Pittsburgh Pirates Brock Holt Off to Quick Start in AFL

The Mesa Solar Sox

had a new secondbaseman today as the Pittsburgh Pirates Brock Holt got the start.  Jarek Cunningham has been playing second rather regularly for Mesa but didn’t see the field today.

The red hot Robbie Grossman was also given the day off.

Holt made the most of the opportunity.   Holt had missed the start of the Arizona Fall League season due to a hamstring injury.  He wasted little time in making an impact in a come-from-behind Sox win over Scottsdale.

After grounding out to start the third inning and being called out on strikes with a runner on second base in the fifth, the struggling Solar Sox trailed Scottsdale 4-0 heading into the seventh inning.

That’s when the bats came to life.

Holt came up huge in the seventh when Mesa put up a four spot to tie the game at four.   After Michael Blanke hit a two-run bomb, Holt singled and then scored on Aaron Hicks’ second bomb of the AFL season.

Derek Noris gave the Scorpions the go ahead run they needed in the bottom of the eighth.  All Scottsdale needed was three outs and the victory was in the win column.

Holt made sure he wouldn’t be counted in one of the final three outs when he lead off the ninth with a critical walk off losing pitcher B.J. Rosenberg.  Hot bat Hicks doubled which put runners on second and third with nobody out.  Holt and Hicks would score one out later.

Brandon Klauss made it a one, two, three bottom of the ninth and Mesa would have their fifth win.

Nice start for Brock Holt.