Malcom Nunez had his best game of the year on Friday, leading Indianapolis to an 8-1 victory. Nunez went 3-for-4 with two doubles and his ninth home run of the year.
Nunez led off the scoring in the second inning, hitting his 13th double of the season, and eventually scoring on a Seth Beer RBI single to put Indianapolis up 1-0. He added his 14th double with two outs in the fifth inning, but was left stranded.
With Indianapolis leading 6-1 in the ninth, Nunez hit his solo homer, launching a 412 foot shot that traveled 110.0 MPH. His doubles xwere both in the 103 MPH exit velocity range.
This was the fourth time that the 23-year-old Nunez had three hits in a game this year. His eight total bases was a season-high, passing the six total bases on a three hit day on June 29th. Nunez also homered in that game.
TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
INDIANAPOLIS won 8-1, led by the big game from Malcom Nunez.
- RHP Aaron Shortridge: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
- RF Matt Gorski: 2-for-3, HR, 2 BB
- 1B Jake Lamb: 1-for-5, HR, 2 RBI
- C Jason Delay: 3-for-5, RBI
- DH Seth Beer: 3-for-5, 3 RBI
Aaron Shortridge was activated off the injured list this week, and made his season debut for Indianapolis. He pitched his first full season following Tommy John last year, concluding with one run in five innings in his lone Triple-A start. He picked up where he left off, allowing one run in four innings for his first start at the level this year. Matt Gorski hit his 16th home run of the season, but more importantly, he reached base three other times. Gorski has been hitting for power, but had a .292 OBP in the first half. Jake Lamb hit his fifth homer of the year.
STATCAST HEROES
RHP Isaac Mattson followed Shortridge with two shutout innings, striking out three. Mattson picked up three whiffs on nine swings against his slider, and threw his fastball for six called strikes.
DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA CURVE
ALTOONA lost 2-0
- RHP Po-Yu Chen: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K
- 3B Charles McAdoo: 1-for-4
- LF Yoyner Fajardo: 0-for-2, 2 BB
- SS Tsung-Che Cheng: 0-for-3, BB
- RF Sammy Siani: 0-for-3, BB
Po-Yu Chen has been on a run since the start of June. Signed out of Taiwan to a seven-figure deal in 2021, Chen has an 0.90 ERA this month in 20 innings, across three starts. This follows a 2.95 ERA in 36.2 innings last month. Chen has 21 strikeouts and 5 walks this month, with a 29:11 K/BB ratio in June. He struggled the first two months, possibly due to the fact that his game relies on location of advanced secondary stuff. The last two months show that he’s settling in at this level. Altoona only had one hit, which came from Charles McAdoo, obviously. McAdoo has been the best hitter in the minor league system this year.
HIGH-A: GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS
GREENSBORO lost 4-2
- 2B Termarr Johnson: 2-for-5, 2B
- 1B Josiah Sightler: 1-for-4, HR
- CF Lonnie White Jr.: 0-for-1, HBP, SB
- SS Jack Brannigan: 1-for-4, RBI
- 3B Kalae Harrison: 1-for-4, 2B
Termarr Johnson picked up two hits, extended his hitting streak to 13 games. That’s 14, if you count his hit in last week’s Future’s Game. Johnson hit his 14th double of the season. Lonnie White Jr. returned to action, after being out since June 28th. White didn’t play a complete game, but did steal his ninth base of the year. Josiah Sightler hit a solo homer in the ninth, for his eighth of the season
SINGLE-A: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
BRADENTON had their game suspended in the fifth inning, tied 0-0.
- RHP Carlson Reed pitched four shutout innings, allowing two hits, a walk, and striking out four. Reed has a 2.60 ERA in 72.2 innings during his first full season, after being drafted in the fourth round last year.
- The offense was being no-hit, with one walk.
ROOKIE: FCL PIRATES
FCL PIRATES won 6-0
- RHP Zander Mueth: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K
- RHP Brad Case: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
- RHP David Matoma: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
- CF Estuar Suero: 1-for-2, BB, SB
- 2B Roinny Aguiar: 1-for-2, 3 RBI
Zander Mueth is already standing out from the 2023 draft. Taken out of the prep ranks with the 67th overall pick, Mueth has now gone six straight starts of five innings, with one or fewer runs allowed per start. He has a 33:9 K/BB during this span, and has a 1.51 ERA on the season. Brad Case started his rehab work in the FCL, after being out of action since May 4th. Case has been putting up his best season since before the pandemic, after converting to a sidearm delivery. David Matoma, an 18-year-old out of Uganda, lowered his ERA to 0.89 in 20.1 innings in relief this year, adding his 25th strikeout.
ROOKIE: DSL PIRATES GOLD
DSL PIRATES GOLD had their game suspended in the fifth inning, tied 3-3.
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
- Triple-A: Indianapolis, 7:05 PM – RHP Jake Woodford (1-5, 4.20)
- Double-A: Altoona, 7:05 PM – RHP Thomas Harrington (2-2, 2.54)
- High-A: Greensboro, 7:00 PM – RHP Derek Diamond (5-1, 3.72)
- Single-A: Bradenton, 4:00 PM – Completion of Suspended Game
- Single-A: Bradenton, 6:30 PM – RHP Hung-Leng Chang (4-6, 4.86)
- Rookie: FCL Pirates, 10:00 AM – TBD
- The DSL teams are off.
