The most detrimental thing to this site’s publishing schedule is when I go on the road for coverage. My weekend coverage in Miami included about ten hours driving on the Florida turnpike in the rain across two days. And it rained on both days.
I’ll never know how MLB players maintain consistency when they’re on the road. I lucked out with a nice suite on a Priceline Express deal, and still could barely sleep. I woke up around 11 AM today, in my first day back in my own bed.
We’ll see if the Pirates were able to get rested with a day off back at home. They take on the San Diego Padres to start a three game series, with Rich Hill on the mound. Down in the minors, Futures Game pitcher JP Massey is going for Greensboro.
PIRATES (35-42) VS SAN DIEGO
Game Time: 7:05 PM EST
Pirates Starter: Rich Hill, LHP (6-7, 4.34)
Padres Starter: Reiss Knehr, RHP (0-0, 12.27)
Pirates Lineup:
Game 1 vs. the Padres.
Padres Lineup:
Baseball in the Burgh.#BringTheGold pic.twitter.com/M8o18oHsbA
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 27, 2023
INDIANAPOLIS (33-41) OFF
6/21: Changeup Helps Jared Jones In Strong Triple-A Debut
6/7: Aaron Shackelford adjusts swing and relocates power
6/6: Carmen Mlodzinski improves all the way with aggressive approachALTOONA (34-34) OFF
6/22: Power Continues To Come Through For Liover Peguero
6/9: Jared Jones Continues Incredible Development With Altoona
6/1: Matt Gorski Displays Athleticism And VersatilityGREENSBORO (37-30) AT HICKORY
Game Time: 7:00 PM EST
Projected Starter: JP Massey, RHP (1-0, 0.00)
Latest Features:6/25: Jase Bowen Turning Into An Offensive Threat
6/15: Anthony Solometo Promotion A Win For 2021 Draft Class
6/14: Bubba Chandler Looking To Limit Big InningsBRADENTON (38-30) OFF
6/26:Bradenton Rotation Leading FSL Through First Half
6/22: Young Bradenton Hitters Making Progress
6/20: Termarr Johnson: Patience Brings Career Day At The PlateFCL PIRATES (11-5)
Game Time: 12:00 PM EST
Projected Starter: Hung-Leng Chang, RHP
Latest Features:6/16: Is This The Year For A Solomon Maguire Breakout?
6/12: Pirates 2023 Minor League Preview: FCL Pirates
6/11: Pitching Depth Continues To Grow With Jun-Seok Shim DebutDSL PIRATES BLACK (7-9)
Game Time: 11:00 AM EST
Projected Starter: Carlos Castillo, RHP
Latest Features:**Pirates 2023 Minor League Previews: Dominican Summer League Pirates
DSL PIRATES GOLD (11-5)
Game Time: 11:00 AM EST
Projected Starter: Pitterson Rosa, RHP
Latest Features:**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.
6/26: OFF
6/25: Quinn Priester, Canaan Smith-Njigba, Jhonson Pena
6/24: Nick Gonzales, Jared Triolo, Adolfo Oviedo
6/23: Michael Kennedy, Po-Yu Chen, Wyatt Hendrie
6/22: Braxton Ashcraft, Jase Bowen, Maikol Escotto
6/21: Termarr Johnson, Connor Scott, Enmanuel Terrero
6/20: Cal Mitchell, Travis MacGregor, Alessandro Ercolani
6/19: Henry Davis, Bubba Chandler, Julian Bosnic
6/18: Jared Jones, Matt Gorski, Tony Blanco Jr.DAILY PIRATES NEWS
John Dreker recaps a few minor league moves to kick off the week.
**Some Minor League Moves to Start the Week
Jeff Reed previews the upcoming minor league games.
**Pirates Prospects Daily: First Full Week of Second Half
I was pleasantly surprised to see JP Massey named to the Futures Game.
**Endy Rodriguez and JP Massey are Named to Futures Game
More Recent Pirates Features
6/23: Nick Gonzales Bringing Successful Hitting Adjustments to the Majors
6/23: Nick Gonzales: What The Exit Velocity Numbers Say About Potential Impact
6/23: Offensive Struggles During the Ten Game Losing Streak
6/18: The Book on Henry Davis
6/17: Carmen Mlodzinski Becomes First Cherington Pick To Reach Big LeaguesPIRATES 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: Pirates 9, Padres 4
Player of the Game: Nick Gonzales 2-for-4, 3B, HR (1)
Recap:The Pirates uncharacteristically did the thing where somebody touches home plate and also got some offense from some players mired in severe slumps. And Nick Gonzales got a bunch of major league firsts. It all got the team its second win in its last 14 games, 9-4, over visiting San Diego.
Things didn’t start off so well, as Rich Hill had one of those bad innings that seem to happen in most of his starts. He got banged around for three runs in the second, including three, two-out singles that produced two runs. But as he seems to do usually, Hill settled down and followed that dud with three scoreless innings.
The Pirates actually got the runs right back, with most of the damage coming from a quartet of players who’ve been mired in a mind-numbing 1-for-101 combined slump. Three of the culprits got it started, as Jack Suwinski walked, Rodolfo Castro singled and Ji-Hwan Bae hit a sacrifice fly for one run. Gonzales then tripled in a run for his first major league hit and RBI. The fourth member of the struggling quartet, Austin Hedges, walked. Andrew McCutchen tied the game with a two-out single, the first of his three hits.
