Indianapolis broke its four-game, season-opening losing streak with a doubleheader sweep over Louisville. Luis Ortiz, Osvaldo Bido, Travis Swaggerty and Tucupita Marcano led the way. Altoona opened its season by getting thrashed against New Hampshire.
YESTERDAY’S RESULTS
Indianapolis was rained out yesterday.
TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
Starting Pitcher: Luis Ortiz (0-0, 0.00) and Osvaldo Bido (NR)
- Final Line: Ortiz 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K; Bido 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 K
Notable Performances:
- Travis Swaggerty 4-7, 3B, HR (1), HBP
- Tucupita Marcano 3-7, 2B, 3B
- Endy Rodriguez 0-2, BB, SF
- Mark Mathias 2-4, BB, 2 HBP, SB
- Nick Gonzales 2-5, BB, HBP
- Malcom Nunez 1-4
- Cal Mitchell 0-2
- Robert Stephenson, 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
- Yerry De Los Santos 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
- Cody Bolton 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 K
Game Recap
Luis Ortiz had another good start as Indianapolis (2-4) finally picked up a win, beating Louisville in the first game of a doubleheader, 5-3. The Indians finished the sweep with a 1-0 win in game two.
Ortiz opened with four hitless innings. Louisville finally got to him for three singles in the fifth, with an infield hit scoring a run. Ortiz left with two outs, having fanned seven. He wasn’t throwing a ton of strikes early, so his pitch count was 77 by then, but he started finding the plate as the game went on, so 50 of those went for strikes. Daniel Zamora got the last out of the fifth.
The offense started off well, as Travis Swaggerty led off with his first home run. Nothing much happened after that until the sixth, when Tucupita Marcano drove in two with a single. Indy got four in the inning. Marcano finished the game 2-for-4. Mark Mathias went 2-for-2 with a walk and hit batsman. They were each batting .500 after game one.
Robert Stephenson, still on rehab, still doesn’t look so good. He started the sixth and managed to get only two outs. He walked two and allowed two hits, including a two-run bomb. In three outings, he has yet to make it through a full inning. Yerry De Los Santos had to get the last out with two on, then escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh for the save.
Swaggerty got the second game off to another fast start with a leadoff triple. He scored on a triple by Marcano, but Marcano was thrown out at the plate on Nick Gonzales’ fly to center. The offense mostly sat out the rest of the game. Their best chance was lost when Miguel Andujar struck out with runner on second and third, and one out, in the sixth. Swaggerty’s run ended up being the only one in the game.
Osvaldo Bido started and threw three shutout innings, needing 43 pitches and allowing just one baserunner. Cody Bolton followed with two shutout innings, allowing just one runner. Yohan Ramirez got the next five hitters, four of them on strikes. Angel Perdomo came in to face a left-handed hitter to end the game on a three-pitch strikeout.
DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA CURVE
Box Score: LINK
Starting Pitcher: Kyle Nicolas (NR)
- Final Line: 4.2 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 K
Notable Performances:
- Henry Davis 1-3, BB, HBP
- Liover Peguero 1-4, BB
- Matt Gorski 2-3, HR (1), BB, HBP
Game Recap:
Altoona (0-1) got pummeled in its opener, 8-2, by New Hampshire. Kyle Nicolas had a good start except for one bad inning. That came in the second, when he walked the first three batters, then allowed a bases-clearing double. He got out of trouble with the help of a line drive double play, then allowed no more hits after that. Nicolas left with two out in the fifth having thrown 83 pitches, 49 for strikes.
Matt Gorski got one run back in the bottom of the inning, belting his first longball of the season in his first AB. The Curve had some chances after that, but went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. The only other run scored when a popup by Connor Scott dropped in for a double. It drove in Mason Martin, who’d also doubled.
Aaron Shortridge came on for the sixth and blew up the game, giving up four runs while retiring only two batters, with one run scoring after Braeden Ogle came on. Oliver Garcia gave up the last run in the ninth when he hit a batter with the bases loaded.
HIGH-A: GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS
Greensboro opens its season on Friday.
LOW-A: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
Bradenton opens its season on Friday.
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.
Statcast rollout in the Minor League parks doesn’t seem to be going great…
6 Hit By Pitches in 3 games?! Are we coaching this tendency or should we take it personally “Today we are all Henry Davis”
Go TSwag. Go Gorski. Between the two maybe we can get a real CFer in Pgh!
Bido, Bolton, Ramirez, Perdomo 7 IP Shutout, 2 H, 0BB/10K. Ramirez K’d 4 of the 5 batters he faced.
Look for Bolton, Bido, Mlodzinski, and others to see MLB this year in the BP.
Bolton and Mlod 100%. Not sold on Bido yet, tho.
I think Ortiz could be an amazing 2-3 inning pitcher. Not sure about a true starter.
PS – Bido is going to get to show this year.
Just keep in mind that he got 11 appearances in Bristol in 2019. Then lost 2020, and started in 2021 at A Ball. In 2021 and 2022 he has been aggressively challenged by assignments to AA, AAA, and then 4 Starts for the Pirates to finish 2022.
If the Pirates Rotation stays with Keller, Hill, Contreras, Oviedo, VV, the Pirates will probably like to hold Ortiz, Burrows, and Priester at AAA. Good chance 2 starters leave between now and August, and that should be when Ortiz and Burrows come up. Priester probably later.
Didn’t take long for Tank to garner another HBP.
Really wasn’t his “fault.” Pitch was way up and in. Luckily just clipped him.
#FreeSwaggerty
He needed reps. CSN did not need reps? There’s a huge blockage in our MLB OF. Swagg’s has 8 days of MLB Service – look for him to be up during the Home Stand later this month – Apr 25 would be my guess. CSN to take his roster slot in AAA. If there’s a team out there who needs a RH hitting OF/1B, they need to contact the Pirates (CJ).
Apr 25th, be careful or you will be implying service time manipulation
What CSN does not need to rep is 4-K games.
Hey at least that -13 degree launch angle is making up for it.
GORSKI
Do we have another OF with a “SKI” on the end? The Pirates were first MLB team with an All Black lineup – could they be first in an All-Ski OF?
Team Poland has entered the chat.
Reynoldski?
I’m partial to Smithski-Njigbaski.
And Ji-Ski Bae.
#freeMarcano
There are a few excellent prospects such as Marcano that are just blocked by other guys who are doing well for the Pirates, or have other attributes the Pirates like such as Power or ability to steal bases.
When the trades begin, watch for the Pirates to add some of these good prospects to the mix to try to get better returns.
Marcano is the 2nd youngest player on the Indians right now. younger than Endy, nick g, etc. Nunez is the baby.
Important point
People dismiss Marcano, but this guy was rushed by the Padres and in many ways mishandled by the Pirates, I wouldn’t mind seeing him spend the bulk of the year in AAA, despite what I wrote above!