Andrew McCutchen will miss the rest of the season with a partial tear of his left achilles tendon. Earlier this year, McCutchen passed the 2,000 career hit milestone. He is currently at 299 home runs, and has expressed interest in returning to the Pirates next year.
McCutchen showed he can still hit, batting .256/.378/.397 this year, with 12 home runs and 11 steals. He played exclusively as the designated hitter, and probably ended up playing more than expected with the injury to Ji Man Choi and the other injuries that left the team depleted.
He would be good to bring back in a reduced role next year, serving as a glue guy for the locker room and dugout, as well as a DH and bat off the bench.
MATT GORSKI TO INDIANAPOLIS
The Pirates promoted Matt Gorski to Triple-A after the center fielder batted .238/.310/.492 in the month of August. Gorski had some of the best all-around play I saw in Altoona, with some of the best power and the ability to play center field. He performed better after Altoona added Joe Perez, who is more of a Triple-A bat. It will be interesting to see how Gorski performs at a higher level, surrounded by more power bats.
BUBBA CHANDLER AND JASE BOWEN TO ALTOONA
Bubba Chandler has been on fire over the last month and a half. The right-hander took ten days off to fish and play golf in July, evaluating the rest of his season. He followed with eight more starts in High-A, posting a 1.85 ERA in 43.2 innings, with a 43:13 K/BB ratio. He will be making his next start in Altoona on Friday.
Bubba Chandler is Starting to Give Pirates Fans Something to Talk About
Jase Bowen was promoted to Altoona, and will replace Gorski. Bowen has been excellent in Greensboro this season, batting .257/.333/.469. The center fielder has good instincts in the outfield, and will be tested more in the more spacious field in Altoona. He’s got speed on the bases, with 24 steals in 29 attempts.
GREENSBORO ADDITIONS
Darvin Garcia was promoted to Greensboro to take the place of Chandler. Garcia had a 6.59 ERA in 35 games out of the bullpen in Bradenton this year.
Maikol Escotto was activated for Greensboro. He’s got a .212/.269/.342 line with eight home runs in 307 at-bats this year.
QUICK PIRATES RECAP
PIRATES (65-75) VS Brewers
Score: Pirates 5, Brewers 4
Pittsburgh Starter: Colin Selby, RHP (7.20)
–Line: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
Player of the Game: Bailey Falter, LHP (3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K)
Attendance: 8,594
Notable Performers
- Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B (1-for-3, BB, HR [13])
- Ji Hwan Bae, CF-2B (1-for-4, 3B, RBI)
- Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, W)
- David Bednar, RHP (1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, SV [33])
One Sentence Recap: Ji Hwan Bae tripled to give the Pirates a lead in the seventh inning, and scored the go-ahead run on a Miguel Andujar pinch-hit single.
DAILY VIDEO RUNDOWN
The Ke’Bryan Hayes power surge has been one of the best parts about the second half of this season.
Number 13 for 13. pic.twitter.com/hhr0IINZF0
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 6, 2023
There’s the triple from Bae, and there’s the base running from Delay.
We love baesball pic.twitter.com/KF0ZJVx7nD
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 6, 2023
AROUND THE SYSTEM
There were seven homers around the system during Wednesday’s games.
INDIANAPOLIS
Roansy Contreras pitched four innings, allowing two runs, while Nick Gonzales homered on Wednesday night.
ALTOONA
Matt Fraizer hit his eighth homer of the year for Altoona, and Anthony Solometo allowed one run in 4.1 innings.
GREENSBORO
Termarr Johnson led a few comeback attempts for Greensboro, including his fifth homer of the year.
BRADENTON
The Marauders dropped to 2.5 games back from the playoffs, with an elimination number of three. For the full day of minor league results, check out the Prospect Watch.
SONG OF THE DAY
