We have playoff baseball! The DSL Pirates Gold make their run at a league title. It’s an eight-team playoff setup, with best-of-three series for all rounds. They play the Houston Astros Orange team this morning. Greensboro has a doubleheader today. No pitchers have been announced yet for that. Mike Burrows starts for Indianapolis. He tossed five shutout innings in his last start.
YESTERDAY’S RESULTS
Prospect Watch: Termarr Johnson Joins Bradenton; Big Night for Jared Triolo
TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
Game Time: 7:05 PM
Box Score: LINK
Starting Pitcher: Cody Bolton (3-2, 2.93)
- Final Line: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO
Notable Performances:
Ji-hwan Bae 1-for-4, RBI, SB, BB
Travis Swaggerty 1-for-4, RBI, BB, SB
Cal Mitchell 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Diego Castillo 0-for-3, 2 BB
Game Recap:
Mike Burrows was scheduled to start tonight, but he was replaced by Cody Bolton with no explanation, which could possibly be good news. Bolton went 2.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits, with no walks and two strikeouts. He threw 43 pitches, with 28 going for strikes, before being replaced by Noe Toribio in the third inning. He gave up two runs in 1.1 innings. The rest of the bullpen tossed shutout ball, with Cam Alldred and Travis MacGregor going two innings each, followed by one inning from Hunter Stratton. Indianapolis won 14-4.
Despite putting up 14 runs, Indianapolis scored the first 13 runs without an extra-base hit. They ended up collecting three extra-base hits later and only added one run. In the first inning they scored on a Travis Swaggerty RBI single and a sacrifice fly by Cal Mitchell. In the second, they scored runs on a Jose Godoy single and a Drew Maggi ground out. Jared Oliva singled in a run in the third. Mitchell singled in a run in the fourth, then Kevin Padlo, Mason Martin and Oliva each drew bases loaded walks. Godoy singled in two runs to make it 11-4. The 12th and 13th runs scored on errors on different plays. Oliva then hit a solo homer in the sixth. Ji-hwan Bae stole his 22nd base. Swaggerty picked up his 15th steal.
DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA CURVE
Game Time: 6:35 PM
Box Score: LINK
Starting Pitcher: Aaron Shortridge (1-3, 6.61)
- Final Line: 2.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO
Notable Performances:
Jared Triolo 1-for-5
Nick Gonzales 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, BB
Endy Rodriguez 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB
Blake Sabol 1-for-4
Connor Scott 0-for-4
Matt Fraizer 0-for-4
Game Recap:
Altoona lost 11-8 on Thursday night. Starter Aaron Shortridge got hit hard, allowing five runs on seven hits and three walks in 2.2 innings. Three relievers followed with six runs in 3.1 innings before Tahnaj Thomas retired all six batters he faced, two on strikeouts. The Curve went all-or-nothing in this game, with three homers that accounted for all eight runs. They also struck out 16 times. Aaron Shackelford hit a three-run homer, his 24th of the season. Nick Gonzales also hit a three-run homer, his seventh of the season. Endy Rodriguez hit his fourth homer since joining the Curve, a two-run shot.
HIGH-A: GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS
Game Time: 5:00 PM DH
Box Score: LINK (game one)
Starting Pitcher: Nick Garcia (3-4, 4.20)
- Final Line: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 9 SO
Notable Performances:
Hudson Head 1-for-3
Abrahan Gutierrez 0-for-3
Sammy Siani 0-for-3
Game Recap:
Greensboro won game one of a doubleheader by a 3-2 score. Starter Nick Garcia went 5.2 innings, allowing two runs on four hits, three walks and nine strikeouts. He has a 4.14 ERA this season in 100 innings, with 98 strikeouts. Mitchell Miller got the win with 1.1 scoreless. Francisco Acuna, who was our Player of the Week for last week, hit his sixth homer. Greensboro trailed 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh. Eli Wilson doubled, Jackson Glenn got hit by a pitch, then they both moved up on a balk. That’s when Mike Jarvis singled them both home for the 3-2 walk-off. Wilson had two hits. Yoyner Fajardo had a single and a walk.
Game Two:
Box Score: LINK
Starting Pitcher: Ricky DeVito (3-4, 5.03)
- Final Line: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO
Notable Performances:
Hudson Head 0-for-3, BB, SB
Abrahan Gutierrez 1-for-2, 2 BB
Sammy Siani 0-for-3, BB
Jase Bowen 1-for-4, 2B
Game Recap:
Greensboro won 6-0 in game two of the doubleheader. Starter Ricky DeVito went four scoreless on four hits and a walk, with four strikeouts. Cristian Charle came on and dominated over the final three innings, striking out seven batters. Greensboro scored two runs in the fourth inning on Eli Wilson’s fifth homer. An error led to their third run, then Wilson singled in a run in the fifth. Jacob Gonzalez added an RBI single in the sixth, then the final run scored on a wild pitch. Wilson had four hits in the doubleheader. Francisco Acuna had two hits in this game, including his 18th double. Hudson Head stole his 11th base.
