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
Starting Pitcher: Miguel Yajure 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Notable Performances:
Tucupita Marcano 0-4
Cole Tucker 2-4
Michael Chavis 1-4
Jared Oliva 1-3
Game Recap:
Miguel Yajure made a rehab start for Indianapolis (43-49) and it went well, although the Indians lost to Toledo, 5-2. Yajure gave up two hits, one of them a solo home run, and one walk over four innings, while fanning six. John O’Reilly and Shea Spitzbarth each allowed two runs, with one of Spitzbarth’s unearned. Shelby Miller threw two perfect innings, striking out three. The offense managed only six hits, including two singles by Cole Tucker and an RBI triple by Erik Gonzalez. Tucupita Marcano continued to struggle since being acquired. He went 0-for-4 and is now 15-for-75 (.200) since being acquired.
ALTOONA
(6:30pm)
Starting Pitcher: Trey McGough 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Notable Performances:
Matt Fraizer 2-4, 2B, 3B
Ji-Hwan Bae 2-3, SF, SB
Diego Castillo 1-4
Mason Martin 0-4
Jack Suwinski 1-4, 2B
Cal Mitchell 2-4, HR (12)
Carter Bins 0-4
Game Recap:
Altoona (49-42) got an outstanding start from Trey McGough and a wild relief performance from Cam Alldred to beat Somerset, 5-0. McGough matched his career high of seven innings, allowing only four hits and a walk. Alldred, on the other hand, walked two in the eighth and three in the ninth, but kept them all from scoring. Cal Mitchell had a single and his 12th home run of the year. Matt Fraizer kept hitting, with a double and triple that left him with a 1.064 OPS in AA. Ji-Hwan Bae and Josh Bissonette each had two hits.
GREENSBORO
(6:30pm)
Starting Pitcher: Domingo Gonzalez 5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Notable Performances:
Liover Peguero 1-4, SB
Nick Gonzales 1-4
Jared Triolo 0-4
Henry Davis 2-3, HR (2), BB, SB
Lolo Sanchez 3-4, HR (14), SB
Game Recap:
Greensboro’s (58-35) had another tough day against Bowling Green, coughing up five longballs and blowing two leads in an 8-6 loss. Starter Domingo Gonzalez managed to last five and a third innings, but gave up three dingerz and five runs. Recent acquisition Michell Miliano gave up a two-run homer and Austin Roberts allowed a solo shot. The gopher problems wiped out big days by Henry Davis and Lolo Sanchez. Davis had a single, his second Greensboro homer, and three runs scored. Sanchez drove in four runs with two singles and his 14th longball of the season. They each also stole a base. The rest of the lineup, though, had just three singles.
BRADENTON
(4:00pm)
Starting Pitchers: Eddy Yean 3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 6 BB, 5 K and Adrian Florencio 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K
Notable Performances:
Jase Bowen 1-6, HBP
Jackson Glenn 2-6, 2B, BB
Jack Herman 1-6, 2B, BB
Abrahan Gutierrez 0-3, BB
Hudson Head 1-6, BB
Alexander Mojica 1-6, 2B, BB
Maikol Escotto 0-5, 2 BB
Dariel Lopez 0-1
Game Recap:
Bradenton (57-33) won the first game of its doubleheader with Clearwater, 3-2, on a walkoff single by Daniel Rivero in the eighth inning. Starter Eddy Yean had a tough time with the strike zone, walking six in three and two-thirds innings and throwing strikes on only 38 of 77 pitches. Still, he managed to allow only one run. Wandi Montout followed with two and a third scoreless innings. The Marauders got a run in the first on a two-out, RBI single by Hudson Head. After Clearwater tied it in the second, the Marauders struggled to get runners in from third with less than two outs, failing in all six of their chances. They did, though, get two runners in with two outs. In the bottom of the sixth, Jase Bowen singled with two out to drive in a run from third. Clearwater tied the score in the top of the seventh on a wild pitch by Oliver Mateo. In the eighth, Mateo stranded the free runner with a strikeout and a double play. In the bottom half, the Marauders got the runner to third with one out. Pinch hitter Dariel Lopez struck out, but Rivero lined a single to left.
The Marauders also won the second game in walkoff fashion, 2-1. In fact, it was their fourth straight walkoff win. They got two runs in the bottom of the seventh on back-to-back, RBI doubles by Alexander Mojica and Ernny Ordonez. Starter Adrian Florencio was dominant, fanning nine over five shutout innings. The Marauders couldn’t score, either, though, and Clearwater took the lead on a home run in the sixth off Nick Dombkowski. That was the only runner Dombkowski allowed and he struck out four in two innings. In the bottom of the seventh, Hudson Head led off with a walk and, one out later, Mojica and Ordonez both doubled to end it.
