The Pirates saw a few outstanding pitching performances in their system on Thursday, led by Po-Yu Chen. The bats were also active, with Lonnie White Jr. having his third big game in a row for Bradenton. Check out the players of the day and the full results below.
Player of the Day
PO-YU CHEN, RHP, GREENSBORO
Pitching in Greensboro, Chen threw five innings of one-hit ball, allowing a lone run on a solo homer. Other than that home run, he hit one batter, walked none, and struck out seven batters. Chen doesn’t have electric stuff, with a below-average fastball, but three average or better offspeed pitches. He also has a chance for plus command. This isn’t the first time he’s been lights out with his lack of dominant stuff, showing an ability to go deep into games with 1-2 runs allowed on very few walks and hits. He lacks consistency from start-to-start with this level of pitching.
Ten More to Follow
JOHN O’REILLY, RHP, INDIANAPOLIS
The Pirates have been going with a lot of bullpen games in Triple-A lately, due to the lack of starting pitching in the upper levels. Travis MacGregor got the start tonight, and was relieved in the third inning by John O’Reilly. After stranding two runners, O’Reilly went on to pitch three full innings on the day, allowing a run on two hits, with two walks and three strikeouts. He put Indianapolis in position for the win, with added insurance from the usual offense by Miguel Andujar and Domingo Leyba.
SEAN SULLIVAN, RHP, ALTOONA
Sullivan had one of his best starts of the season, going five shutout with three hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. This was Sullivan’s best start since May, when he had a 3.67 ERA and was regularly going 6-7 innings. He had a 6.16 ERA in June and an 8.74 in July. It’s good to see him getting back to what he was doing at the start of the season.
JACKSON GLENN, 2B, ALTOONA
Glenn hit his ninth homer of the year, and third in 80 at-bats for Altoona. Playing second base, he went 2-for-4, adding a walk on the day. Glenn is batting .238/.299/.413 with Altoona, after being promoted one month ago. All three of his home runs have come in the last two weeks.
LOLO SANCHEZ, RF, ALTOONA
Sanchez hit his 5th homer of the year, while also adding his eighth double. The 24-year-old outfielder is in his second season with Altoona, and has posted a sub-.700 OPS in both seasons. He’s had two big games in the last week, homering on July 29th in a three hit game.
TSUNG-CHE CHENG, SS, ALTOONA
Cheng went 2-for-4, extending his hitting streak to 11 games. He’s now 14-for-42 during the stretch. His first four games were solo singles. He’s since had more multi-hit games and extra base hits during this stretch. Cheng is one of the best pure hitters in the system, but doesn’t have a lot of power from his 5′ 7″, 173 pound frame.
SAMMY SIANI, LF, GREENSBORO
Siani went 3-for-3, picking up two doubles. The 2019 37th overall pick is batting .233/.339/.369 with Greensboro this year, with seven homers and 11 doubles. This was the first extra base hit he had since July 22nd.
MALCOM NUNEZ, DH, GREENSBORO
Nunez continued his rehab work, going 2-for-2 with two walks and a double. He was the DH in tonight’s game, getting focus at the plate only. Nunez rehabbed for two games in the FCL, four in Bradenton, and now two with Greensboro to start this month. He was batting .357/.478/.536 during the month of May in Indianapolis, prior to the injury.
LONNIE WHITE JR., DH, BRADENTON
White has been crushing the ball the last few days. He went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run on Thursday night. It was his third straight game with multiple hits and multiple extra base hits. Since June 29th, White is 8-for-18 with three homers, three doubles, and a triple. He spent most of July in Bradenton, but technically this will be his first full month of his career, after being drafted 64th overall in 2021 and dealing with injuries last year.
CHARLES MCADOO, 2B, BRADENTON
The Pirates drafted McAdoo in the 13th round this year. In his first two games with the Marauders, the second baseman is 3-for-6 with two RBIs. He went 2-for-4 on Thursday.
OWEN KELLINGTON, RHP, BRADENTON
Kellington got the start, giving up two runs in four innings of work. Drafted in the fourth round of the 2021 draft, the Pirates have limited the right-hander to 3-4 innings outings all season. He had a 3.68 ERA in 14.2 innings in July, with a 19:5 K/BB ratio.
Thursday’s Home Runs
- Miguel Andujar, LF, Indianapolis (15)
- Domingo Leyba, 3B, Indianapolis (2)
- Lolo Sanchez, RF, Altoona (5)
- Jackson Glenn, 2B, Altoona (3)
- Lonnie White Jr., DH, Bradenton (4)
Thursday’s Minor League Results
INDIANAPOLIS (50-54) AT Gwinnett
Score: Indianapolis 7, Gwinnett 4
Indianapolis Starter: Travis MacGregor, RHP (3.97)
–Line: 2.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Miguel Andujar, LF (3-for-6, HR [15])
Attendance: 1,861
Notable Performers
- Domingo Leyba, 3B (2-for-3, 2 BB, HR [2])
- Aaron Shackelford, DH (1-for-3, 2 BB)
- Mason Martin, 1B (2-for-4, BB, 3B)
- John O’Reilly, RHP (3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR)
- Hunter Stratton, RHP (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K)
ALTOONA (46-49) VS Richmond
Score: Altoona 6, Richmond 0
Altoona Starter: Sean Sullivan, RHP (4.26)
–Line: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Lolo Sanchez, RF (2-for-4, 2B, HR [5], 2 RBI)
Attendance: 3,843
Notable Performers
- Jackson Glenn, 2B (2-for-4, HR [3], 3 RBI, BB)
- Tsung-Che Cheng, SS (2-for-4)
- Omar Cruz, LHP (1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K)
- Cameron Junker, RHP (1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K)
- Tahnaj Thomas, RHP (1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K)
GREENSBORO (51-45) VS Asheville
Score: Greensboro 6, Asheville 3
Greensboro Starter: Po Yu Chen, RHP (4.00)
–Line: 5.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 1 HR
Player of the Game: Chen
Attendance: 3,096
Notable Performers
- Sammy Siani, LF (3-for-3, 2 2B, BB)
- Malcom Nunez, DH (2-for-2, 2B, 2 BB, 3 RBI)
- Josiah Sightler, 1B (2-for-4)
BRADENTON (57-41) VS Tampa
Score: Tampa 7, Bradenton 4
Bradenton Starter: Owen Kellington, RHP (4.35)
–Line: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Lonnie White Jr. (2-for-4, 2B, HR [4], 2 RBI)
Attendance: 833
Notable Performers
- Juan Jerez, 1B (2-for-4, 2 2B)
- Charles McAdoo, 2B (2-for-4)
FCL PIRATES (28-13) VS FCL Braves
Score: Braves 5, Pirates 4
FCL Pirates Starter: Luigi Hernandez, RHP (3.18)
–Line: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Jeral Toledo, 2B (2-for-3, BB, 2 2B, 2 SB [10])
Notable Performers
- Eddy Rodriguez, DH (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI)
DSL PIRATES BLACK (14-24) VS DSL Red Sox Red
Score: Red Sox 9, Pirates 4
Pirates Black Starter: Carlos Mateo, RHP (15.88)
–Line: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Isaac Paulino, 3B (2-for-3, 3B, BB)
DSL PIRATES GOLD (28-12) VS DSL Red Sox Blue
Score: Pirates 2, Red Sox 0
Pirates Gold Starter: Carlos Castillo, RHP (2.00)
–Line: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Roinny Aguiar, SS (3-for-4, 2B, 3B)
