The Pittsburgh Pirates hired Brent Strom to be their assistant pitching coach, as reported by Noah Hiles of the Post-Gazette. Strom is a highly regarded pitching coach, who has spent time with Houston and Arizona over...
The Pittsburgh Pirates have hired Matt Hague to be their next hitting coach, according to Scott Mitchell of CSN. Hague was the assistant hitting coach for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2024, after three years as...
Five Curve players have been named to the Eastern League /Western Division All-Star team. RHP Aaron Pribanic, LHP Jeff Locke, 2B Brock Holt, 3B Jeremy Farrell, and OF Starling Marte. Also, because the Curve won the Western Division last year, the Curve coaching staff will be coaching the division's team : manager PJ Forbes, pitching coach Wally Whitehurst, hitting coach Brandon Moore, and trainer Mike Zaino. The game will be played on Wednesday July 13th at Manchester, NH (home of the Fisher Cats).
Friday's action for the Pirates' lower minor league affiliates .... the GCL Pirates' game was postponed.
Rehabbing 3B Pedro Alvarez provided the firepower, while Brandon Cumpton earned his first win with the Marauders tonight. The plan was for Joe Beimel, also on a rehab assignment, to pitch for one inning to begin the game. Beimel retired the Cardinals in order in the top of the 1st, with two strikeouts and a fly out. He then gave way to Cumpton, who pitched 6 scoreless innings, scattering 4 hits and 2 walks. Cumpton had two runners on base in only one inning, the 3rd, when two singles and a wild pitch put both runners into scoring position. Cumpton struck out the next batter to escape the jam.
The Marauders put two runners on base in the 1st when both RF Robbie Grossman and Alvarez walked, then again put two on in the 2nd, on a single by DH Adalberto Santos and a walk to C Jairo Marquez. 2B Jarek Cunningham also singled in the 3rd, but none of those runners could make it around to score. All of the Marauders' runs came in the bottom of the 5th. Marquez led off with a double lined into center field. SS Benji Gonzalez dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Marquez to third base. Cunningham doubled into left field, and Marquez scored easily from third. Then Alvarez blasted a 2-run homer over the left field wall to give the Marauders a 3-0 lead. Cumpton came back out to begin the top of the 8th. He faced only two batters, though, giving up a single and a 2-run homer to bring the Cardinals within one run, 3-2. Cumpton was relieved by Duke Welker, who ended the 8th with three ground outs.
The Marauders would have liked an insurance run or two, but had only a walk by Grossman in the 7th, then a single by Cunningham and Santos reaching on catcher interference in the 8th. It turned out to not matter, as Welker pitched a scoreless 9th to seal the win and earn his second save of the season.
The Curve were again held scoreless this afternoon. That means that in the last 5 games (44 innings), the Curve have scored just one run. Today the team was held to 3 hits, and those were the only Curve batters to reach base. The first 10 batters were retired in order. 2B Brock Holt doubled in the 4th inning, then the next 6 batters were retired. Pinch-hitter Brad Chalk singled in the 6th, and was out at second when CF Starling Marte grounded into a force out. The Curve also went down in order in the 7th and 8th innings. Marte doubled with one out in the 9th, but two fly outs left Marte still standing on second base when the game ended.
Phillip Irwin made the start for Altoona. He allowed two singles over the first two innings, but ran into difficulty in the 4th. A single began the inning, then Irwin recorded two outs. That was followed by an RBI single, a double, a 2-RBI single, and a throwing error. One more run scored on a wild pitch, to give the Senators a 4-0 lead. Irwin finished his afternoon with those 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits, no walks, with 6 strikeouts in 5 innings of work.
Bryan Morris relieved Irwin and pitched 2 scoreless innings, allowing a walk and a single in the 7th. Tim Alderson pitched the 8th, and gave up a single and a 2-run homer for the Senators' final two runs.
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.
Friday's action with the Pirate's lower minor league teams -- the brief version, as we're on the road:
The Bradenton Marauders are off for the Florida State League's All-Star weekend. The 50th FSL All-Star Game will be played on Saturday, in Clearwater, FL. Representing the Marauders: C Ramon Cabrera and INF Aaron Baker and Jarek Cunningham. Kyle McPherson and Brett Lorin were also named to the team but won't be participating because McPherson was promoted to AA, and Lorin is injured.
The Pirates have signed Jon Schwind (41st round pick), and he will report to the GCL Pirates. Schwind was listed as a catcher when drafted, but he also plays some infield and out field.
Williamsport Crosscutters 7, State College Spikes 0 [ box ]
Not the way the Spikes wanted to start the season. Starter Nick Kingham had two good innings, allowing only a single, but things fell apart in the 3rd. That inning began with a lead-off homer, then after one out, a single and a stolen base put a runner on second. After the second out, an RBI single drove in the second run of the inning. A walk and a 3-run homer made it 5-0. Joely Rodriguez took over for Kingman in the 4th, and gave up an unearned run on a double, a wild pitch, and a passed ball. Rodriguez also loaded the bases in the 5th, but got out of the jam with a fly out. Vince Payne pitched the next two innings, allowing only two singles. Joan Montero took the bottom of the 8th, and gave up the final Williamsport run on a hit batter, a walk, and an RBI double.
The Spikes collected 6 hits. C Samuel Gonzalez singled and doubled, and RF Carlos Mesa singled twice, while two newly signed draft picks, CF Taylor Lewis and DH Derek Trent, each singled. The Spikes threatened in the 3rd inning, when 3B Walker Gourley was hit by a pitch, then Trent reached base on a fielding error by the Williamsport left fielder. Gourley came around from first and tried to score on the play, but was tagged out at the plate. They had another chance in the 4th, when LF Exicardo Cayonez was hit by a pitch and Gonzalez doubled, moving Cayonez to third, but both were left on base.
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