Bryan De La Cruz got off to a slow start after being acquired by the Pittsburgh Pirates at the trade deadline.
De La Cruz went 2-for-4 in his first game, then followed that by going 2-for-30 in his next seven games. Since that point, De La Cruz has been heating up at the plate, getting hits in seven of his last eight games, with a huge night on Thursday’s 7-0 win over the Reds.
The Pirates scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, and had the bases loaded for De La Cruz. He delivered with a bases-clearing double that traveled 349 feet at 97.5 MPH. It was one of three hits on the night for the outfielder, who also had another double at 95.8 MPH and a single at 100.8 MPH.
In his last eight games, De La Cruz is 12-for-34 with two doubles and a walk. This was his third multi-hit game during that stretch.
Skenes Shuts Down the Reds
The offensive production in the fifth inning allowed the Pirates to give Paul Skenes a shorter night, but not before the rookie pitched six shutout innings. Skenes allowed two hits and walked one, while striking out nine batters.
His four-seam fastball sat 98.6 MPH, touching 100.1, with three whiffs and 11 called strikes for a 41% called and swinging strike rate. That was encouraging to see, as the fastball was down a tick and less effective in recent starts, which could be a sign of late-season fatigue from the first-year pro.
The splinker from Skenes had five whiffs on 13 swings, with four called strikes for a 31% CSW. He had three whiffs on his slider and one on the changeup. In total, his 87 pitches on the night produced a 34% combined CSW.
Ben Heller pitched two shutout innings in relief, with the Pirates up 7-0 when he took over. Hunter Stratton closed out the game with a scoreless ninth inning.
Grandal Does It Again
Last time Skenes pitched, I pointed out how Yasmani Grandal plays his best at the plate with Skenes on the mound. He was hitting .353/.365/.627 with four homers in Skenes starts, heading into tonight’s game.
Grandal did it again, hitting his sixth homer of the year to cap off the 7-0 win. Skenes prefers pitching to Grandal, and it seems Grandal prefers hitting when Skenes is pitching.
Rehab Woes
Three rehabbing relievers had struggles on Thursday in Indianapolis.
Ryan Borucki made his third appearance of his latest rehab stint, allowing one run in one inning on a solo homer. This was the first time that Borucki allowed a run in his three appearances.
Colin Holderman pitched an inning, allowing one run on one hit. Holderman hit a batter with one out. The runner stole second with two outs, before Holderman hit another batter. He gave up a line drive single to allow the run, before getting his final out. Holderman has made two appearances, allowing a run in each.
Carmen Mlodzinski had a rough night. He started his inning with a solo homer. He then allowed a one-out single. The runner stole second and reached third on a ground ball single. Mlodzinski was removed after two outs, and Connor Sadzeck allowed a two run single, with both runs going to Mlodzinski. Last time out, Mlodzinski pitched a scoreless inning.
On the bright side, Nick Gonzales led off the game with a solo homer in his second rehab start. He played second base, and stayed in the game for seven and a half innings, after playing five and a half last time out. Gonzales has a hit in both of his rehab appearances.
Best Hitters in the System
Following prospects is largely about hoping and praying on raw tools and future abilities. That said, results do matter. On Thursday, I detailed the best hitters at each level of the Pirates’ minor league system. There’s a reason why this system has been dropped to the bottom-third in the league.
On Friday, I’ll have the pitching version of this article, which will have better results.
Pirates Prospect Watch
Liover Peguero homered twice and stole home. Bubba Chandler struck out six in five innings. J.P. Massey and Carlos Jimenez also contributed to a good night of pitching. Read about all of Thursday’s minor league action in the latest Pirates Prospect Watch.
