On Tuesday night, Paul Skenes threw six shutout frames in Indianapolis. The top prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates system, and the best pitching prospect...
Paul Skenes looks ready for the big leagues, following a six shutout inning performance for Indianapolis on Tuesday night. The 2023 first overall pick...
There are no minor league games on Monday, which means every Monday's Pirates Prospect Watch features the best performers from the previous week.
This week...
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...
BRADENTON, Fla. - The Pittsburgh Pirates are converting 2023 third round pick Garret Forrester to a catcher, splitting his time between first base and...
For the third year in a row, the Indianapolis Indians found that the pink breast cancer awareness jerseys brought them luck. They beat the Buffalo Bison at Victory Field tonight, to win the 4-game series 3 games to 1. Rudy Owens pitched 7 innings, allowing only one run on 7 hits for his third win of the season. Former Pirate DJ Carrasco took the loss for the Bison.
This was Owens' (photo) first win in 5 weeks, and only the second game in which he pitched 7 innings (the other was on April 11th). He did not walk any batters. He had two strikeouts -- both on Carrasco, who also struck out Owens twice.
Owens took advantage of three double plays in the first four innings. His first two innings were twins. The southpaw gave up a single (to 3B Luis Figueroa in the 1st and to 1B Valentino Pascucci in the 2nd), then got an out (pop up and fly out), then erased the base runner and ended the inning with a double play. In the 1st, CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis bounced into a standard 4-6-3 (2B Josh Harrison to SS Chase d'Arnaud to 1B Matt Hague) double play. In the 2nd, LF Jesus Feliciano grounded to first, where Hague stepped on first, then threw to second base where d'Arnaud tagged out Feliciano for the reverse force double play.
Owens retired the Bison in order in the 3rd, but got into some trouble in the 4th. Former Indy Indian Luis Figueroa zapped a grounder just inside the third base line and down into the left field corner, where LF John Bowker had to chase it down, as Figueroa raced to third base with a triple. 2B Michael Fisher lined a single up the middle, scoring Figueroa. Then Owens returned to the first/second- inning form. He got Nieuwenhuis to fly out, and got Pascucci to ground into an around the horn double play, started by 3B Andy Marte.
Three Curve pitchers combined to throw a 3-hit shutout of the Aeros. Starter Mike Colla had to work around runners on base in 5 of his 6 innings, but he held the Aeros scoreless and earned his second win. He scattered 3 hits, 2 walks, and one hit batter over those innings. The only inning in which Akron had 2 runners on base was the 3rd, when Colla walked two. Anthony Claggett also gave up two walks in the 8th, after a 1-2-3 inning in the 7th, but he did not allow a hit or a run. Noah Krol picked up his 9th Save with three quick ground outs in the 9th.
The Curve posted 11 hits, but scored only two runs (8 runners left on base). In the bottom of the 1st, with two outs, LF Quincy Latimore looped a single into right field, then scored from first on SS Jordy Mercer's ringing double into center field. C Tony Sanchez singled and DH Kris Watts doubled in the 2nd inning, but Sanchez was out at the plate on the throw in from left field. The Curve added an unearned run in the 3rd. 2B Brock Holt led off the inning with a strikeout, but he reached first when strike three was a wild pitch. Holt stole second base, then scored when the Akron center fielder made an error on Mercer's ball.
The Curve put runners on base in each inning after that, but could not bring any of them around to score. Sanchez and 1B Miles Durham both singled in the 4th inning, and that was the only inning after the 3rd when the Curve had two runners on base. CF Starling Marte singled twice, Watts singled, and Mercer doubled again.
Trainer Brian Housand and Pitching Coach Tom Filer conference with pitcher Dan Meyer and catcher Dusty Brown, with plate umpire Mark Lollo listening in.
After two days of being pounded by the Indians, the Buffalo Bison got their revenge this afternoon at Victory Field, as the Bison posted 12 hits in their win. The Indians were held to just 5 scattered hits by the Buffalo pitching staff. Buffalo starter Brian Sweeney earned his first win of the season and allowed the Indians only one run.
Sean Gallagher (photo) made the start for the Indians. The plan had been to move Gallagher from the starting rotation to the bullpen, and he did make a relief appearance last week, coming in to take over for Garrett Olson, who had been injured. But now, with Olson going onto the Disabled List, Gallagher has been moved back to the starting rotation. The Bison jumped right on Gallagher in the top of the 1st inning. After getting the first batter, former Indy Indian SS Luis Figueroa to pop up for the first out, Gallagher gave up a single to 2B Michael Fisher and a bunt single to C Kirk Nieuwenhuis. 1B Valentino Pascucci followed with a hard liner along the left field line for a double, driving in both Fisher and Nieuwenhuis for a 2-0 lead. Gallagher left Pascucci on second base, ending the inning with a pop out and a ground out.
Gallagher set the Bison down in order in the 2nd inning, but the Bison scored again in the 3rd. Figueroa led off with another double down the left field line, similar to Pascucci's. Fisher singled up the middle, and the speedy Figueroa scored from second base. C Dusty Brown threw out Fisher as he tried to steal second base. The next three Bison batters all reached base safely -- a grounder through the hole into left field by Nieuwenhuis, a 4-pitch walk to Pascucci, and C Mike Nickeas hit on the left wrist or forearm by a pitch. Nickeas took his time moving down to first base, but was not able to stay in the game. He was replaced by pinch-runner/catcher (another former Indy Indian) Raul Chavez. That loaded the bases with one out for the Bison. Gallagher got out of the jam by getting LF Jesus Feliciano to bounced into a double play, 2B Chase d'Arnaud to SS Pedro Ciriaco, to 1B John Bowker.