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Prospect Watch: Endy Rodriguez Homers Twice Again; Gem from Quinn Priester

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There are four games on the schedule today, as all of the short-season teams have off on Sunday. The top two pitching prospects in the system are both on the mound, with Mike Burrows returning from the Futures Game to start for Indianapolis, while Quinn Priester tries to continue his success with Altoona. In 21.1 innings over five starts, Priester has a 2.11 ERA and 21 strikeouts.

YESTERDAY’S RESULTS

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TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS

Game Time: 1:35 PM

Box Score: LINK

Starting Pitcher: Mike Burrows (0-2, 6.50)

  • Final Line:  3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO

Notable Performances:

Tucupita Marcano 3-for-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI

Ji-hwan Bae 0-for-3

Rodolfo Castro 0-for-3, BB

Jack Suwinski 0-for-4

Bligh Madris 1-for-4, 2B

Travis Swaggerty 1-for-2, 3B, RBI, BB, SB

Game Recap:

Mike Burrows hasn’t been dominating like he did in Altoona since arriving in Indianapolis.  He gave up two runs on three hits and three walks in 3.1 innings today, which slightly lowered his ERA to 6.33 in 21.1 innings with Indianapolis. He had a 2.94 ERA in 52 innings with Altoona. Burrows now has 93 strikeouts in 73.1 innings this year. He threw 64 pitches, with 40 going for strikes. His pitch count/work was lowered recently to help control his innings, after he missed time last year. He was already thrown more innings than last year, which includes his Arizona Fall League time.

Indianapolis won 5-3, with some strong bullpen work from five pitchers, who combined for one run in 5.2 innings. Osvaldo Bido was the best of the bunch, with three strikeouts in two shutout frames. The Indians scored their first run on Travis Swaggerty’s sixth triple. Taylor Davis brought in Swaggerty with a single. Mason Martin brought in a run on a sac fly, then Tucupita Marcano capped the scoring with a two-run homer. He had three hits in the game and he’s hitting .313 with Indianapolis. Besides his triple, Swaggerty also had two runs, a walk, a stolen base and an outfield assist. Bligh Madris hit his 16th double.

DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA CURVE

Game Time: 1:00 PM

Box Score: LINK

Starting Pitcher: Quinn Priester (1-1, 2.11)

  • Final Line:  6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO

Notable Performances:

Jared Triolo 0-for-4, BB

Blake Sabol 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI

Liover Peguero 0-for-3

Matt Fraizer 1-for-3, 3B, BB

Game Recap:

Quinn Priester was already putting up strong numbers with Altoona, but things got better with his Sunday performance. He allowed one run over six innings, which was unearned. He gave up three hits, one walk, one hit batter and struck out eight. He threw 84 pitches, with 50 going for strikes. In six starts with Altoona this year, Priester has a 1.65 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 27.1 innings. Brad Case allowed one run in 1.1 innings. Tyler Samaniego pitched 1.2 scoreless, then JC Flowers got the save by pulling off something that can only happen in extra innings now. He faced just two batters in the tenth to retire the side, getting a ground out and a double play. Flowers threw three pitches. Altoona won 3-2. The Curve got a run in the third on a Josh Bissonette ground out. Blake Sabol homered in the eighth to give Altoona a temporary lead.  Sabol then singled home a run in the tenth, which ended up being the difference. Andres Alvarez had a single, two walks and his 17th steal. Matt Fraizer hit his seventh triple. Fabricio Macias hit his seventh double.

HIGH-A: GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS

Game Time: 2:00 PM

Box Score: LINK

Starting Pitcher: Justin Meis (1-3, 7.43)

  • Final Line:  5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO

Notable Performances:

Endy Rodriguez 4-for-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI, BB

Dariel Lopez 1-for-5, BB

Abrahan Gutierrez 0-for-2, 2 BB

Hudson Head 2-for-4, HR, RBI, BB

Game Recap:

Greensboro came back from a late deficit to tie this game up with two outs in the ninth, but they lost 10-9 in extra innings. Endy Rodriguez had himself quite a weekend, hitting two homers last night and two more in this game. He also had two singles and a walk. He had a nice .852 OPS coming into the day, and he added 36 points to that mark with his big day. He now has 13 homers. Eli Wilson had a big day as well, including a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth to tie the score. He added three singles and drove in a total of four runs. His OPS went up 76 points in this game, to a .704 mark. Hudson Head added a solo homer, his seventh of the season.

Starter Justin Meis had a solid outing, going five innings with two runs allowed and six strikeouts. This game got out of hand for Greensboro in the seventh when Ricky DeVito gave up four runs and Dante Mendoza allowed two runs. Due to the runner in extra innings, Eddy Yean got the loss despite retiring all three batters he faced.

LOW-A: BRADENTON MARAUDERS

Game Time: 12:00 PM

Box Score: LINK

Starting Pitcher: Po-Yu Chen (2-6, 4.84)

  • Final Line:  5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO

Notable Performances:

Tsung-Che Cheng 1-for-4, 2 RBI

Jase Bowen 0-for-5

Juan Jerez 1-for-3, 3B

Sergio Campana 1-for-4, SB

Maikol Escotto 0-for-4

Angel Basabe 1-for-2, 3B, 2 BB

Deivis Nadal 1-for-4

Game Recap:

Starter Po-Yu Chen had a solid outing on Sunday, giving up two runs on three hits and a walk in five innings, while picking up six strikeouts. He lowered his ERA slightly to 4.75 on the season, now with a 1.25 WHIP and 81 strikeouts in 72 innings. Jack Hartman tossed a scoreless sixth and Yunior Thibo allowed one run in two innings, which ended up being the difference in the 3-2 loss. Bradenton was losing 2-0 until Tsung-Che Cheng hit a two-run single in the seventh inning to tie the game. Angel Basabe had a nice game, collecting his third triple and drawing two walks. Juan Jerez also had his third triple. The Marauders struck out 13 times and they went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Sergio Campana stole his 18th base.

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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