The Pittsburgh Pirates go for the sweep against the St. Louis Cardinals this morning. A win would also give the team their fifth in a row, following a dip below .500 on May 29th. That was the first time this season the Pirates had dropped below .500 since April 2nd, the third game of the season.
This team continues to show resolve. They lost 11 of 12 games around the first half of May, but they’ve also been capable of winning streaks. This is the fourth time this year they’ve been on a 4+ game winning streak.
The game today is streaming on Peacock, which I previously only used to stream The Office episodes I had completely memorized, plus classic monster movies in October. You can’t watch TV in 2023 without exponential brainpower to remember where all of your favorite content is located.
Speaking of which, we launched this new feature yesterday to allow you a place to follow all of the daily Pirates games in one spot. Read more about the new article here.
PIRATES (30-27) VS CARDINALS
Game Time: 11:35 AM EST
Pirates Starter: Rich Hill (4-5, 4.76)
Cardinals Starter: Miles Mikolas (4-1, 3.75)
Pirates Lineups:
Bright and early.
Cardinals Lineups:
Luken Baker's debut is coming to you shortly! pic.twitter.com/jn9On0ef39
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) June 4, 2023
INDIANAPOLIS (27-28) VS TOLEDO
Game Time: 1:35 PM EST
Projected Starter: Kent Emanuel, LHP (3-1, 7.26)
Latest Features:5/26: Potential Plan For Jared Triolo Becoming More Clear
5/18: The Bat Is Ready For Endy Rodriguez, But One Question RemainsALTOONA (26-22) VS BIMGHAMPTON
Game Time: 1:00 PM EST
Projected Starter: Aaron Shortridge, RHP (3-2, 4.99)
Latest Features:6/1: Matt Gorski Displays Athleticism And Versatility
5/25: Sean Sullivan Continues To Thrive In AltoonaGREENSBORO (25-23) AT WINSTON-SALEM
Game Time: 2:00 PM EST
Projected Starter: TBA
Latest Features:6/4: Braxton Ashcraft Showing Velocity and Control in Return From Tommy John
6/2: Abrahan Gutierrez Hitting Ground Running Returning From Injury
5/26: Anthony Solometo Faces Two Top 100 Prospects In GreensboroBRADENTON (26-24) AT TAMPA
Game Time: 12:00 PM EST
Projected Starter: TBA
Latest Features:6/3: Thomas Harrington Displayed Swing and Miss Secondary in Bradenton
5/30: With May Ending, Shalin Polanco Heading In Right Direction
5/27: Luis Peralta Using Sinker In Less Conventional WayDAILY PIRATES NEWS
In today’s P2Daily update, Anthony Murphy looks at how Braxton Ashcraft is showing velocity and control in his return from Tommy John surgery.
Pirates Prospects Daily: Braxton Ashcraft Showing Velocity and Control in Return From Tommy John
The Pirates have selected the contract of Chase De Jong, and optioned Yerry De Los Santos to Triple-A. That makes sense, considering the bullpen usage yesterday.
I’ll have a column this afternoon, after all of the games. Spoiler alert: It will be about Henry Davis and Endy Rodriguez. If you missed it, check out Ethan Hullihen’s article at the Super Two “deadline.”
More Recent Pirates Features
6/2: Pirates Business: Examining the Super Two “Deadline”
5/31: Can Rodolfo Castro Be More Than A Platoon Player?
5/28: Williams: Three Point Sixteen Wins Per WeekPIRATES RECAP
Check back at the end of the night for all of the daily results throughout the system, or, join the discussion in the comments if you’re following Live.
Final Score: Pirates 2, Cardinals 1
Player of the Game: Rich Hill, LHP (6.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 1 HR)
Recap: One day after using seven relievers in a win, the Pirates got exactly the start they needed from Rich Hill. The lefty carried a shutout into the seventh inning, armed with a two run lead from the first frame.The Pirates got on the board through small ball. Back-to-back singles by Bryan Reynolds and Jack Suwinski got things going with one out. Ke’Bryan Hayes followed with an infield single to load the bases. Ji-Hwan Bae put the Pirates on the board with a line drive single to center field, bringing in the only two runs of the game.
