Yasmani Grandal delivered a walk-off winner for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.
Grandal came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with one out and a runner at first, after Bryan De La Cruz was hit with a pitch. With a 1-2 count, Grandal sent a high 94 MPH fastball over the Clemente Wall, giving the Pirates a 4-3 win.
Luis Ortiz started the game, throwing six shutout innings, despite some early control issues. He hit two of his first three batters, before getting out of an eventual second-and-third jam with a strikeout.
Ortiz allowed a runner to reach base with two outs in his next three innings, but kept the Reds from scoring. After a 1-2-3 fifth inning, he ran into some two-out trouble in the sixth. Spencer Steer singled and Santiago Espinal doubled to put runners at second and third with two outs. Ortiz got his final batter to fly out, escaping another jam.
The Pirates went up 1-0 in the first inning after Joey Bart grounded out with runners at second and third with one out. Bart was injured on the play. They added a second run when Bryan Reynolds singled on a line drive to center, scoring Michael A. Taylor.
The bullpen dropped the lead in the seventh inning. Kyle Nicolas allowed a one-out single and a double, putting runners on second and third. Jalen Beeks was brought in, but gave up a single to Elly De La Cruz. After intentionally walking the bases loaded, Beeks couldn’t field a bunt, allowing another runner to score. He walked in a third run, before Dennis Santana came on to get out of the jam.
Going to Beeks was questionable, after he pitched 1.2 innings the night before. The Pirates had a short hook on Nicolas, who has been excellent. Santana has also been lights out, and went on to pitch a scoreless eighth inning, following the bail out in the seventh.
Grandal provided the ultimate bail out, giving the Pirates the win, and improving them to 62-68 on the season.
Pirates Dealing With Injuries
The Pirates were hit with two major injuries over the weekend. Hunter Stratton ruptured his patella tendon on Saturday, and Joey Bart left Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury.
Prior to Sunday’s game, the Pirates placed Stratton on the 60-day IL, and called up LHP Brady Feigl. You can read more about the transaction here. Feigl is likely to be a short-term replacement, with the Pirates having LHP Ryan Borucki, RHP Colin Holderman, and RHP Carmen Mlodzinski rehabbing in Triple-A.
Borucki looks to be the closest to returning, after pitching a shutout inning on Sunday, striking out the side. He’s allowed one run on one hit and two walks in four innings since starting his rehab on August 17th, while striking out seven batters. The lone run was a solo homer. Relievers usually don’t return until they’ve pitched in back-to-back games, and Borucki has yet to do that.
Mlodzinski pitched 1.2 scoreless innings on Sunday, though this came after allowing three runs and getting two outs in his previous appearance. He’s made three appearances so far, and might need more time until he’s ready to return. Holderman has made two appearances, allowing runs in each, and also looks further away from a return than Borucki.
The injury to Bart removes one of the best performers on the team this season. The Pirates are set to call up Henry Davis to take his place, with Davis hitting better than he has all season over the last month in Triple-A. The silver lining here is that Davis will now get another shot to show what he can do in the majors, ahead of a season where he’ll be one of three catching options. You can read more about the offensive surge from Davis here.
Michael A. Taylor Could Be Gone
The Pirates placed outfielder Michael A. Taylor on outright waivers on Sunday. This doesn’t mean that he’s off the roster — in fact, they didn’t designate him for assignment, so for now he’s still around. The move could allow a contending team to add his defense and base running to their playoff roster with a waiver claim, which would save the Pirates about $700,000.
I wrote about the details of the move, the possibilities for Taylor, and the potential replacements the Pirates have in center field.
Minor League Promotions
After Sunday’s minor league games, the Pirates promoted three of their top 50 prospects.
Termarr Johnson leads the list, moving up to Altoona after a 2-for-4 day at the plate on Sunday. Johnson had a big weekend, hitting a double and a homer on Friday, stealing three bases on Saturday, and adding his 20th stolen base of the year Sunday.
Michael Kennedy and Javier Rivas will move from Bradenton to Greensboro. Kennedy threw five shutout innings for the Marauders on Sunday, prior to the move. Rivas hit a homer and a double on Saturday, and has 12 homer and 19 doubles this year in Single-A.
I wrote about the moves, with details on the performances from each player.
Prospect Rankings Update
My latest Top 50 Tiered Prospect Rankings will release on Monday. This will be a big update, with Version 4.0 of this year’s rankings offering the biggest methodology shift. I try not to look at other rankings while I’m doing this process, but I already know that my update will provide a completely different list than what is out there already.
Look for those rankings to hit the site on Monday morning, with a massive update for Patreon supporters.
Pirates Prospect Watch
Michael Kennedy pitched five shutout innings in his final start for Bradenton. Omar Alfonzo homered for Greensboro, while Termarr Johnson had two hits in his final game at the level. You can read about all of Sunday’s minor league action in the latest Pirates Prospect Watch.