In the third, the Pirates took the lead as Carlos Santana, who also had three hits, and Suwinski, went back-to-back. The dingerz were Santana’s seventh and Suwinski’s 16th. If Suwinski stays true to form, he’ll get about four more this week. That made it 5-3, then it was 6-3 after Hedges led off the fourth by, of all things, reaching on catcher’s interference. He scored on another McCutchen hit.
San Diego threatened to tie the game in the sixth. A two-out hit drove in one run, and a double put runners at second and third. At that point, Hill probably would have come out, but the Pirates’ bullpen hasn’t exactly been reliable lately. Hill stayed in and got the out after going to a full count. He finished his six innings with nine hits and two walks allowed.
The Pirates added on. In the sixth, Santana and Castro had RBI singles. In the seventh, Gonzales launched his first major league home run, a bomb to straightaway center.
The last three innings were a lot less eventful than they’ve been for the Pirates on the defensive end lately. Roansy Contreras finished the game up on 45 pitches to get the three-inning save (he came in with an 8-4 lead). Contreras gave up two hits and a walk, and fanned three. Some credit to Derek Shelton for resisting the temptation to go to David Bednar with the five-run lead.
PIRATES PROSPECT WATCH
By Wilbur Miller
HIGH-A: GREENSBORO
Final Score: Hickory 7, Greensboro 2
Player of the Game: Tres Gonzalez 2-for-5, 2B
Recap:J.P. Massey struggled with the strike zone and it cost him in a loss to Hickory. Massey walked four and threw only 37 of 71 pitches for strikes. He got through four innings with only a solo home run allowed, but he retired only one batter in the fifth. In the fifth, he gave up a single and two walks to the first three hitters and, ultimately, was charged with four runs in the inning. Yunior Thibo threw a scoreless inning and two-thirds, but he let one of Massey’s runs score. Eddy Yean gave up two unearned runs late.
The Hoppers’ offense didn’t do much, picking up only six hits. Greensboro got two of those in the first and didn’t get another until the seventh. Four walks in the fourth brought in one run. The other scored on a Tres Gonzalez single in the ninth. He also had a double and was the only Hopper to get two hits.
ROOKIE: FCL PIRATES
Final Score: Pirates 10, Twins 6
Player of the Game: Lonnie White, Jr. 5-for-5, 2 2B, SB
Recap:Lonnie White, Jr., had a big day as the FCL Pirates beat the Twins, 10-6. White went 5-for-5 with two doubles, two runs, two RBIs and a steal. White came into the game batting 260/362/360; now he’s hitting 327/413/455. Yordany De Los Santos had a big day of his own, with two singles, a sacrifice fly and three RBIs. De Los Santos also stole three bases, giving him 12 on the year in 13 tries. The Pirates generally ran wild, stealing seven bases without getting caught.
The game was a pitchers’ duel for a while. Hung-Leng Chang had a bounce-back start, throwing four shutout innings. He gave up two hits and a walk, and struck out four. Roelmy Garcia threw a shutout inning. The bullpen had more trouble after that, as Andy Maldonado, Keneth Quintanilla and Joaquin Tejada combined to allow six runs over the last four innings.
The offense scored enough runs late to cover for the bullpen. Catcher Rafael Escalante hit his second home run of the season, and also had a single and a walk. Jeral Toledo had a triple, a walk and a steal. Sergio Campana came off the injured list to make his first appearance of the year, playing center, and striking out and walking before coming out.
ROOKIE: DSL PIRATES BLACK
Final Score: Tigers 2 10, Pirates Black 4
Player of the Game: Jonathan Rivero 2-for-2, HR (1), 3 RBI
Recap:Carlos Castillo had his first rough start as a pro as the Pirates Black got bombed by the Tigers 2, 10-4. Castillo allowed only one run in his first three starts, but he gave up five in this one while being knocked out during a five-run fourth. Jarlen De La Paz gave up three while recording only two outs. Carlos Mateo, the Pirates’ top mound signing, continued to struggle. He threw one scoreless inning, but gave up two runs in his second inning. He did walk only one, which is something.
The Pirates’ top signee (in bonus terms), Jonathan Rivero, had his best game so far. He hit a solo home run in the first, his first pro longball, to give the Bucs a short-lived lead. Rivero also had a single and a walk, and scored three times. Angel Perez also had two hits, including a double, and drove in two. The rest of the lineup produced just one hit.
ROOKIE: DSL PIRATES GOLD
Final Score: Pirates Gold 1, Twins 0
Players of the Game: Pitterson Rosa 3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K; Angel Camacho 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K; Rafael Mendez 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
Recap:Three pitchers combined for a five-hit shutout in a seven-inning game, giving the Pirates Gold a 1-0 win. Pitterson Rosa gave up four hits and a walk, but no runs over three innings. Angel Camacho and Rafael Mendez each went two innings and each fanned four.
The Pirates got the game’s only run from the leadoff batter in the bottom of the first, as Juan Machado hit his second home run of the year. He also drew a walk. Roinny Aguiar had a single and a double. The team had only four hits total.
