The Pittsburgh Pirates lost their weekend series to the Braves, but the minor league system completed a 4-0 sweep on Sunday.
QUICK PIRATES RECAP
PIRATES (66-77) AT Braves
Score: Braves 5, Pirates 2
Pittsburgh Starter: Luis Ortiz, RHP (4.66)
–Line: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Ortiz
Attendance: 39,071
Notable Performers
- Bryan Reynolds, LF (2-for-4, 2B, RBI)
- Jack Suwinski, CF (1-for-4, 2B, RBI)
- Joshua Palacios, RF (2-for-4, 3B)
One Sentence Recap: The Pirates had a 2-1 lead until a four run seventh inning off Colin Selby and Thomas Hatch.
AROUND THE SYSTEM
Two teams wrapped up their minor league seasons on Sunday, and all four minor league teams won their games, with a few walk offs.
SUNDAY’S HOME RUNS
- Chris Owings, SS, Indianapolis (14)
- Nick Cimillo, 1B, Greensboro (3)
PERFECT DAY FOR HENRY DAVIS
Making his second rehab appearance with Indianapolis, Henry Davis started as the designated hitter, and went a perfect 3-for-3 with two walks on the day. After playing a shortened game yesterday, in which he hit a home run, Davis played an entire game as a hitter-only. Indianapolis won 5-2, with Wil Crowe allowing two runs in four innings, and Beau Sulser, Kyle Nicolas, and Osvaldo Bido combining for the final five shutout frames. Chris Owings picked up a double and a home run, while Matt Gorski added two more hits in his recent move to Triple-A.
HUGE DAY FOR CARTER BINS
One of the best defensive catchers in the system, and a highly adaptable catcher to any new pitcher, Carter Bins has been bringing the bat lately. Yesterday he went 3-for-5 with three RBIs in Altoona’s 5-4 win, including delivering a walk-off RBI double in the ninth. Bins also previously tied the game at 4-4 with his second hit of the day. Behind the plate, Bins has been in charge of catching Paul Skenes and his upper 90s stuff. On Sunday, he caught lefty Jackson Wolf, who is a softer throwing lefty with deception. Wolf allowed three runs in five innings of work, with two of the runs coming on a home run. Altoona went 6-for-7 on stolen bases on the night. Recently promoted Jase Bowen went 1-for-4 with a triple.
CIMILLO DRIVES GREENSBORO TO COMEBACK WIN
The Grasshoppers won their final game of the year by a score of 6-5. They entered the ninth inning down 5-3. Hudson Head and Sammy Siani reached base, bringing up first baseman Nick Cimillo with two outs. The 2022 16th rounder hit his third homer of the year to give Greensboro a walkoff 6-5 win. Jack Brannigan picked up two hits, including a double. Maikol Escotto doubled twice. Thomas Harrington got the start, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks in three innings, with five strikeouts.
MARAUDERS WIN FINAL GAME OF THE SEASON
The Bradenton Marauders played a logistically crazy nine inning game on Sunday, resulting in a 5-3 win. Jesus Castillo played every position except catching and pitching. Six other players rotated between two positions, making room for the change each frame from Castillo, who went 0-for-4 with a walk and a caught stealing, missing his 40th steal of the season. On the pitching side, seven pitchers were used to hold Fort Myers to three runs over nine innings. The standout was Carlos Jimenez, who went two shutout frames, allowing a walk and striking out four.
WHAT TO WATCH ON MONDAY
Greensboro and Bradenton have wrapped up their seasons, while Indianapolis and Altoona are off on Monday. The Pirates play at 6:35 PM.
DAILY VIDEO RUNDOWN
Carter Bins, needing just a deep fly ball for the win, ends up knocking a ground rule double over the fence.
SEND US HOME CARTER BINS pic.twitter.com/0cw7nsM8jQ
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) September 10, 2023
Earlier in the game, Bins tied the score and moved up to second with some heads up base running.
Clutch Carter pic.twitter.com/GshDmz3bqK
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) September 10, 2023
PIRATES PREVIEW
The Pirates take on the Washington Nationals tonight at 6:35 PM, with no pitcher scheduled at the time of this writing. The Pirates are 2-1 against the Nationals this year, outscoring them 24-11.
SONG OF THE DAY
In the days after 9/11, MTV had a loop of videos they would play, and this newly filmed, new released U2 video was in the loop, playing every hour for days. This actually wasn’t even the official music video. That was filmed in the US in November. I’ll always remember this version, as I think it ended up playing every half hour with a handful of other uplifting songs.
