Peoria came into Thursday afternoon’s action with a 4-8 record. All three Pittsburgh Pirates hitters were in the lineup for this game. Ji-hwan Bae batted lead-off and played center field. Nick Gonzales batted third at second base. Canaan Smith-Njigba batted sixth and played left field. Here’s a recap of their day:
Bae grounded out to first base to start the bottom of the first, then he grounded out to shortstop to lead-off the third inning. He singled on a line drive to right field in the fifth. In the seventh, Bae hit a two-run homer, his second of the fall. He added a ground ball RBI single up the middle in the ninth and stole his second base of the fall, then scored the tying run. He finished 3-for-5, with two runs, three RBIs, a homer and a steal. He is now hitting .333 with a .920 OPS.
Gonzales walked on four pitches in the first inning. He grounded out to first base to end the third inning, then struck out in the fifth and seventh. He singled in the ninth with two outs, which scored Bae with the tying run. Two batters later, Gonzales scored on a single to end the game with a 7-6 Peoria win. He went 1-for-4 with a walk, run and RBI. He’s batting .317 with an .807 OPS.
Smith-Njigba grounded out to second base with two men on to end the first inning. He then struck out in the fourth inning and flew out to left field in the sixth. He lined out to center field in the eighth. He finished 0-for-4. He’s hitting .241 with a .731 OPS.
Peoria will be at home on Friday afternoon to take on the Salt River Rafters
