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 3.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Notable Performances:
Chris Sharpe 1-4
Ke’Bryan Hayes 1-4, HR (2)
Bligh Madris 2-4, 2 2B
Troy Stokes, Jr. 1-4
Blake Weiman 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Game Recap: Indianapolis (11-11) lost to Omaha, 6-3. Beau Sulser got hit around a good bit, which is mainly how it’s gone for him this year. He allowed five runs on seven hits, two of them home runs. Blake Weiman gave up the last run. The Indians had only six hits. One of their runs came on Ke’Bryan Hayes second AAA home run. Hayes played the whole game at third base. The other run scored on one of Bligh Madris’ two doubles.
ALTOONA
(4:00pm)
Starting Pitchers: Cam Vieaux 2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K; Osvaldo Bido 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Notable Performances:
Ji-Hwan Bae: 1-4, 3B, 2 BB
Oneil Cruz: 2-5, 2B, HR (4)
Rodolfo Castro: 1-3
Mason Martin: 1-5, HR (4), BB
Cal Mitchell: 1-3, 2B
Canaan Smith-Njigba 0-6 (0-15 in last five games)
Shea Murray 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K
Hunter Stratton 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Yerry De Los Santos 1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Game Recap: Altoona (14-8) split a doubleheader with Erie, winning 2-1 before losing 5-4.
Osvaldo Bido gave the Curve four strong innings in game one. After a shaky first start, in his last three Bido has gone 14 innings, allowing just two runs on six hits and four walks, while striking out 12. Oddy Nunez, who’s been struggling, followed with two scoreless innings to get the win. John O’Reilly threw a scoreless seventh for the save. The hitters managed only five hits and fanned ten times in 23 at-bats. Fortunately, most of the hits came in succession in the fourth, after Altoona had gone nine up and nine down in the first three innings. Ji-Hwan Bae tripled, Oneil Cruz doubled and Rodolfo Castro singled.
In game two, Cam Vieaux got roughed up early, allowing two runs in each of the first two innings. Shea Murray followed with three scoreless innings. The hitters had another rough game, again fanning ten times in 23 at-bats. The Curve didn’t get a hit until the sixth inning, although they got two runs in the fourth on two walks, a wild pitch and an error. With two out in the sixth, Cruz and Mason Martin hit back-to-back home runs, the only hits Altoona had in the game. The blasts were the fourth of the year for each hitter. That tied the score at 4-4. In the top of the seventh, though, Yerry De Los Santos gave up a run on three hits, and Altoona couldn’t respond.
GREENSBORO
(6:30pm)
Starting Pitcher: Omar Cruz 3.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
Notable Performances:
Matt Gorski 0-4, 4 K
Aaron Shackelford 2-3, BB
Lolo Sanchez 1-4
Game Recap: Greensboro (11-12) couldn’t get any offense going in a 5-0 loss to Wilmington. Omar Cruz had a good start, but was undone by his defense. With two out and one on in the fourth, two consecutive errors loaded the bases. With Cruz’ pitch count at 78, Bear Bellomy came on to give up a two-run single. Bellomy later gave up a pair of solo home runs. The offense produced only five hits, two of them by Aaron Shackelford. Liover Peguero didn’t play.
BRADENTON
(6:05pm)
Starting Pitcher: J.C. Flowers 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Notable Performances:
Hudson Head 0-3, BB
Maikol Escotto: 1-3, BB, SB
Jase Bowen 2-3, HR (5), BB
Endy Rodriguez 0-4
Dariel Lopez 1-3, BB
Sergio Campana 0-3, BB, SB
Jasiah Dixon 1-3, SB
Game Recap: Bradenton (14-9) beat Palm Beach, 4-2. The Marauders got a strong start from J.C. Flowers, who allowed one run over four innings. He gave up just two hits and a walk, fanned six, and threw 44 of 60 pitches for strikes. Denny Roman followed with three innings and gave up the other run — both scored on solo home runs by Palm Beach’s Todd Lott. Xavier Concepcion, making his first appearance of the year, threw two scoreless innings to get the save. The Marauders’ pitchers had the help of five double plays, including a game-ending, line-drive DP.
Bradenton got single runs in each of the first two innings in exactly the same way: two walks and an RBI single. The first was by Jase Bowen and the second by Jasiah Dixon. In the fifth, Dariel Lopez singled in Maikol Escotto, who’d singled and stolen second. The last run came in the eighth on Bowen’s fifth home run, four of them in his last five games. In those five games, Bowen is 9-for-19 with 11 RBIs. Since starting the season 1-for-15 with ten strikeouts, he’s gone 18-for-56 (.321) with ten strikeouts and a .643 slugging average. Jasiah Dixon stole his 12th base and Sergio Campana his eighth.
