The Pirates have some of the best rising arms in the system throwing tonight in the minors. Jared Jones is making his latest start in Altoona, in a season where he’s stepping up as a candidate for the best pitching prospect in the entire system.
Meanwhile, last year’s 36th overall pick Thomas Harrington is looking to continue his breakout season with his latest start for Greensboro. After a 2.77 ERA in 39 innings with Bradenton, Harrington has moved up to High-A for two starts, with a similar 2.89 ERA in 9.1 innings.
The Pirates have a prospect on the mound in the majors tonight, starting right-hander Osvaldo Bido for his MLB debut. Bido has a 4.55 ERA in 55.1 innings with Indianapolis. We covered what to expect from him in the latest Roundtable.
What I like about tonight is that the Cubs probably don’t have a great report on Bido. They don’t even know how many times he will pitch through the order. The Pirates could have Roansy Contreras pitching in long relief. If those two can combine for six innings, and three runs or fewer, that would be a win. Or, enough for a win, as Jameson Taillon and the Cubs offense showed last night.
Check out the game previews below for the entire system, and follow the updates throughout the day.
PIRATES GAME PREVIEWS
PIRATES (34-31) AT CUBS
Game Time: 8:05 PM EST
Pirates Starter: Osvaldo Bido, RHP (MLB Debut)
Cubs Starter: Drew Smyly, LHP (5-4, 3.27)
Pirates Lineups:
Game 2 from Wrigley.
Cubs Lineups:
Here is tonight's #Cubs starting lineup!
Tune in: https://t.co/Gs2hZXyTjH pic.twitter.com/PhdqvnIeVS
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 14, 2023
INDIANAPOLIS (29-33) AT IOWA
Game Time: 1:08 PM EST
Projected Starter: TBA
Latest Features:6/7: Aaron Shackelford adjusts swing and relocates power
6/6: Carmen Mlodzinski improves all the way with aggressive approach
5/26: Potential Plan For Jared Triolo Becoming More ClearALTOONA (30-26) AT SOMERSET
Game Time: 6:35 PM EST
Projected Starter: Jared Jones, RHP (1-3, 2.21)
Latest Features:6/9: Jared Jones Continues Incredible Development With Altoona
6/1: Matt Gorski Displays Athleticism And Versatility
5/25: Sean Sullivan Continues To Thrive In AltoonaGREENSBORO (32-24) AT GREENVILLE
Game Time: 7:05 PM EST
Projected Starter: Thomas Harrington, RHP (0-0, 2.89)
Latest Features:6/14: Bubba Chandler Looking To Limit Big Innings
6/4: Braxton Ashcraft Showing Velocity and Control in Return From Tommy John
6/2: Abrahan Gutierrez Hitting Ground Running Returning From InjuryBRADENTON (30-28) VS FORT MYERS
Game Time: 12:00 PM EST
Projected Starter: TBA
Latest Features:6/10: Jack Brannigan Continues Hot Streak With Another Home Run
6/9: Ryan Harbin: Sinker/Slider Mix Dominating Single-A Hitters
6/3: Thomas Harrington Displayed Swing and Miss Secondary in BradentonFCL PIRATES (5-2) OFF
6/12: Pirates 2023 Minor League Preview: FCL Pirates
6/11: Pitching Depth Continues To Grow With Jun-Seok Shim DebutDSL PIRATES BLACK (3-4) OFF
**Pirates 2023 Minor League Previews: Dominican Summer League Pirates
DSL PIRATES GOLD (4-3) OFF
**Pirates 2023 Minor League Previews: Dominican Summer League Pirates
THE NEW PROSPECT WATCH
With all of our game reports now going into this daily article, the Prospect Watch has been repurposed as a daily look at three prospects throughout the system. Check the site each day at noon for the latest edition. We’ll keep the archives updated here.
6/13: Brandan Bidios, Yordany De Los Santos, J.P. Massey
6/12: David Matoma, Jun-Seok Shim, Tsung-Che ChengDAILY PIRATES NEWS
Get ready for the start tonight with a preview on Osvaldo Bido.
**Pirates Roundtable: The Book on Osvaldo Bido
Anthony Murphy wrote about Bubba Chandler, and his trend in giving up big innings.
**Pirates Prospects Daily: Bubba Chandler Looking To Limit Big Innings
Baseball America released their top 30 prospects for the Pirates system.
**Updated Top 30 Prospects for the Pittsburgh Pirates from Baseball America
More Recent Pirates Features
6/14: Pirates Roundtable: The Book on Osvaldo Bido
6/11: Interview With Andrew McCutchen
6/10: Williams: How Much Depth Do the 2023 Pirates Have Left?PIRATES RECAP
By Wilbur Miller
Check back at the end of the night for all of the daily results throughout the system, or, join the discussion in the comments if you’re following Live.
Final Score: Cubs 10, Pirates 6
Player of the Game: Osvaldo Bido 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
Recap:Osvaldo Bido wasn’t efficient, but he did as good a job as the Pirates could have expected in his major league debut, and the offense got some early runs. Unfortunately, the bullpen imploded again and the Pirates lost to the Cubs, 10-6.
The early offense came quickly as Andrew McCutchen started the game with his ninth home run of the year. Three batters later, Carlos Santana hit his fifth with a man on.
