Pittsburgh Pirates: Minor League Roundup May 9th

Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Pittsburgh Pirates had four minor league affiliates in action last night.  The teams went 2-2 on the night.  Some former first round picks had big nights.

Triple-A Indianapolis took on the Charlotte Knights last night.  The Pittsburgh Pirates Triple-A affiliate defeated the White Sox affiliate.  Starting for the Indians was Drew Hutchison.  Hutchison picked up his first, yes his first, victory last night.  Taking the loss for the Knights was top prospect Lucas Giolito.  Hutchison had by far his best game.  The former big league starter went 6.2 innings and only gave up one run.  Also, Hutchison struck out six hitters, but he did walk four.  Following Hutchison was Dan Runzler.  Runzler only lasted a third of an inning, and he was charged with two earned runs.  Edgar Santana earned the save throwing the final two frames without giving up a run.

The Pittsburgh Pirates Triple-A affiliate scored five runs on eight hits last night.  Of the eight hits, the Indians only had two players with multiple hits.  Eric Weiss was one of the players, as he was 2-4 in the game with 1 of the hits being a triple.  The other player to have a 2 hit game was outfielder Danny Ortiz who added a double.  Adam Frazier started at second base as part of his rehab stint and was 1-3 with a double.  Austin Meadows also was 1-4 in the game with a RBI.  The Indianapolis Indians are now 11-16 on the year.

Double-A

The Altoona Curve took on the Richmond Flying Squirrels of the San Francisco Giants organization.  The Curve sent their ace to the mound in Alex McRae.  The former tenth round pick threw seven strong innings, only giving up one run spread out over six hits.  Furthermore, McRae struck out 4 batters while only walking one, and he received a no-decision.  Luis Heredia relieved McRae and took the loss.  The former top prospect threw one inning and gave up two runs on three hits.

Offensively the Pittsburgh Pirates Double-A affiliate was pretty quiet.  The Curve only posted one run on four hits.  Elvis Escobar, Kevin Kramer, Chris Diaz, and Edwin Espinal had the hits.  Escobar and Espinal both had doubles.  The only run batted in was on an Espinal double.  Jordan Luplow was 0-2 in the game, but he did walk twice.  The Altoona Curve now have a record of 17-11 for the season.

High-A

The Bradenton Marauders took on the Jupiter Hammerheads of the Marlins organization.  The Hammerheads started former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Jeff Locke in a rehab start.  Locke threw four scoreless innings.  Starting for the Marauders was Dario Agrazal.  Agrazal kept up his strong season by throwing six innings of one run baseball.  The Panamanian pitcher also punched out seven hitters while only giving up three hits and walking one.  Agrazal earned the win. Brett Helton threw two scoreless innings to follow Agrazal. He punched out five batters in the two innings. Daniel Zamora closed out the game throwing a scoreless ninth.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates High-A affiliate was actually out hit by Jupiter, but the Marauders scored three runs on seven hits.  Leading the way was 2016 first round pick Will Craig.  The first baseman was 2-3 in the game with a solo home run, and he also had a walk.  The other top performer was 2014 first round pick Cole Tucker.  Tucker was 2-4 in the game with a triple.  Jordan George also added two hits and Alfredo Reyes chipped in the other hit on the night.  Ke’Bryan Hayes had a sac fly, but he was 0-3 for the game.  The Marauders are now 19-13 this season.

Low-A

The West Virginia Power played the Lexington Legends.  The Legends are part of the Kansas City Royals organization.  The Power were defeated by a score of 6-3.  Taking the loss was starter Matt Anderson, the Pittsburgh Pirates tenth round pick in the 2016 draft.  Anderson gave up four runs, but only one was earned. Eduardo Vera relieved Anderson and threw the next three innings, and gave up only one run in those innings. Geoff Hartlieb pitched an unscathed ninth.

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On the offensive side of things, the West Virginia Power collected a whopping 12 hits, but they were only able to push across three runs.  Center fielder Alexis Bastardo was 4-5 in the game.  Catcher Arden Pabst also had a nice game, going 3-5 with a double and two runs batted in as well. Kevin Mahala and Hunter Owen both were 2-4 in the game.  Owen is turning in a solid season, posting a .296 batting average for the year.  Pittsburgh Pirates top 30 prospect Stephen Alemais was 0-6 in the game.  The Power are now 15-17 on the season.

*All stats are courtesy of Baseball Reference and milb.com