Your daily Pittsburgh Pirates Prospect Watch article for recaps of all of today’s games. Be sure to pick up your copy of the latest Prospect Guide in our store, available as an ebook or a limited edition paperback.
INDIANAPOLIS
(8:05pm)
Starting Pitcher: Beau Sulser 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Notable Performances:
Travis Swaggerty 1-1
Cole Tucker 0-4, BB
Christian Bethancourt 2-4
Chris Sharpe 1-3, 2B, BB
Anthony Alford 3-4, 2B
Game Recap: Indianapolis (8-4) beat St. Paul, 7-3. The biggest news, though, wasn’t good. Travis Swaggerty left after getting picked off first in the first inning. He apparently injured his right should sliding back into the bag. He was down for quite a while, then left with assistance, clutching his right shoulder. There isn’t any specific report yet, but it looked like it could be something significant, like a separation. Hopefully not.
In the game itself, Anthony Alford and Hunter Owen had big days, driving in three runs apiece as the Indians scored all their runs in the second and third innings. Alford had an RBI single and Owen a two-run double in the second, then Alford doubled in two in the third and scored on a single by Owen.
On the mound, Beau Sulser gave up three runs in five innings. Braeden Ogle had a strong outing, giving up just a hit and fanning four in two innings. Tyler Bashlor and Jandel Gustave each threw a scoreless inning. Indy pitchers struck out 13 on the day. Indy abandoned the DH after Swaggerty’s injury, so James Marvel got to pinch hit. (He struck out.)
ALTOONA
(6:30pm)
Starting Pitcher: Roansy Contreras 6.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K
Notable Performances:
Oneil Cruz 1-4
Rodolfo Castro 0-4
Mason Martin 1-3, HR (3)
Canaan Smith-Njigba 0-3
Cal Mitchell 0-3
Shea Murray 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K
Game Recap: Altoona (7-4) edged Harrisburg, 2-1. Roansy Contreras threw six and two-thirds shutout innings. He didn’t quite strike out everybody this time, getting only six, but he allowed just two hits. The Curve had only four hits in the game, and no walks. Fortunately, two of the hits left the yard. Daniel Amaral hit his first of the year and Mason Martin his third. The only other hits were singles by Oneil Cruz and Brendt Citta. Shea Murray and John O’Reilly finished up, with O’Reilly allowing a run in the ninth but getting the save.
GREENSBORO
(7:00pm)
Starting Pitcher: Quinn Priester 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
Notable Performances:
Nick Gonzales 1-5, 2B
Matt Gorski 3-5, 2B
Lolo Sanchez 2-4, 2B
Grant Ford 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K
Game Recap: After having scuffled through his first two starts, Quinn Priester threw five shutout innings in a 5-1 Greensboro (7-6) win over Hickory. Priester allowed just three singles and a walk, and needed just 68 pitches. Grant Ford, who also had some early struggles, followed with three hitless innings, walking one and fanning five. Will Kobos loaded the bases in the ninth while retiring only one hitter, but Cristofer Melendez got the last two outs with only one run scoring.
Matt Gorski had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs. Matt Fraizer went 2-for-5 and is up to .289 after a bad start to his season. He also stole two bases. Lolo Sanchez and Grant Koch each had a single and a double, and Nick Gonzales hit his seventh double.
BRADENTON
(6:05pm)
Starting Pitcher: Luis Ortiz 0.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Notable Performances:
Jasiah Dixon 2-4
Dariel Lopez 0-4
Maikol Escotto 0-3
Endy Rodriguez 0-4
Sammy Siani 0-4
Alexander Mojica 0-3
Jase Bowen 1-3, 2B
Hudson Head 0-2, BB
Nick Garcia 2.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Steven Jennings 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Brennan Malone 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Game Recap: Bradenton’s (7-6) pitchers had a tough day in a 7-0 drubbing at the hands of Lakewood. They were plagued by an endless series of infield hits and bloops. The Marauders got outhit, 15-3, but despite having a terrible day at the plate, they probably hit more balls hard than Lakewood. The box score makes Luis Ortiz look like he had a terrible start, but he didn’t, even though he recorded only two outs. He got the outs quickly, then allowed two infield hits. The second went about ten feet and could have been an out, but catcher Endy Rodriguez couldn’t find the handle on it. Three more hits followed, only one well struck, and Ortiz was gone.
Parker Brahms, signed as a non-drafted free agent, made his Pirate debut. (He probably replaced Jose Maldonado, who’s now on the IL.) Brahms threw a lot of curves and an 89-92 mph fastball, and threw two and a third scoreless innings. Nick Garcia gave up one run over two and two-thirds innings, and struggled with his control throughout. Steven Jennings had little trouble in two and a third innings. Brennan Malone gave up two unearned runs in the ninth. He had to work through two errors (it looks to me like, apart from Norkis Marcos, the Marauders’ infield defense is bad), an infield hit and two bloop hits. (Right fielder Sammy Siani seemed either to be playing in Sarasota or getting very late jumps.) Malone didn’t throw many fastballs; when he did, he threw just 91-92. He mostly threw secondary stuff, slider, curve and change, all of which looked good.
The offense didn’t show up. Jasiah Dixon had two singles and Jase Bowen a double. Nearly all the hitters fell behind in the count consistently by taking pitches in the strike zone.