Bido gave up just one run over four innings. That came in the first on three singles, but one was a misplay by Rodolfo Castro at short, so Bido should have had a scoreless inning. That was the only damage against him despite four hits and three walks overall. It did take Bido 91 pitches, hence the exit after four. But he escaped having two on with one out in both the second and fourth, and showed the ability to miss bats, fanning four.
The Pirates meanwhile built their lead to 5-1. Santana singled in a run in the third, then Austin Hedges improbably launched his first home run of the year in the fourth.
Unfortunately, the bullpen, which is increasingly becoming a trouble spot, undid everything. Roansy Contreras had a quick fifth inning, but fell apart in the sixth. He recorded only one out while allowing three hits and two walks, one with the bases loaded. Yohan Ramirez replaced him and wasn’t any better, largely due to a return of the control problems that have chronically plagued him. He let in two inherited runners and one of his own. That put the Cubs ahead, 7-5.
The Pirates got one back on a sacrifice fly by Santana, giving him four RBIs on the day. The bullpen and Derek Shelton more than countered that progress, though. Angel Perdomo had an easy seventh, but Shelton took him out for the struggling Colin Holderman in the eighth. He gave up two runs before recording an out. He eventually allowed a third run and managed to retire only two of seven batters. Holderman has now allowed six runs in his last three innings. Shelton belatedly brought in Jose Hernandez, who locked the barn door with two of Holderman’s runners on base.
The Pirates got their first two batters on in the ninth, but were retired easily after that. They finished 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
PIRATES PROSPECT WATCH
By John Dreker
TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS
Final Score: Iowa 8, Indianapolis 1
Player of the Game: Miguel Andujar 3-for-3, 2B, 3B, RBI
Recap:Indianapolis lost 8-1, as reliever JC Flowers has hit a rough patch after a decent start to his Triple-A time.
Chase De Jong started the game, throwing two scoreless innings. Flowers took the third and couldn’t make it out of the inning, giving up six runs on five hits and two walks. He has allowed 18 earned runs over his last three innings. He had a 3.54 ERA and more than a strikeout per inning over the first six weeks of the season, before allowing runs in each of his last five games.
Duane Underwood Jr tossed two scoreless. Cody Bolton gave up two runs on five hits in two innings.
Indianapolis only scored one run, but Miguel Andujar had himself a game. He had a single, double, triple and drove in the only run on a sacrifice fly.
Henry Davis did well too, with a single, double, HBP and he scored the run.
Endy Rodriguez, Nick Gonzales, Cal Mitchell and Jared Triolo each went 0-for-4.
Indianapolis struck out 16 times.
DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA
Final Score: Somerset 5, Altoona 4
Player of the Game: Abrahan Gutierrez 3-for-5, 3 RBI
Recap:Jared Jones only allowed one run on Wednesday night, but it was still a fairly rough outing for the young pitching prospect. He was pulled after 3.2 innings, allowing five hits and three walks, while needing 78 pitches (50 strikes) to get through his abbreviated outing. He picked up six strikeouts to give him a 2.23 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 44.1 innings.
Noe Toribio followed Jones and stranded an inherited runner, but then he allowed two runs of his own in 1.1 frames. Justin Meis gave up two runs over two innings. Oliver Garcia tossed a scoreless inning.
Abrahan Gutierrez had the big hit for Altoona, clearing the bases with a three-run double in the seventh inning. He had three hits in the game.
Andres Alvarez had an RBI ground out in the eighth.
HIGH-A: GREENSBORO
Final Score: Greenville 5, Greensboro 2
Player of the Game: Brenden Dixon 1-for-3, RBI, Run
Recap:Thomas Harrington won the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week for last week. He wasn’t able to back up that performance on Wednesday, going 4.2 innings, with five runs (four earned) on seven hits, one walk and five strikeouts.
Michell Miliano, Jake Stevenson and Jack Carey combined for 3.1 shutout innings.
Ernny Ordonez drove in a run in the eighth on a single. Brenden Dixon drove in the other run with a ninth inning sacrifice fly. His double was one of three hits by the Grasshoppers. Mike Jarvis had a single and a walk.
SINGLE-A: BRADENTON
Final Score: Bradenton 18, Fort Myers 9
Player of the Game: Termarr Johnson 4-for-4, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 4 Runs
Recap:Bradenton pitchers had a rough game on Wednesday, but the offense was more than up to the task in an 18-9 victory.
Termarr Johnson had a career day with a single, two doubles, his fourth home run and two walks. He drove in a pair and scored four runs. He raised his OPS 81 points in one day.
Shalin Polanco had a big day as well, going 3-for-6 with two doubles and his eighth stolen base. He now has ten doubles on the year. He had two runs and three RBIs today.
Rodolfo Nolasco hit his 11th double and drove in a pair. Luis Hernandez drove in three runs, while connecting on his first double.
Enmanuel Terrero reached base three times and stole his 16th base. Jesus Castillo picked up his 12th steal.
JP Massey had some control issues early, then a big third inning hurt his overall line. He went 5.1 innings on four runs, four hits, four walks and five strikeouts. He hit two batters, while throwing just 45 of his 85 pitches for strikes.
Julian Bosnic also had a rough go, allowed four earned over 1.2 innings.
