The Pittsburgh Pirates have a chance to avenge the three game sweep delivered onto them by the Chicago Cubs last week.
I guess, technically, that makes Henry Davis an Avenger.
The Pirates are calling up their best hitting prospect ahead of the three game series, with Davis likely to play in right field most of his time in the majors. We profiled what to expect from Davis, with a detailed look from Anthony Murphy, and our Roundtable series: The Book on Henry Davis. I’ve also got a look at him in right field in today’s Prospect Watch.
Osvaldo Bido is on the mound tonight for the Pirates in his second MLB start. If you missed it last week, check out The Book on Osvaldo Bido.
Follow the action below, and join the discussion in the comments to talk about Davis.
PIRATES GAME PREVIEWS
PIRATES (34-36) VS CUBS
Game Time: 7:05 PM EST
Pirates Starter: Osvaldo Bido, RHP (0-0, 2.25)
Cubs Starter: Drew Smyly, LHP (6-4, 3.59)
Pirates Lineups:
Henry's debut.
Cubs Lineups:
Here is tonight's #Cubs starting lineup in Pittsburgh.
Tune in: https://t.co/Gs2hZXyTjH pic.twitter.com/O6HfXHnYju
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 19, 2023
INDIANAPOLIS (29-38) OFF
6/18: Jared Jones Another Aggressive Push On Pitching Prospects
6/7: Aaron Shackelford adjusts swing and relocates power
6/6: Carmen Mlodzinski improves all the way with aggressive approachALTOONA (31-30) OFF
6/9: Jared Jones Continues Incredible Development With Altoona
6/1: Matt Gorski Displays Athleticism And Versatility
5/25: Sean Sullivan Continues To Thrive In AltoonaGREENSBORO (33-28) OFF
6/15: Anthony Solometo Promotion A Win For 2021 Draft Class
6/14: Bubba Chandler Looking To Limit Big Innings
6/4: Braxton Ashcraft Showing Velocity and Control in Return From Tommy JohnBRADENTON (34-29) OFF
6/10: Jack Brannigan Continues Hot Streak With Another Home Run
6/9: Ryan Harbin: Sinker/Slider Mix Dominating Single-A Hitters
6/3: Thomas Harrington Displayed Swing and Miss Secondary in BradentonFCL PIRATES (8-2) AT FCL RAYS
Game Time: 12:00 PM EST
Projected Starter: TBA
Latest Features:6/16: Is This The Year For A Solomon Maguire Breakout?
6/12: Pirates 2023 Minor League Preview: FCL Pirates
6/11: Pitching Depth Continues To Grow With Jun-Seok Shim DebutDSL PIRATES BLACK (4-6) VS DSL GUARDIANS RED
Game Time: 11:00 AM EST
Projected Starter: Clevari Tejada, RHP (0-1, 2.70)
Latest Features:**Pirates 2023 Minor League Previews: Dominican Summer League Pirates
DSL PIRATES GOLD (6-4) AT DSL RED SOX BLUE
Game Time: 11:00 AM EST
Projected Starter: Pitterson Rosa, RHP (0-1, 7.50)
Latest Features:**Pirates 2023 Minor League Previews: Dominican Summer League Pirates
THE NEW PROSPECT WATCH
With all of our game reports now going into this daily article, the Prospect Watch has been repurposed as a daily look at three prospects throughout the system. Check the site each day at noon for the latest edition. We’ll keep the archives updated here.
6/18: Jared Jones, Matt Gorski, Tony Blanco Jr.
6/17: Liover Peguero, Dominic Perachi, Carlos Mateo
6/16: Kyle Nicolas, Anthony Solometo, Jack Brannigan
6/15: Shalin Polanco, Abrahan Gutierrez, Will Matthiessen
6/14: Nick Cimillo, Geovanny Planchart, Jesus Castillo
6/13: Brandan Bidios, Yordany De Los Santos, J.P. Massey
6/12: David Matoma, Jun-Seok Shim, Tsung-Che ChengDAILY PIRATES NEWS
Anthony Murphy had a great look at what to expect from Henry Davis in Pittsburgh.
**Pirates Prospects Daily: What to Expect From Henry Davis in Pittsburgh
In our latest Roundtable, we all gave our expectations for Davis in 2023.
Want to know what to expect from Davis in right field? Check out today’s Prospect Watch.
**Prospect Watch: Henry Davis, Bubba Chandler, Julian Bosnic
More Recent Pirates Features
6/18: The Book on Henry Davis
6/17: Carmen Mlodzinski Becomes First Cherington Pick To Reach Big Leagues
6/15: Where Are The Hitting Prospects in the Pittsburgh Pirates Farm System?
6/14: The Book on Osvaldo Bido
6/11: Interview With Andrew McCutchenPIRATES RECAP
By Wilbur Miller
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: Cubs 8, Pirates 0
Player of the Game: Osvaldo Bido 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
Recap:Henry Davis made his much-anticipated debut and got his first major league hit, but the Pirates are still the Pirates. They wandered aimlessly through another lifeless performance, losing to the Cubs, 8-0, for their seventh straight loss.
