The Pirates saw contributions from three of their hitters in a win for the Surprise Saguaros on Wednesday night. The only player in the starting lineup on Thursday was Nick Gonzales, but he wasn’t the only Pirates player to see action. Here’s a recap of today’s game.
Gonzales batted third and played second base. He walked in the first inning. He walked in the third inning as well, stole second base, then scored a run. In the fourth inning, he hit an RBI single. Two innings later, he doubled in another run. He finished 2-for-2 with two walks, two RBIs and a run scored, as well as his first stolen base.
Omar Cruz came on in the fourth inning for his second appearance. He hit a batter and allowed a single, but kept Salt River off of the scoreboard. He topped out at 92.7 MPH, which was higher than his first appearance (91.1 MPH). He threw 17 pitches, with nine strikes. In his second inning of work, he walked the lead-off batter, then got an out at first base on a ground out. The next batter struck out, before Cruz issued a four-pitch walk. That was the end of his day….
Tahnaj Thomas came on in relief of Cruz and immediately gave up a double steal, followed by a balk that scored a run. Thomas got the final out of the fifth inning on a fly ball. He hit 97.1 MPH. He pitched the sixth as well and served up a solo homer as the only hit/runner he allowed in 1.1 innings. He threw 13 of 26 pitches for strikes.
Colin Selby took the seventh and had some troubles. He walked the lead-off batter, then recorded two outs. The next three batters all reached on singles, scoring two runs. He got the final out with the possible winning run at the plate. He threw 25 pitches with 14 going for strikes. He topped out at 98.5 MPH. That was the game, as they decided to play seven innings ahead of time. Surprise won 8-6.
Surprise plays tomorrow at 3:35 PM ET.