FCL PIRATES BLACK
(Noon)
Starting Pitcher: Carlos Jimenez 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K
Notable Performances:
Braylon Bishop 1-3
Juan Jerez 1-5
Solomon Maguire 0-5
Bubba Chandler 0-2
Lonnie White, Jr. 2-2, 2 2B
Wyatt Hendrie 0-4
Franrielis Bastardo 2-4, HR (2)
Game Recap:
The Black team (14-17) featured several prominent draftees in their 5-0 win over a good Red Sox team. Lonnie White, Jr., made his pro debut, playing right and bashing doubles in his two at-bats before coming out. Braylon Bishop played center for most of the game and got his first pro hit, going 1-for-3. Bubba Chandler played short for the first time and went 0-for-2. Wyatt Hendrie caught and went 0-for-4. Carlos Canache, who replaced White, had a double and a walk. Franrielis Bastardo had two hits, including his second home run. Despite all of that, it was starter Carlos Jimenez who stole the show. He threw five shutout innings, walking one and fanning nine. Kelvin Disla and Christian Charle each threw two scoreless innings. Pirate pitchers fanned 13 in all, including Marcelo Mayer three times. Mayer went 0-for-4 and committed his fifth error.
FCL PIRATES GOLD
(Noon)
Starting Pitcher: Valentin Linarez 3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Notable Performances:
Mike Jarvis 0-3, 2 HBP
Tsung-Che Cheng 1-3, HR (4), 2 BB, SB
Rodolfo Nolasco 2-5, 3B
Geovanny Planchart 0-3, SF
Alessandro Ercolani 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
Game Recap:
The Gold team (20-11) scored three in the bottom of the eighth to beat the Orioles Black, 10-7. Norkis Marcos put the Bucs ahead with a two-run double and scored on a fly ball. Valentin Linarez had a rougher than usual outing, giving up two runs, one earned, and walking three in three innings. Alessandro Ercolani, the 17-year-old righty from San Marino, continued his strong debut with three one-hit innings, fanning four. Ercolani left with a 7-2 lead, but Johan Montero gave up five runs while recording just two outs. Arlinthon De Dios threw two and a third scoreless innings to get the win. Tsung-Che Cheng continued hitting well, belting his fourth home run, a three-run shot, and drawing two walks. Rodolfo Nolasco had a single and a triple, and Randy Romero singled twice and drove in three.
DSL PIRATES BLACK
(10:30am)
Starting Pitcher: Joaquin Tejada 4 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Notable Performances:
Enmanuel Terrero 2-4, 2B, BB
Shalin Polanco 1-5, HR (2)
Game Recap:
The Black team (13-12) had a bit of a pitching problem, losing to the Rangers1, 17-5. Starter Joaquin Tejada was shaky, giving up three runs in four innings. The bullpen was a little beyond shaky. A couple of the relievers were guys who haven’t pitched much yet. Francis Olantilo had thrown only an inning and two-thirds so far this year. He gave up three runs in an inning and a third. Reyson Santos, who’d thrown only six innings, allowed six runs in two-thirds of an inning. Darlin Diaz, who’s pitched a bit more, gave up four runs in an inning and a third. The Pirates got some offense, although they struck out 15 times. Shalin Polanco hit his second home run, a two-run shot. Enmanuel Terrero had a single, double and walk. Javier Rivas hit a triple. Catcher Luis Escalante reached base four times, on a single, two walks and a hit batsman.
DSL PIRATES GOLD
(10:30am)
Starting Pitcher: Luigi Hernandez 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K
Notable Performances:
Gustavo Armas 0-3
Jairo Custodio 1-3
Esmerlyn Valdez 0-2, HBP
Jeral Toledo 0-2, BB
Game Recap:
The Gold team (8-17) had quite a pitching duel with the Yankees2. Each team had only one hit and the final was 1-0 in favor of the good guys. Luigi Hernandez continued his up-and-down debut season, allowing just a single over four innings. He walked nobody and fanned six, and has now struck out 24 over 16.2 IP. Andres Silvera and Luis Joseph followed with two perfect innings each. Jairo Custodio, who probably would have been in the FCL this year but for an injury, had the only hit for the Pirates, a first-inning single. The Pirates won in walkoff fashion on an error in the bottom of the eighth, after a walk and a ground out.
