Jack Brannigan showed some power tonight in Greensboro, as part of an 11-1 victory by the Pittsburgh Pirates High-A squad. Brannigan went 2-for-5, hitting...
The Pirates have Gold Glove third basemen in Ke'Bryan Hayes and Jared Triolo. They've got another candidate in the system in power hitter Jack Brannigan.
Valentin Linarez had one of the biggest recorded velocity jumps in minor league baseball last year.
Baseball America tracked the year-over-year four-seam velocity gainers from...
At the start of the 2023 international signing period, the Pittsburgh Pirates added David Matoma as their first signing out of Uganda. The right-handed...
The Pirates have signed their 4th round draft pick, Colten Brewer. Brewer is a right-handed pitcher who was drafted out of high school in Canton. He will likely report to the GCL Pirates to begin his pro career. All of the Pirates' draft picks, and the ones who have signed, are listed here.
Sixteen-year-old Luis Heredia made his pro debut this afternoon, with a start for the GCL Pirates. Heredia made a good showing. He had a batter reach base on a fielding error by SS Alen Hanson in the 1st, but he retired the other three batters in that inning. He gave up a walk in the 2nd, but again retired the other three batters he faced. Heredia had some trouble in the 3rd, when he allowed 2 runs. He began the inning with two ground outs, then hit a batter with a pitch. That runner stole both second and third bases, then Heredia walked the next two batters to load the bases. A single lined into left field brought in two runs. Heredia was relieved by Robert Kilcrease, who finished the inning with a ground out.
Kilcrease gave up another 2 runs in the 4th. Back-to-back singles with one out and a walk loaded the bases with Jays. A sacrifice fly brought in one run, then an RBI single brought in the second, giving the Blue Jays a 4-0 lead.
The Pirates were relatively quiet over the first 3 innings, but they broke out in the bottom of the 4th. With one out, 3B Yhonathan Barrios beat out a bunt for a hit, then moved to second and on to third on two wild pitches. He scored on LF Jose Osuna's RBI single. 1B Jared Lakind walked, then DH Jon Schwind doubled in Osuna. C Joey Schoenfeld tapped back to the mound, where the Jays' pitcher tried for a fielder's choice -- but failed, allowing Lakind to score, and leaving Pirate runners on the corners. Hansen's 3-run homer brought in Schwind and Schoenfeld, giving the Pirates a 6-4 lead.
The Blue Jays also homered in the top of the 5th, but it was a solo shot off Pirates' reliever Diomedes Mateo. In the bottom of the 5th, RF Gregory Polanco walked and stole second base, then scored on Barrios' triple lined into right field. Pirates ahead, 7-5. Mateo also gave up 2 more runs in the top of the 6th. A single, a hit batter, and a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third bases. A fielding error by Barrios allowed both runners to cross the plate, tying the score at 7-7.
The Pirates went down in order in the 6th and 7th innings. Mateo gave up a single in the top of the 7th, but erased that runner with a double play. He also allowed a walk in the 7th, and a single in the 8th. Then the Pirates broke the tie in the bottom of the 8th. Osuna walked and was replaced by pinch-runner Junior Sosa. Lakind's sacrifice bunt put Sosa on second, but Lakind was also safe at first. Schwind also bunted, and was safe at first to load the bases. Schoenfeld's single brought in Sosa, then Hanson's double lined into left scored both Lakind and Schwind. That gave the Pirates a 10-7 lead. 2B Jodaneli Carvajal was hit by a pitch, loading the bases again for the Pirates. Schoenfeld tried for the steal of home but didn't make it, and that was the first out of the inning. A strikeout and a ground out ended the frame, but the Pirates had the lead.
Joe Parsons relieved Mateo on the mound to begin the top of the 9th. He loaded the bases with two outs, on a hit batter, a walk, and a single. Parsons got a pop out to end the game, and the Pirates had the win.
STATE COLLEGE -- 30 minutes to first pitch ...
Game: State College Spikes vs Auburn Doubledays, 7:05 p.m.
Site: Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
Pitching: LHP...
The Pittsburgh Pirates have re-acquired shortstop Josh Rodriguez from the Cleveland Indians, in exchange for cash considerations. Rodriguez was drafted in the 2010 Rule...
The Pittsburgh Pirates today officially announced the signings of 21st round pick Alex Fuselier, 22nd round pick Mike Jefferson, and 33rd round pick Chris...
Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 4, Indianapolis Indians 3 [ box ]
The Indianapolis Indians were in the lead for most of the game tonight at Coca-Cola park in Allentown, PA, but the Iron Pigs staged a 8th inning rally to take the win.
SS Chase d'Arnaud began the game with a double into right field, skipping between the Iron Pigs' 1B Cody Overbeck and the first base bag. 2B Brian Friday singled into left field, and d'Arnaud rounded third and headed for the plate as former Indy Indian (2010) LF Brandon Moss made the throw in from left field. Moss' throw was on time, and another former Indian (2009-10) C Erik Kratz made the catch and tried for the tag. But d'Arnaud was faster, and Kratz lost the ball when he went for the tag, and the Tribe had a 1-0 lead. LF Alex Presley flied out to left field, and again Moss' throw to the infield was not in time, so that Friday was safe when he tagged up and raced for third. But Moss got it right on his third try -- RF John Bowker also flied out to left, and Moss turned it into a double play when this throw to the plate was on target and on time, allowing Kratz to tag out Friday as he tried to tag up and score from third.
Back-to-back singles by 3B Andy Marte and 1B Matt Hague led off the 2nd inning for the Indians. C Wyatt Toregas bounced into an around-the-horn double play, eliminating Hague at second, but allowing Marte to reach third base. CF Gorkys Hernandez grounded to short, but he was fast enough to beat out the throw to first, earning an infield single and an RBI, as Marte scrambled home from third to give the Indians a 2-0 lead.
Garrett Olson began his night on the mound with 4 perfect innings. Moss broke up the (brief) no-hitter with a double to lead off the 5th inning, then was out in a double play. RF Delwyn Young flied out to center, then Hernandez's throw in to third base allowed Marte to tag out Moss as he tried to advance to third.
The Altoona Curve have a scheduled day off today (Monday), and the West Virginia Power are off for the first day of their All-Star Break. The All-Star Game will be played in Delmarva on Tuesday, with Brandon Cumpton, Jameson Taillon, and Dan Grovatt representing the Power.
Auburn Doubledays 7 , State College Spikes 6 [ box ]
Pirates' 2nd round draft pick from 2010, Stetson Allie, made his professional debut tonight, as the starting pitcher for the State College Spikes, though he did not factor into the decision. Allie struck out the first batter he faced, then gave up a single, struck out the next batter, and gave up an RBI double. A line out ended the inning. The second inning went better, as Allie retired three Auburn batters in order, including another strikeout.
The third inning was another tough one for Allie. A single and a walk opened the inning. After a fly out, both runners stole the next base, and a walk loaded the bases. Allie also walked the next batter, forcing in a run. That signaled the end of his evening. Cliff Archibald relieved Allie, but Archibald also walked in a run (charged to Allie), before getting the inning-ending double play. Allie was responsible for 3 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks, with 3 strikeouts, in 2.1 innings. State College got onto the scoreboard with a run in the 3rd. SS Kirk Singer led off with a double, then DH Carlos Mesa singled, moving Singer to third. C Samuel Gonzalez's RBI single brought in Singer, to cut the Auburn lead to 3-1. The Spikes tied the game in the 4th. 1B Walker Gourley led off with a single and moved to second base on a wild pitch, then to third on a ground out. Singer walked, then CF Taylor Lewis' sacrifice fly scored Gourley. Singer stole second base, then scored on RF Justin Benscko's RBI single.
Archibald went on to pitch the 4th and 5th innings, allowing a walk and a single, but keeping Auburn scoreless. Emmanuel De Leon relieved Archibald to begin the 6th inning, and gave up only a double in that inning. With two outs in the 7th, De Leon gave up a double and a 2-run homer. The Spikes got one of the runs back in the bottom of the inning, with a single by Benscko, a stolen base and a missed catch error to put Benscko onto third, and a sacrifice fly by Gonzalez.
De Leon started the top of the 8th by giving up a walk and a stolen base. After two outs, a single, a throwing error by Singer, and a double gave Auburn 2 more runs, for a 7-4 lead. Jesus Brito relieved De Leon and ended the 8th inning with a fly out. Singer tried to make up for his error with an RBI double after a single by 3B Brian Sharp, bringing the score to 7-5. Brito pitched a scoreless top of the 9th. The Spikes tried for another rally in the bottom of the 9th. With one out, Benscko singled, then advanced to second on a wild pitch, and to third on a second wild pitch. After a walk to Mesa, Gonzalez brought in Benscko with a sacrifice fly. But a strikeout ended the inning and the game without the Spikes being able to catch up.
