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Prospect Watch: Big Days for Josh Palacios and Mike Jarvis, Good Start for Luis Ortiz

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A couple of unsung players, Josh Palacios and Mike Jarvis, had big games for Indianapolis and Greensboro, respectively.  Bradenton was rained out.

YESTERDAY’S RESULTS

Prospect Watch: Strong Start for Thomas Harrington; Rain Spoils Two Games

TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS

Pirates 2023 Minor League Previews: Indianapolis Indians

INDIANAPOLIS VS COLUMBUS

Final Score:  Indianapolis (10-16) 8, Columbus 5
Indianapolis Starter
:  Luis Ortiz
Pitching Line
:  6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
Box Score

Top Performers:

  • Canaan Smith-Njigba 0-2, 3 BB
  • Ryan Vilade 3-5, 2B
  • Josh Palacios 2-3, 2 HR (4), 2 BB, SB, 3 runs, 5 RBIs
  • Aaron Shackelford 1-2, 2 BB, SB
  • Josh Bissonette 1-2, 2 BB

Game Recap:

Josh Palacios stayed red hot as Indianapolis beat Columbus, 8-5.

Palacios hit a pair of home runs and drove in five.  That included a three-run bomb in a five-run first that staked Indy to a big early lead.  Palacios also walked twice.  After a week in AAA, he’s riding a 1.478 OPS.

Ryan Vilade added a double and two singles, and Aaron Shackelford and Josh Bissonette each reached three times on a single and two walks.  Canaan Smith-Njigba, in his first AAA game since being optioned, stayed in form, walking three times and striking out twice.

Luis Ortiz had a good start.  He threw five shutout innings, then ran into some trouble in the sixth, allowing two runs.  He finished with six strikeouts over six innings.  Angel Perdomo threw a scoreless inning.  Daniel Zamora entered with an 8-2 lead in the eighth and had trouble finishing it, giving up three runs and having to face the tying run in the ninth.

Endy Rodriguez returned to action as the DH.  He went 0-for 4 with a walk.

DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA CURVE

Pirates 2023 Minor League Previews: Altoona Curve

ALTOONA @ READING

Final Scores:
Altoona 4, Reading 3
Reading 3, Altoona (10-9) 1
Altoona Starter
:  Aaron Shortridge and Matt Eckelman
Pitching Line
:
Shortridge:  5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 K
Eckelman:  2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, K
Box Score Game One
Box Score Game Two

Top Performers:

  • Liover Peguero 2-7, 2B
  • Henry Davis 1-3, HR (6), HBP
  • Fabricio Macias 2-6
  • Andres Alvarez 2-5, 2B, HR (2)
  • Mason Martin 1-2, HR (3), HBP
  • Noe Toribio 2 IP, H, ER, 4 K

Game Recap:

Altoona took the first game of its doubleheader with Greensboro, 4-3.  Aaron Shortridge had a good start, giving up two runs over five innings on four hits and a walk.  Noe Toribio finished, allowing a run over the last two innings, with four strikeouts, to get the save.

Most of the Curve’s offense came from the longball.  Henry Davis stayed hot, belting his sixth home run of the year with a man on.  He only got hit by one pitch.  Andres Alvarez hit his second, a solo shot.  Liover Peguero, who had a double and a single, drove in the remaining run.  Fabricio Macias had two hits.

In game two, the Curve couldn’t get any offense and lost, 3-1.  Knuckleballer Matt Eckelman made the spot start and couldn’t get the knuckler over the plate, walking three and throwing just 23 strikes on 50 pitches in two innings.  Still, he managed to allow only two runs.  Braeden Ogle gave up the third run, and Oliver Garcia and Juan Minaya combined for two and two-thirds scoreless innings.

The offense consisted of two hits:  Mason Martin’s third home run of the year and a double by Andres Alvarez.  Altoona drew no walks and fanned seven times.

HIGH-A: GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS

Pirates 2023 Minor League Previews: Greensboro Grasshoppers

GREENSBORO VS ROME

Final Score:
Rome 7, Greensboro 4
Greensboro (13-7) 9, Rome 4
Greensboro Starter
:  Po-Yu Chen and Valentin Linarez
Pitching Line
:
Chen:  2.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, BB, 2 K
Linarez:  3.1 IP, H, ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Box Score Game One
Box Score Game Two

Top Performers:

  • Tsung-Che Cheng 2-7, 2B, HR (3), BB, 3 RBIs
  • Mike Jarvis 5-6, 2B, 3B, 2 HR (5), SB, 4 runs, 4 RBIs
  • Ernny Ordonez 1-3, 3 BB
  • Hudson Head 2-3, HR (2)
  • Maikol Escotto 1-3, HR (2)

Game Recap:

Greensboro dropped the first game of its doubleheader with Rome, 7-4.  Po-Yu Chen had a rough start, getting knocked out with one out in the third.  He allowed five runs on seven hits, two of them longballs.  His ERA stands at 7.31.  Jaycob Deese gave up the other two runs on a two-run bomb.  Santiago Florez threw two scoreless innings.

The Hoppers had only five hits, although they also drew six walks.  Mike Jarvis had two hits, including his fourth home run.  Ernny Ordonez had a single and two walks, Tsung-Che Cheng had a double and a walk, and Jase Bowen had a double.

The Hoppers took an early 8-0 lead and finished with a 9-4 win in game two.  Most of the offense came from home runs.  Jarvis hit another, with one on, and fell a single shy of a cycle.  Cheng hit a three-run shot and Hudson Head belted a two-run shot.  Maikol Escotto hit a solo shot to finish the Hoppers’ scoring.

Starter Valentin Linarez opened with three scoreless innings, but ran into trouble in the third.  He left with the bases loaded and one out.  Mitchell Miller hit a batter to force in a run, the only one off Linarez, but struck out two.  Will Kobos and Brad Case each threw a scoreless inning.  Eddy Yean got knocked around for three runs in the seventh.

LOW-A: BRADENTON MARAUDERS

Pirates 2023 Minor League Previews: Bradenton Marauders

BRADENTON @ DUNEDIN

Final Score:Postponed
Bradenton Starter
:
Pitching Line
:
Box Score

Top Performers:

  •  

Game Recap:

Bradenton’s game at Dunedin was postponed due to rain.  No makeup date was announced, possibly because the forecast for tomorrow’s game looks iffy.

Wilbur Miller
Wilbur Miller
Having followed the Pirates fanatically since 1965, Wilbur Miller is one of the fast-dwindling number of fans who’ve actually seen good Pirate teams. He’s even seen Hall-of-Fame Pirates who didn’t get traded mid-career, if you can imagine such a thing. His first in-person game was a 5-4, 11-inning win at Forbes Field over Milwaukee (no, not that one). He’s been writing about the Pirates at various locations online for over 20 years. It has its frustrations, but it’s certainly more cathartic than writing legal stuff. Wilbur is retired and now lives in Bradenton with his wife and three temperamental cats.

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