All the chips were kind of piled up against the Pittsburgh Pirates after the way the last couple of days unfolded.
Starting shortstop goes down with a fractured ankle on a collision at home plate. Emotions get out of hand briefly, and despite an absolute possibility of letting things get out of hands, they hold tight and sneak away with a 1-0 victory.
Without even really having a moment to collect themselves, they start a series against the defending World Series Champions and take a beating in the first game, before falling behind 2-0 in the second game right off the bat.
Again, they rallied together and were uplifted by one of their young players, with a spark from one of those veterans brought in exactly for that reason.
Ji-Hwan Bae walk off home run Greg Brown call pic.twitter.com/kDa88DeJIj
— waffles (@CAWafflez) April 12, 2023
It was an amazing moment, one wrapped in some nostalgia, as Ji-Hwan Bae mentioned watching Andrew McCutchen‘s walk-off home run, where he leaped into home plate. Bae replicated it.
The season is still young, and so much can happen in the meantime. It will be hard to find the production you were hoping for from Oneil Cruz, but they’ve shown they aren’t going to go out without a fight.
Even if the win total doesn’t end up where you want it, a season full of just being competitive would be a huge step in the right direction.
— After spending almost two full seasons in Single-A Bradenton, Jase Bowen got a late call up to Greensboro to close out 2022. It didn’t go as well, as he struggled to hit the ball in about a months worth of action.
He’s one of the Grasshoppers really jumping out the gate quickly, picking up seven hits in four games early on, including a bases-clearing double Tuesday night. He had four total RBI on the night and also picked up a clutch grab in right field that helped seal the deal for the Hoppers.
Jase Bowen with a bases clearing double (scoreboard has two on, it was loaded), he advanced to third on the throw home #LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/OTTlvjZcmx
— Anthony Murphy (@__Murphy88) April 11, 2023
He’s got a blend of power and speed that could make him a candidate for a 20-20 type season should he play in Greensboro long enough this year.
–As if there aren’t enough injuries going on in the system right now, Matt Gorski is another one to monitor. He doubled in the first inning, but was lifted from the game after talking to the trainer.
He missed a good chunk of time to an injury last year, one he got while legging out a triple.
Daily Video Rundown
Tsung-Che Cheng with his first HR of the season, a two run show as Greensboro is blowing out Jersey City #LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/8L3lmblLfk
— Anthony Murphy (@__Murphy88) April 12, 2023
Tsung-Che Cheng flexed a little pop on Tuesday, leading the game off with a triple, before following that up with his first home run of the season.
PIRATES PROSPECTS DAILY
By John Dreker
Pirates won, while four affiliates saw action on Tuesday night. Time to do it again today with an early afternoon game to close out the Houston Astros series.
**Pirates Recap: Keller Backed by Longball A recap of yesterday’s thriller
**Prospect Watch: Altoona, Greensboro Break Out the Bats Yesterday’s minor league recaps
**The Pirates picked up pitcher Eli Villalobos off of waivers yesterday from the Miami Marlins. He has been optioned to Indianapolis.
We knew it was coming, but it didn’t take them long to place Oneil Cruz on the 60-day Injured List.
**The Pirates gave injury updates on JT Brubaker, Jared Triolo, Mike Burrows and Lonnie White Jr, via Director of Sports Medicine Todd Tomczyk.
That link also has some minor roster moves for Indianapolis.
**Anthony Murphy has some early Statcast observations from the Indianapolis Indians after nine games.
**Jeff Reed looked at the match-ups this week around the minors for the four full-season affiliates of the Pirates. The is the first full week for Altoona, Bradenton and Greensboro.
