GREENSBORO, NC – Termarr Johnson returned to the Greensboro lineup tonight, after two days off. He returned in a big way, hitting a grand slam in his second at-bat to help fuel the Grasshoppers to an easy 9-1 victory. Check out my live reports from Greensboro, as well as the best players throughout the Pirates’ system on Saturday night.
Player of the Day
TERMARR JOHNSON, 2B, GREENSBORO
Johnson left Thursday’s game after being hit in the hand by a pitch. Talking with him before today’s game, the ball caught him in the heel of his left palm, below his thumb. Fortunately, it didn’t cause any issues. Johnson showed that to be true in his second at-bat in the game. After taking a first pitch slider low and inside, he absolutely crushed the second pitch for a grand slam.
Grand slam! Termarr Johnson is back! pic.twitter.com/MFFFIt1b7Z
— Tim Williams (@TimWilliamsP2) August 19, 2023
This was the fourth homer in the last six games for Johnson, spanning back to last Saturday. He also added an RBI single, doing some nice work to take an inside pitch and loop it out over the shortstop’s head. The 2022 fourth overall pick is now batting .220/.361/.460 in 50 at-bats for Greensboro.
Ten More to Follow
QUINN PRIESTER, RHP, INDIANAPOLIS
Priester made his return to Indianapolis, throwing four shutout innings. He allowed four hits and three walks, while striking out six batters. Priester had a 9.10 ERA in 28.2 innings in Pittsburgh this year.
JARED TRIOLO, 2B, INDIANAPOLIS
Triolo returned to Indianapolis, and played second base on Saturday night. He went 1-for-4 with a double, and struck out twice.
J.P. MASSEY, RHP, GREENSBORO
Massey only went three innings in his latest start, and only allowed a single run. His fastball was sitting 89-91 MPH, and he mixed in an upper 70s curveball and a low 80s slider. He picked up a strikeout on that slider in the second inning. In the third inning, he struck out two in a scoreless frame. You can watch that whole inning below.
J.P. Massey strikes out two in the third inning. Massey represented the #Pirates in the MLB Future's Game last month. pic.twitter.com/WzBqGG5eVC
— Tim Williams (@TimWilliamsP2) August 19, 2023
BRENDEN DIXON, 3B, GREENSBORO
Dixon had a nice night at the plate, picking up a triple and a home run, while also walking once and knocking in three. The homer saw him sit back on a hanging curveball, sending it out over the left-center field wall.
Brenden Dixon HOMER
SANTIAGO FLOREZ, RHP, GREENSBORO
Florez followed Massey and pitched three perfect innings, striking out three. He showed good command of a fastball that sat around 92-93, with easy arm action from a tall delivery. He mixed in a low-80s breaking pitch.
JAYCOB DEESE, RHP, GREENSBORO
Deese pitched the final three innings, allowing a hit, no runs, no walks, and striking out four. He’s faced some issues this month, with eight earned runs in three innings over his last two appearances. I did not stay for the final few innings, and missed the velocity on his stuff tonight.
MAX KRANICK, RHP, BRADENTON
Kranick made his second rehab appearance for Bradenton, and this went much better. He threw three shutout innings, allowing two hits, no walks, and striking out two. That’s an improvement over last time, when he allowed six runs in 1.1 innings, with five of them earned.
LONNIE WHITE JR., DH, BRADENTON
White has been on the IL for the last week, after starting the month on fire at the plate. He returned to action on Saturday night and picked up where he left off. White had two hits, with a double. He’s now batting .342/.468/.789 in the month of August.
MAGDIEL COTTO, LHP, FCL PIRATES
The Pirates drafted Cotto in the 11th round out of Kentucky. Despite being out of college, he signed for an over-slot deal. The lefty made his pro debut on Saturday, throwing a scoreless inning and striking out two.
ESTUAR SUERO, DH, FCL PIRATES
Suero hit his first home run with the Pirates organization, launching a two run shot in the ninth inning of Saturday afternoon’s FCL game. Suero is batting .211/.388/.342 since being acquired as one of three players in the Rich Hill/Ji Man Choi trade.
Saturday’s Home Runs
- Ryan Vilade, CF, Indianapolis (5)
- Domingo Leyba, DH, Indianapolis (5)
- Joe Perez, RF, Altoona (2)
- Eli Wilson, C, Altoona (1)
- Estuar Suero, DH, FCL Pirates (1)
Saturday’s Minor League Results
INDIANAPOLIS (55-62) AT St. Paul
Score: Indianapolis 5, St. Paul 4
Indianapolis Starter: Quinn Priester, RHP (4.12)
–Line: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Ryan Vilade, CF (2-for-2, 2 BB, HR [5], 2 RBI)
Attendance: 6,188Notable Performers
- Beau Sulser, RHP (3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR)
- Domingo Leyba, DH (1-for-4, HR [5], 2 RBI)
- Jared Triolo, 2B (1-for-4, 2B)
ALTOONA (52-58) AT Bowie
Score: Bowie 6, Altoona 5
Altoona Starter: Anthony Solometo, LHP (4.42)
–Line: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
Player of the Game: Joe Perez, RF (1-for-3, BB, HR [2])
Attendance: 6,098Notable Performers
- Tsung-Che Cheng, 2B (2-for-4)
- Eli Wilson, C (1-for-4, HR [1])
GREENSBORO (60-50) VS Bowling Green
Score: Greensboro 9, Bowling Green 1
Greensboro Starter: J.P. Massey, RHP (4.63)
–Line: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Termarr Johnson, 2B (2-for-4, BB, HR [4], 5 RBI)
Attendance: 7,157Notable Performers
- Santiago Florez, RHP (3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K)
- Jaycob Deese, RHP (3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K)
- Brenden Dixon, 3B (2-for-3, BB, HR [10], 3 RBI)
BRADENTON (64-48) VS Lakeland
Score: Bradenton 5, Lakeland 3
Bradenton Starter: Max Kranick, RHP (10.38)
–Line: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Lonnie White Jr., DH (2-for-5, 2B)
Attendance: 967Notable Performers
- Wilber Dotel, RHP (5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR)
- Jesus Castillo, 2B (2-for-3, BB, SB [34])
- Mitch Jebb, SS (2-for-5)
- Rodolfo Nolasco, RF (2-for-4, RBI)
- Charles McAdoo, LF (1-for-4, 3B)
FCL PIRATES (30-23) VS FCL Orioles
Score: Orioles 6, Pirates 4
FCL Pirates Starter: Roelmy Garcia, RHP (4.91)
–Line: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Estuar Suero, DH (1-for-4, BB, HR [1], 2 RBI)Notable Performers
- Magdiel Cotto, LHP (1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K)
- Eddy Rodriguez, 1B (3-for-5)
DSL PIRATES BLACK (17-33) VS DSL Cubs Red
Score: Cubs 9, Pirates 4
Pirates Black Starter: Nicolas Carreno, LHP (10.50)
–Line: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Isaac Paulino, SS (1-for-1, 2 RBI)DSL PIRATES GOLD (40-12) VS DSL Brewers 1
Score: Pirates 4, Brewers 1
Pirates Gold Starter: Esmir Suarez, RHP (2.80)
–Line: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Yophery Rodriguez, CF (1-for-3)
