Peoria came into Tuesday afternoon with an 0-5 record to start their 30-game fall schedule. The first Pittsburgh Pirates starter saw action today, but he wasn’t the last Pirates pitcher of the day. All four of them ended up pitching in the game. Ji-hwan Bae batted lead-off and played second base. He was the only Pirates hitter in the starting lineup. Here’s a recap of today’s action.
Roansy Contreras got the starts and lasted two innings. He got a fly ball to start the game, then walked the next batter on four pitches. That was followed by a single from Spencer Torkelson (2020 first overall pick), putting two men on. Contreras got out of the inning on 14 pitches by getting a fly ball and a pop out to Bae. The fly ball came on a 3-0 pitch. He gave up a lead-off single in the second, then committed a balk. After a ground out and a line out, a two-out single made it 1-0. After a stolen base, he struck out the next batter. Conteras allowed one run on three hits, one walk and one strikeout. He threw 28 pitches/17 strikes.
Michael Burrows came on next and the first batter reached on an infield single. Torkelson then doubled, but the runner from first base was thrown out trying to score. Burrows then got a fly ball and a ground out to keep any runs off of the board. He threw 15 pitches in the inning, ten for strikes. In the fourth inning, he retired the side in order on a pop up, a ground out and a strikeout. He needed 11 pitches to get through the inning, with nine going for strikes. Burrows made quick work of the first two batters in the fifth, getting a line out and a ground out on three pitches total. Five pitches later, he was out of the inning on a strikeout. That finished his day with three shutout innings, retiring the final eight batters he faced.
Carmen Mlodzinski came out for the sixth and struck out Torkelson on four pitches. He got a ground out for the second out, then gave up a single. The next batter flew out to right field to end the inning. He needed 20 pitches to get out of the inning, 13 going for strikes. That was his only inning of work.
Here’s the strikeout versus Torkelson:
Carmen Mlodzinski of the @Pirates opens a frame with a four-pitch K
Bear Bellomy was the fourth Pirates pitcher to see action on Tuesday. He came on in the seventh inning and his catcher handled the final out of the inning, picking off a runner on Bellomy’s first pitch. In the eighth inning he was the fourth Pirates pitcher to face Torkelson. Bellomy got him to line out to start the inning. He got a grounder and a strikeout, to end the inning quickly on 12 pitches. Peoria won 4-2 for their first victory of the fall. Burrows got the victory.
Bae walked to start the game. He struck out to start the third inning and to end the fourth. Bae continued his rough day, striking out again in the seventh. He was 0-for-3 with a walk.
Peoria returns tomorrow night to take on Mesa at home, with a 9:35 PM EDT start time