Osvaldo Bido did reasonably well in his second big league start. In fact, he did very well except when he was pitching in a downpour. The rain came in the second inning, when Bido got two out and had one on. He just couldn’t get out of the inning, loading the bases with a single and a walk, then giving up a pair of sodden singles that drove in three runs.
The Cubs couldn’t do anything with Bido after that. In the end, he went six, giving up just five singles and two walks, and fanning seven. He even shut down the immortal Ian Happ. Bido threw 96 pitches, 61 for strikes.
The real problem, of course, was the hitting. Since their 20-8 start, the Pirates have had MLB’s worst offense. The justification for retaining hitting coach Andy Haines was that the hitters would improve with more exposure to him. Instead, the exact opposite is happening. Davis was never going to fix that level of ineptitude all by himself. He did well, though, drilling a double past third in his first major league plate appearance, then striking out, drawing a walk and lining out.
Except for Andrew McCutchen and Bryan Reynolds drawing walks, though, the rest of the offense was as helpless as ever. When your top two hitters reach base six times in all, you should get something out of it, but the Pirates got nothing. McCutchen and Reynolds each had a hit and two walks, but the middle of the Pirates’ order is made of hitters who’d bat seventh or eighth on a major league team, if they played at all. Connor Joe came up with the bases loaded once and runners at first and second once, and lined out and popped up. Carlos Santana batted with the bases loaded and runners at second and third, and popped up and flied out.
Once Bido was out, the Pirates’ bullpen did what it’s done nearly every day during this losing streak and blew up the game. Recent callup Ryan Borucki needed two batters to give up his first Pirate run in the seventh. He faced only three hitters, retiring one. Yohan Ramirez then gave up a second run, charged to Borucki’s ledger, when Santana couldn’t handle a throw from Ke’Bryan Hayes. That made it 5-0. Ramirez’ control problems resurfaced in the eighth, as a walk, a hit batsman and yet another Ji-Hwan Bae error, combined with a double, made it 8-0. Yerry De Los Santos got the last four outs. The Pirates never made a peep late in the game. Fittingly, Jack Suwinski made the last out by striking out looking.
PIRATES PROSPECT WATCH
By John Dreker
ROOKIE: FCL PIRATES
Final Score: Pirates 7, Rays 6
Player of the Game: Yordany De Los Santos 2-for-3, 2 BB, 2 SB
Recap:The Pirates had two big innings on offense to lead them to a 7-6 victory. Jose Garces got the start, allowing four runs over three innings. Antwone Kelly was only a little better, giving up two runs in 2.1 innings.
Cristopher Cruz got the win in his season debut by throwing a scoreless seventh inning. Eliecer Romero retired all six batters he faced to pick up the save.
Yordany De Los Santos had himself a day, reaching base four times on two hits and two walks. He had two steals, including a steal of home plate, to give him nine swipes on the year.
Javier Rivas had two hits, a run scored and an RBI.
Lonnie White Jr had a single, run, RBI and an outfield assist.
Braylon Bishop came in mid-game, then had a single and a walk in his two plate appearances. He also had an RBI, run scored and stolen base.
Axiel Plaz went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. He has a .158 average and a .555 OPS.
ROOKIE: DSL PIRATES BLACK
Final Score: Cleveland 4, Pirates 2
Player of the Game: Joseph Sequera 2-for-3, SB, Run
Recap:The Pirates lost 4-2 on Monday, with starter Clevari Tejada allowing two runs over four innings in his third career start. He was followed by Janderson Linares, who allowed two runs while recording one out.
Carlos Mateo pitched the final inning of the seven-inning contest, throwing shutout ball. It was a nice step for the highly regarded pitcher, who received an $800,000 bonus in January. He allowed six runs over one inning in his first two starts combined.
The Pirates scored in the first inning on a Carlos Caro double. They scored again in the second on an Angel Rodriguez double. That gave them a 2-0 lead at the time.
Joseph Sequera had two hits, a run scored and a stolen base. Miguel Rodriguez had two hits.
Top signing Jonathan Rivero ($840K bonus) went 0-for-3 with a walk. He has a .115 average and a .404 OPS
ROOKIE: DSL PIRATES GOLD
Final Score: Pirates 4, Red Sox 3
Player of the Game: Greiber Mendez 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO
Recap:Starter Pitterson Rosa couldn’t get out of the first inning, but Greiber Mendez saved the day for the Pirates, as they won 4-3 over the Red Sox.
Rosa allowed two runs before being removed. Mendez, who was the league’s Pitcher of the Week during the opening week, followed with 3.1 scoreless on one hit, no walks and five strikeouts.
Jesus Clode helped out too, as he gave up one unearned run over three innings. Rafael Mendez got the save with two scoreless.
Pirates scored in the second inning on a double play grounder. They added a run in the fourth on an error after Eduardo Oviedo’s fifth steal of the season.
Ruben Vizcaya and Tony Blanco Jr had RBI singles in the fifth.
Oviedo and Daje Morales each had two hits.
