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
(7:05pm)
Starting Pitcher: James Marvel 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Notable Performances:
Anthony Alford 0-4, 2 BB
Cole Tucker 1-6, 2B
Will Craig 0-4, BB, HBP
Game Recap:
Indianapolis (27-23) beat Iowa, 7-6, in 12 innings. The Indians survived 18 strikeouts to get 12 hits, three each by Bligh Madris and Christian Bethancourt. The latter had the game-winner. Iowa brought in the free runner in the top of the 12th. In the bottom half, with one out and Indy’s free runner on second, the Cubs intentionally walked Will Craig, but then unintentionally walked Madris to load the bases. Bethancourt followed with a two-run, walkoff single. He finished with three RBIs, having also tied the game in the bottom of the tenth with a sacrifice fly. James Marvel started and gave up two runs over five innings. Blake Weiman threw a scoreless inning. Kyle Keller gave up a run that tied the game in the seventh, 3-3. Indy took the lead back, but Austin Davis gave up the tying run in the top of the ninth. Davis let the free runner score in the tenth, which counts as unearned. Nick Mears kept Iowa off the board in the 11th and then gave up the unearned run in the 12th, setting up Bethancourt’s winner. Anthony Alford returned from a wrist injury and went 0-for-4 with two walks and four strikeouts.
ALTOONA
(5:05pm)
Boxscore — Rained out
Starting Pitcher: Trey McGough (0-2, 4.87, 20.1 IP, 17 K)
Notable Performances:
Oneil Cruz 1-4, HR (9)
Canaan Smith-Njigba 2-6, 2B, BB
Rodolfo Castro 2-5, HR (10), HBP
Mason Martin 1-4, 2B, BB, HBP
Brendt Citta 2-5, BB
Cal Mitchell 3-4, 2 HR (8), HBP
Travis MacGregor 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Game Recap:
Altoona (28-20) unleashed the artillery and blasted Hartford, 15-7, in the completion of yesterday’s suspended game. The regularly scheduled game was rained out. It’s not clear yet when the game will be made up. The teams are already playing a doubleheader on Saturday to make up Tuesday’s rainout.
Yesterday’s game was suspended with the score 2-2 after an inning and a half. Roansy Contreras started for the Curve, so he ended up going just an inning. Travis MacGregor picked up in the second and went six innings, giving up two runs. Oddy Nunez came on for the eighth and couldn’t throw strikes, walking four and giving up three runs. Shea Murray pitched the ninth.
Nunez’ struggles didn’t matter because Altoona was up by then, 14-4. The Curve launched four home runs, two of them by Cal Mitchell. Oneil Cruz and Rodolfo Castro each hit one, both in the fifth inning along with one of Mitchell’s. Mitchell now has eight on the year, Cruz nine and Castro ten. Altoona had more baserunners than they knew what to do with, getting 16 hits and eight walks. They stranded 14 and still scored 15. Everybody in the lineup had at least one hit except Jason Delay, who was 0-for-6 and is now hitting a Pirate-catcherly .100. Mitchell was 3-for-4, scored three and drove in four. Ethan Paul also had three hits, including a double, and scored three times. Cruz had three RBIs, all on the homer.
GREENSBORO
(7:35pm)
Starting Pitcher: Braxton Ashcraft 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Notable Performances:
Matt Fraizer 2-4, BB
Nick Gonzales 0-4, BB
Liover Peguero 1-5
Lolo Sanchez 0-3, BB, HBP
Game Recap:
Greensboro (29-22) got most of its offense from unlikely sources and beat Bowling Green, 7-3. Braxton Ashcraft started and allowed the three runs over four innings. He gave up four hits and a walk, and also hit a batter. Colin Selby threw a scoreless inning and Steven Jennings finished with four hitless innings. The Grasshoppers took the lead for good with a four-run fourth inning, all of the runs unearned due to two errors. Will Matthiessen, who came in batting 145/234/232 for the ‘Hoppers, had a huge game, getting two doubles and his second longball for Greensboro. He scored three and drove in three. Andres Alvarez, who was just activated from the injured list before the game, went 4-for-5 and drove in two.
BRADENTON
(7:00pm)
Starting Pitcher: Santiago Florez 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K
Notable Performances:
Hudson Head 0-4, BB
Endy Rodriguez 1-5
Sammy Siani 1-5
Maikol Escotto 0-1, 3 BB, SB
Dariel Lopez 2-4
Game Recap:
Santiago Florez had another dominating start as Bradenton (34-16) edged Fort Myers, 1-0. Florez gave up just a hit and two walks over six innings, fanning seven. Parker Brahms followed with two scoreless innings, allowing the only other hit, and Enmanuel Mejia pitched the ninth for the save. The game’s only run scored on a sacrifice fly in the second by Ernny Ordonez. The Marauders had only five hits, two by Dariel Lopez. Maikol Escotto drew three walks and scored the only run. Sergio Campana fanned all four times up and stranded seven runners.
FCL PIRATES BLACK
(Noon)
Starting Pitcher: Po-Yu Chen 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
Notable Performances:
Juan Jerez 2-3, 2B
Jhan Polanco 1-3, HR (1)
Luis Tejeda 0-2, BB
Carlos Canache 1-2, 2B
Game Recap:
This game was suspended in the bottom of the fifth with the Pirates up, 4-0. It’ll be completed on July 5. Po-Yu Chen made his pro debut with four scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked nobody and fanned five. Catcher Jhan Polanco hit his first home run of the year with a man on. First baseman Franrielis Bastardo had a two-run single in the first. Juan Jerez went 2-for-3 with a double.
FCL PIRATES GOLD
(Noon)
Starting Pitcher: Brandan Bidois 3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Notable Performances:
Randy Romero 0-3
Deivis Nadal 0-3, HBP
Jack Herman 1-2, HR (1)
Rodolfo Nolasco 0-4
Geovanny Planchart 2-2, HR (1), BB
Game Recap:
The Pirates Gold (2-1) beat the Red Sox, 5-3. Brandan Bidois made his pro debut and scuffled a bit. He gave up two singles and a walk to the first three batters he saw, loading the bases, but he got out of it with only one run scoring. He followed that with two scoreless innings, but in the fourth again loaded the bases with nobody out. Arlinthon De Dios relieved and struck out the next two hitters, but walked one to force in a run, charged to Bidois. De Dios ended up striking out five over four hitless innings. He was charged with a run that should have been unearned, bases on the PBP, but it was scored as earned. That run put the Sox ahead, 3-2. The Pirates had gotten two runs on solo home runs, one by Jack Herman and one by catcher Geovanny Planchart. Herman’s was his first of the year, in his first game since being sent down from Greensboro. Planchart’s was the first of his career. If you’ve done your reading, you know that Planchart muscled up after hitting for no power at all in the DSL in 2019, so he could be worth keeping an eye on. The Pirates had only four hits in the game, the other two being singles by Planchart and Daniel Rivero. They took the lead with three runs in the eighth on walks and defensive bungling. Mario Garcia threw two scoreless innings to get the win.