That was enough for Hill, who didn’t exactly have a clean outing, but seemed to settle into a groove around the fourth inning. After issuing a leadoff walk to start the frame, Hill followed up by setting down the next 11 batters. The streak carried him into the seventh inning for the second time this year, and was broken by a two-out home run by Andrew Knizner. Hill was removed after an 0-2 single to Tommy Edman.
Once again, the bullpen was there to shut things down. Dauri Moreta came on in the fireman role he’s had success in all season, and struck out Paul Goldschmidt swinging. Yohan Ramirez took over in the eighth and set the middle of the Cardinals order down. David Bednar was pitching for his third consecutive day for the first time, and didn’t seem to be bothered. He ended the game by getting Knizner swinging on a 97 MPH fastball up and inside, after two sliders away to set up the strikeout and the Pirates’ sweep.
The Pirates are now 31-27 and tied for first place in the NL Central with the Brewers, who are in Cincinnati this afternoon.
-Tim Williams
PIRATES PROSPECT WATCH
By John Dreker
TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS
Final Score: Indianapolis 7, Toledo 0
Player of the Game: Kent Emanuel 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO
Recap:Kent Emanuel had an impressive outing, tossed six shutout innings on three hits, no walks and five strikeouts. That helped Indianapolis to a 7-0 victory. He had a 7.26 ERA over 31 innings coming into the day.
Carmen Mlodzinski, Eli Villalobos and Ryan Borucki each tossed a scoreless frame to finish the game.
Miguel Andujar, Canaan Smith-Njigba and Aaron Shackelford each drove in two runs. Andujar collected his 13th double.
Jared Triolo had a triple, two walks and three runs scored.
Ryan Vilade had two hits, including a triple.
Travis Swaggerty went 0-for-4. Nick Gonzales went 0-for-3 with a walk.
Newly-acquired Alika Williams went 0-for-3 with an error in his debut.
DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA
Final Score: Altoona 6, Binghamton 4
Player of the Game: Matt Gorski 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB
Recap:Altoona had a rough start from Aaron Shortridge, but the bullpen picked him up over the rest of the game for the 6-4 win. He allowed three runs over 3.1 innings, giving him a 5.55 ERA in 47 innings.
Braeden Ogle, Juan Minaya, Nick Dombkowski and Bear Bellomy combined for 4.2 shutout innings. Tyler Samaniego allowed a harmless run in the ninth.
Matt Gorski hit his seventh home run of the season, a solo shot in the first. He had two RBIs, as did Mason Martin and Andres Alvarez. Gorski scored two runs and drew a walk. Alvarez hit his tenth double.
HIGH-A: GREENSBORO
Final Score: Greensboro 5, Winston-Salem 4
Player of the Game: Jase Bowen, 1-for-4, HR, 4 RBI
Recap:Jase Bowen hit a third inning grand slam that provided most of the offense in Greensboro’s 5-4 win. The homer is his tenth of the season. Shawn Ross homered for the other run, his first of the season.
Will Matthiessen had two hits. Tsung-Che Cheng drew two walks.
Po-Yu Chen had a nice start, going five innings on one run, three hits, three walks and four strikeouts. He now has a 4.66 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 46.1 innings.
Grant Ford tossed a scoreless sixth. Dante Mendoza allowed a run in his two innings. Eddy Yean gave up two runs in the ninth before Cy Neilson recorded the final two outs for his fifth save.
SINGLE-A: BRADENTON
Final Score: Bradenton 6, Tampa 2
Player of the Game: Rodolfo Nolasco 3-for-3, RBI, 2 BB, SB
Recap:Bradenton won 6-2 on Sunday to move to 27-24 on the season. Rodolfo Nolasco was our Player of the Game yesterday. He repeated that honor today, collecting three singles and two walks in five trips to the plate. He’s now up to an .856 OPS for the season.
Jack Brannigan hit his first homer, to go along with a single and a walk.
Shalin Polanco hit his eighth homer, giving him a .771 OPS for the season, despite a low .231 average.
Termarr Johnson went 1-for-5 with his sixth double.
Deivis Nadal and Luis Hernandez each had two hits.
On the pitching side, Dominic Perachi allowed two runs over five innings, with no walks and seven strikeouts.
Tyler Chatwood, Luis Peralta and Ryan Harbin retired the final 12 batters in order, with Harbin taking the final two frames to lower him to a 1.23 ERA.
