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Pirates Prospects Daily: Who Had the Better Day at the Plate?

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Indianapolis Indians outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba (13) May 27, 2023 David Hague/Pirates Prospects

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Reading time: 3 min.

Which of the following players had the better game in the Indianapolis 8-6 victory over Toledo last night?

  • Canaan Smith-Njigba went 4-for-5, knocking in five runs. All five hits were singles, though he also added two stolen bases.
  • Nick Gonzales went 4-for-5 as well, though with zero RBIs. He did have four runs, and one of his hits was a triple.
  • Jared Triolo went 1-for-2 with a double, but walked three times and stole a base.

Those were the stat lines. Here’s how they got there:

  1. In the first inning, Gonzales singled with one out, Triolo doubled, and Smith-Njigba singled to knock both batters in.
  2. The third inning saw all three go down in a 1-2-3 frame.
  3. In the fifth, Gonzales singled with two outs, Triolo walked, and Smith-Njigba singled to knock in Gonzales. Triolo would score on a following single from Domingo Leyba, who also had three hits.
  4. Gonzales led things off in the seventh with a one-out triple. Triolo walked, and Smith-Njigba singled to knock in Gonzales. Both Triolo and Smith-Njigba stole a base, but were stranded.
  5. In the eighth inning, Mason Martin broke a tie, and Grant Koch extended the lead with back-to-back solo homers. Two batters later, Gonzales reached with a two out single, forcing a pitching change. Triolo walked again. Smith-Njigba singled to score Gonzales. He then stole second base.

All three batters accounted for six bases.

Gonzales had three singles and a triple. Triolo had three walks, a double, and a stolen base. Smith-Njigba had four singles and two steals.

None of the RBIs from Smith-Njigba would have been possible had Gonzales not gotten on base. None of the runs from Gonzales would have scored had Smith-Njigba not delivered all night with runners in scoring position. None of the runs might have happened had Jared Triolo not consistently bridged the gap between the two hitters.

Truthfully, there’s no “best” player from this group. Baseball is a team sport, where you need a guy setting the table, a guy getting him over, and a guy knocking him in. Last night, Indianapolis had that team effort from their 2-4 hitters, with Gonzales/Triolo/Smith-Njigba combining to go 9-for-12 with a double, a triple, three walks, six runs, five RBIs, and three stolen bases.

But, if we’re having fun here, which player do you take? The guy starting things up, the guy continuing the trend, or the guy making the previous efforts all worthwhile in the end?

QUICK PIRATES RECAP

PIRATES (64-75) VS Brewers

Score: Brewers 7, Pirates 3
Pittsburgh Starter: Andre Jackson, RHP (5.21)
–Line: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 5 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Connor Joe, 1B (1-for-4, HR [10], 3 RBI)
Attendance: 9,324

Notable Performers

  • Bryan Reynolds, DH (1-for-3, BB)
  • Josh Palacios, LF (2-for-4)
  • Hunter Stratton, RHP (2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K)

One Sentence Recap: Hunter Stratton made his MLB debut with two shutout innings, but the Pirates lost their latest bullpen game.

DAILY VIDEO RUNDOWN

Let’s watch those hits from Canaan Smith-Njigba last night, starting with the first inning where CSN knocked in two:

Here is another video of CSN knocking in Gonzales:

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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