this year, along with most of the college pitchers. The Pirates seem to have a strong belief in the value of off-field work and it’s manifesting itself in them going slow with new pitchers.
FCL PIRATES GOLD
(10:00am)
Starting Pitcher: Andy Maldonado 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K and Listher Sosa 3 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Notable Performances:
Mike Jarvis 2-2, 2B, 3B, BB, HBP, 3 SB
Tsung-Che Cheng 0-4, 4 BB, 2 SB
Rodolfo Nolasco 1-6, HR (4), BB, HBP
Brenden Dixon 1-2, HR (1), 2 BB
Geovanny Planchart 1-4
Luke Brown 0-3, SF
Game Recap:
The Gold (25-12) team won the first game of their doubleheader with the Braves, 8-5. The offense was powered partly by ten walks. Tsung-Che Cheng had four and also stole two bases while getting caught once. Mike Jarvis had a big day with a double, a triple, a walk, a hit batsman, two runs and two RBIs. He also stole three bases, giving him six without getting caught in his first nine games. Brenden Dixon hit his first pro home run and walked twice. Andy Maldonado struggled early, giving up three runs in the first two innings, but he threw two scoreless innings after that and fanned seven for the day. Darvin Garcia struck out four over the last three innings.
A late comeback got the Bucs a sweep with an 11-8 win. A three-run home run by Rodolfo Nolasco in the top of the first gave them a quick lead, but Listher Sosa had a rough start. He fanned six over three innings, but gave up five runs. Adrian Mendez gave up two in relief before John Montero threw two and a third scoreless innings. Trailing 7-5 in the top of the seventh, the Bucs tied the game against J.J. Niekro, son of Joe, brother of Lance and nephew of Phil. The runs came on an RBI single by Eliazer Montero and a triple by Randy Romero. A Claudio Finol grand slam in the eighth gave the Bucs a four-run lead and the Braves were only able to score the free runner in the bottom half. Romero finished with two hits, a walk and three steals, and Darwin Baez had two hits. Nolasco’s bomb was his fourth and Finol’s his second. The Pirates managed 11 runs on eight hits and a walk, and struck out 16 times.
DSL PIRATES BLACK
(10:30am)
Starting Pitcher: Antwone Kelly 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Notable Performances:
Enmanuel Terrero 1-3
Shalin Polanco 1-3
Ewry Espinal 0-3
Game Recap:
The Black team (21-13) beat the Rays2, 2-1, behind a strong start from Antwone Kelly. He gave up an unearned run over five innings while fanning six. Still just 17, Kelly has had two rough starts but pitched very well in his other six. Diego Chiquillo and Jesus Clode each threw a scoreless inning to finish it out. The offense had five hits, all singles, with Osvaldo Gavilan getting two. The runs scored on an error and a passed ball.
DSL PIRATES GOLD
(10:30am)
Starting Pitcher: Andres Silvera 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
Notable Performances:
Jauri Custodio 2-4
Jeral Toledo 1-4
Game Recap:
The Gold team (10-23) lost to the Brewers, 7-5. Starter Andres Silvera failed to get out of the first inning, allowing three runs, two of them unearned. Luis Faringthon gave up two runs in three and a third innings of relief. In all, the pitchers walked seven, hit three and threw a wild pitch in six innings. The offense had 11 hits but stranded ten. Delfin Ramirez had a single and a double, and Jauri Custodio had two singles.
