For Altoona today, Charlie Morton makes his sixth rehab start, trying to work his way back to the majors from Tommy John Surgery last June. Indianapolis has an early afternoon game today. The Pirates two Dominican Summer League affiliates begin their schedules on June 1st. The team referred to as Pirates1, won the DSL title last year. For a look at the possible starters over the next few weeks, please check out our Probable Pitchers Chart. We have added a Recent Transactions section to the bottom of this page, for all Pirates minor league transactions. A full recap of yesterday’s action can be found here.
AAA: Indianapolis (32-14) @ Pawtucket (26-19) 12:05pm
Probable starter: Andy Oliver (3-1, 2.61)
Yesterday’s Result: Indianapolis 8, Pawtucket 4
Andy Oliver will get his tenth start of the season tonight. He has been hard to hit this year, but has also displayed poor command, especially recently. He does have some impressive stats, including a .185 BAA and a 1.12 GO/AO ratio, with 54 strikeouts in 48.1 innings. The bad news is 35 walks, with two games in a row in which he has walked six batters. Oliver is third in the International League in strikeouts and has a healthy lead in base on balls, a stat which he led the IL in last season and finished second in during the 2011 season. He is 2-0, 2.76 in three road games, striking out 23 batters in 16.1 innings.
AA: Altoona (19-24) @ Reading (16-26) 6:35pm
Probable starter: Charlie Morton (1-0, 1.93)
Yesterday’s Result: Reading 6, Altoona 3
Charlie Morton will make his fourth rehab start for Altoona tonight. He has also made starts for Bradenton and Indianapolis. At Altoona, he has pitched a total of 14 innings, giving up just six hits and four walks. In his last outing, he went four innings, allowing two runs on two hits, both solo homers. He threw 61 pitches on the night, 40 went for strikes. In 20 total innings this year, Morton has a .132 BAA, 1.72 GO/AO ratio and 11 strikeouts.
High-A: Bradenton (17-27) vs Tampa (18-24) 6:30pm
Probable starter: Robby Rowland (2-2, 4.54)
Yesterday’s Result: Tampa 2, Bradenton 1
Robby Rowland will get his ninth start of the year tonight. He has thrown a total of 39.2 innings, giving up 41 hits, four homers and ten walks. He has 22 strikeouts, a 1.43 GO/AO ratio and a .268 BAA. At home, Rowland is 0-1, 4.22 in two starts. He has a huge split against LH and RH batters, holding righties to a .198 average, while lefties are hitting .371 with three homers. In his last four starts combined, Rowland has picked up just seven strikeouts.
Low-A: West Virginia (22-22) @ Kannapolis (15-25) 7:05pm
Probable starter: Orlando Castro (3-3, 2.22)
Yesterday’s Result: West Virginia 11, Kannapolis 2
Orlando Castro will make his ninth start of the season tonight. He has displayed excellent control this year while putting up strong strikeout totals. In 44.2 innings, Castro has allowed 38 hits, four homers, four walks and he has 40 strikeouts. His last start was his worst of the season, giving up four runs in 4.2 innings. He walked two batters and served up two homers, doubling his season total in both categories. Castro has made five starts on the road already, going 2-1, 2.30 in 27.1 innings.
Recent Transactions
5/20 Alex Dickerson placed on DL. Justin Howard added to Altoona roster.
5/19 Chase d’Arnaud assigned to Altoona roster.
5/18 Jeff Karstens added to Altoona roster.
5/16 Clay Holmes activated from DL. Josh Smith assigned to Jamestown roster.
5/16 Chase d’Arnaud assigned to Bradenton on rehab.
5/16 Cesar Lopez sent to Extended Spring Training. Kurt Yacko assigned to Bradenton roster