After two straight days off, the 3-7 Peoria Javelinas were back in action in the Arizona Fall League on Tuesday afternoon. All three Pittsburgh Pirates hitters were in the lineup, with Ji-hwan Bae batting lead-off at second base, Nick Gonzales batting second in the DH spot, and Canaan Smith-Njigba batting seventh and playing right field. Here’s a recap of their day.
Bae reached on an infield single in the first inning, something he did six times last week (the infield single part, not the first inning part), and he scored a run. Bae walked in the second inning on six pitches, then grounded out in the fourth. He flew out to center field in the sixth, then walked in the seventh and scored a run. He grounded out in the eighth to finish 1-for-4 with two walks and two runs scored. He’s hitting .297 with an .807 OPS.
Gonzales struck out swinging in the first. He flew out to center field in the second, though it was deep enough for the runners on first and second to both tag up and advance. He singled on a line drive to left field in the fourth, then reached on an infield single in the sixth and scored a run. He reached on another infield single in the seventh. Gonzales collected his fourth straight single in the eighth, a liner to left field that plated two runs. He finished 4-for-6 with four singles, one run scored and two RBIs. He’s now hitting .314 on the season. He had a .241 average coming into the day.
Smith-Njigba lined out to right field to end the first inning, then struck out in the third. He flew out to center field in the fifth, then grounded out to first base to end the sixth. He walked in the eighth to finish 0-for-4 with a walk. He leads the three Pirates hitters with an .831 OPS.
Peoria won 15-7.
The Javelinas are at home tomorrow to take on the Surprise Saguaros at 3:35 PM EDT. Roansy Contreras is the scheduled starter.