LOW-A: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
Game Time: 6:30 PM
Box Score: LINK
Starting Pitcher: Carlos Jimenez (1-6, 3.55)
- Final Line: 3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 5 SO
Notable Performances:
Tsung-Che Cheng 3-for-3
Henry Davis 0-for-2
Termarr Johnson 0-for-2, RBI
Bubba Chandler 0-for-2, BB
Deivis Nadal 2-for-3, RBI
Sergio Campana 0-for-2, BB
Game Recap:
Bradenton lost 5-2 in a game shortened to 6+ innings due to rain. Carlos Jimenez started and allowed three runs in three innings, finishing with five walks and five strikeouts. He now has a 3.78 ERA in 69 innings, with 87 strikeouts. Yunior Thibo allowed two runs in two innings and Drew Irvine tossed 1.2 scoreless before the game was called. Bradenton scored their first run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Termarr Johnson. Deivis Nadal then doubled home the second run, his 12th double of the season. Tsung-Che Cheng had three hits and he’s now batting .394/.522/.634 in 21 August games. Henry Davis caught his first game during his rehab. He went 0-for-2 before being replaced after five innings.
RK: DSL PIRATES GOLD
Game Time: 10:30 AM
Box Score: LINK
Starting Pitcher: Andres Silvera (2-1, 1.54)
- Final Line: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO
Notable Performances:
Yordany De Los Santos 0-for-5
Carlos Tirado 1-for-3, BB
Tony Blanco Jr 0-for-4
Axiel Plaz 3-for-4, HR, 2 RBI
John Zorrilla 0-for-4
Ruben Vizcaya 2-for-4
Game Recap
The Pirates lost the opener of their best-of-three first round series by a 6-5 score, making the next two days must win games. Andres Silvera has been the best starter for either DSL Pirates club and he got the ball today, going four innings with two runs (one earned) on four hits and one walk, with five strikeouts. Keneth Quintanilla had a rough fifth inning, allowing three runs, with two being earned. Wilkin Valdez gave up an unearned run in his two innings, and Luis Gonzalez finished with a scoreless eighth. Axiel Plaz had a huge game, going 3-for-4 with a homer, two runs and two RBIs. That was the only extra-base hits for the Pirates, who had eight singles, two walks and 15 strikeouts.
+ postsJohn 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.
My man D. Lopez has gone missing lately. 😕
Another 0-fer for Termarr. Nice.
I decided to not go to Altoona game because Shortridge was pitching. Good call, except the other 3 players I really want to see all hit dingers! Ouch. But watching 16 K’s would have sucked alot.
On a positive note, Gonzales didn’t have any of those 16 K’s.
Connor Scott with a platinum sombrero. Another 1st rounder struggling for Bucs.
I’ve never even heard of the phrase Platinum Sombrero lol
Thanks for correcting me…..it was really a Golden Sombrero (4Ks) not 5K’s!!
Burrows replaced?!? Bae and Martin leave early?!? Is something crazy about to happen?!?
On the last two — It was a blowout.
Dont see anything with martin, but could with the other two
How about a Tahnaj Thomas update- he seems to be dealing lately
Any info as to why Bolton is starting and not Burrows?
That Bradenton lineup has a lot of potential future pieces for the Pirates
Tres G is hitting the ball harder than predicted
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/gamefeed?gamePk=670576
If I had a nickel every time I saw that statement…
Nick Garcia dealing. Touched 94
Then gives up 2-run home run
Blew it by Mayer for a swinging K, btw
Very solid outing, love to see it!
DSL Gold team setting up their usual late game offensive explosion.
Moar Plaz!
Is there any way this guy is at Bradenton next year? I know he is a catcher and there are other things to learn, and there is also the real life issues of him being 17, but do we actually have a Dominican phenom in our system?
Pirate City is in Bradenton, so I’d say there is a 99% chance he is there. He won’t be on the Marauders though. You’re not going to see anyone skipping the FCL at that age. It seems like it’s skipping one level, but that’s really three levels in one now. There’s a huge difference in talent between the GCL pre-2020 and FCL now. I also wouldn’t look too much into stats in the DSL.
I did an in depth series earlier this year that showed doing well in the league makes almost zero difference compared to doing poorly, for both hitters and pitchers. The success rate (getting to the majors) between top 20 hitters/pitchers and the rest of the field was basically the same. Scouting reports are much more important than stats. A good example of that just happened. Javier Rivas was the worst hitter in the DSL last year out of all qualified hitters. This year he looked great in the FCL. That being said, Plaz came with a strong scouting report and you should trust that a lot more than the numbers.
We’ve seen way too many guys crush it in the DSL only to wash out in the FCL…
Thanks John. Yes, I meant the Marauders, rather than the complex league, but I guess it has changed in the last few years.
I am basing my enthusiasm for Plaz on 3 factors: 1) his age 2) the scouting report 3) the dominant stats.
Will we ever have a Joely Rodriquez come out of our Latin American signings?
I mean, I don’t know much of anything about any other DSL club, but that offense is loaded