Bubba Chandler made his return to the mound on Wednesday for Altoona, after exiting his May 17th start as a precautionary move with forearm discomfort.
Chandler pitched four innings in his return, allowing two solo homers for his only runs. In the May 17th start, Chandler walked five batters in less than an inning. He had 13 walks in 24 innings prior to that outing. On Wednesday, Chandler walked one batter and struck out three in his four innings.
Anthony Solometo pitched his third game in a row out of the bullpen for Altoona on Wednesday, with his second single-inning appearance. He pitched a scoreless inning with one walk and one hit.
Solometo had struggled as a starter this year in Double-A, and had control issues early in the season. He walked 15 in 19 innings to open the season. In his last two appearances as a reliever, Solometo has pitched two shutout innings, with one hit, one walk, and two strikeouts.
TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
INDIANAPOLIS lost 8-2
- 2B Mike Jarvis: 1-for-2, HR, BB
- DH Henry Davis: 1-for-4, RBI, 3 K
- C Jason Delay: 1-for-3, 2B
- LHP Josh Fleming: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
- CF Jack Suwinski: 1-for-4, 2 K
Jason Delay made his second rehab appearance with Indianapolis, catching seven innings. Henry Davis continues to hit, but probably needs to show a larger sample size in Triple-A before the Pirates will give him another shot. I could see Delay joining Joey Bart in the majors if his rehab progresses quickly. Mike Jarvis hit his second homer in three games. Jarvis has four hits this year as an upper-level depth option.
STATCAST HEROES
Henry Davis had the hardest hit of the game, with a 108.9 MPH single. The home run from Jarvis traveled 411 feet at 105.2 MPH.
DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA CURVE
ALTOONA lost 6-2
- RHP Bubba Chandler: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 HR
- LHP Anthony Solometo: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
- RHP Drake Fellows: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
- 1B Seth Beer: 2-for-3, 2B, BB
- C Carter Bins: 1-for-3, 2B, BB, SB
Along with Solometo moving to the bullpen, Drake Fellows got an inning in relief, after looking good as a starter this month with Altoona. Fellows has a 1.59 ERA in 17 innings in Double-A, but has also dealt with control issues, with nine walks in his first 16 innings.
HIGH-A: GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS
GREENSBORO won 12-3
- RHP Derek Diamond: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
- RHP Alessandro Ercolani: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
- CF Hudson Head: 2-for-5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI
- DH Jack Brannigan: 1-for-4, HR, BB, 2 RBI
- 2B Mitch Jebb: 2-for-4, HR, BB, RBI
The Greensboro offensive output was fueled by home runs from Hudson Head (7th of the season), Jack Brannigan (7), and Mitch Jebb (4). Head also doubled in a run, knocking in three on the day. Derek Diamond allowed one run in five innings, lowering his ERA to 2.70 in his second season in High-A. Alessandro Ercolani turned 20 last month, and has been used in the rotation early in the season. He has an advanced pitch mix for his age, but has allowed a high amount of home runs and walks. In his last outing, he allowed two homers and three walks in 2.1 innings. This relief appearance on Wednesday was a good bounce-back.
SINGLE-A: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
BRADENTON won 3-2
- RHP Antwone Kelly: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
- LF Braylon Bishop: 1-for-4, HR, BB, 3 RBI
- DH Justin Miknis: 2-for-3, BB
- 3B Javier Rivas: 1-for-4
- RHP Mike Walsh: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Antwone Kelly has now allowed one run on five hits across nine innings in his last two starts. Kelly has also walked four batters. He’s shown to be capable of these types of starts throughout the year, but has yet to show this type of consistency and control across multiple outings. Braylon Bishop extended his hitting streak to seven games with his second homer of the year for Bradenton. Bishop is 10-for-28 with two doubles, a triple, and two homers in this stretch.
STATCAST HEROES
The home run from Bishop had an exit velocity of 101.6 MPH, but no recorded distance. He had a flyout that traveled 371 feet at 96.9 MPH. Javier Rivas had the hardest hit, with a 106 MPH single. Antwone Kelly averaged 93.5 MPH with his fastball, topping out at 97.5 MPH.
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
- Triple-A: Indianapolis, 5:35 PM – TBD
- Triple-A: Indianapolis, Game Two – TBD
- Double-A: Altoona, 6:00 PM – RHP Thomas Harrington (0-0, 1.54)
- High-A: Greensboro, 6:35 PM – LHP Hunter Barco (1-1, 2.41)
- Single-A: Bradenton, 7:05 PM – RHP Carlson Reed (3-1, 2.02)
- Rookie: FCL Pirates, 6:00 PM – TBD
