Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Big Night for Oneil Cruz & More

Indianapolis Triple-A short-stop Oneil Cruz (15) rushes towards third base during the game against the Omaha Storm Chasers on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, at Victory Field in Indianapolis.Baseball 220405 Indianapolis Triple A Baseball Team Opener Omaha Storm Chasers At Indianapolis Triple A Baseball Team
Indianapolis Triple-A short-stop Oneil Cruz (15) rushes towards third base during the game against the Omaha Storm Chasers on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, at Victory Field in Indianapolis.Baseball 220405 Indianapolis Triple A Baseball Team Opener Omaha Storm Chasers At Indianapolis Triple A Baseball Team
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Indianapolis Triple-A short-stop Oneil Cruz (15) swings at the ball during the game agains the Omaha Storm Chasers on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, at Victory Field in Indianapolis.Baseball 220405 Indianapolis Triple A Baseball Team Opener Omaha Storm Chasers At Indianapolis Triple A Baseball Team
Indianapolis Triple-A short-stop Oneil Cruz (15) swings at the ball during the game agains the Omaha Storm Chasers on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, at Victory Field in Indianapolis.Baseball 220405 Indianapolis Triple A Baseball Team Opener Omaha Storm Chasers At Indianapolis Triple A Baseball Team /

The Pittsburgh Pirates farm system had another day that was impacted by weather on Saturday

Before playing their originally scheduled game on Saturday night, the top farm club for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, finished a suspended game from Friday night. Friday night’s game was suspended with things tied at 5 in the 9th inning, but things did not go Indy’s way in the completion of the game.

With the game tied at 5, Cal Mitchell and Taylor Davis drew back-to-back walks with one out in the 9th inning. Bligh Madris then hit into an inning ending double play. Cristofer Melendez pitched the top of the 10th for Indy, but allowed 2 runs on a pair of hits and a walk in the inning. Despite an Oneil Cruz walk in the bottom of the 10th, the Indians failed to score suffering a 7-5 loss.

In their regularly scheduled game the Indians defeated the Louisville Bats 8-2 to improve to 14-13 on the season. Roansy Contreras allowed a hit, walked 2 and struck out 6 in 4 scoreless innings pitched. Making a rehab appearance Duane Underwood Jr. pitched 2 scoreless innings. Osvaldo Bido then allowed 2 runs in 2 innings of work.

Offensively, Oneil Cruz had a big night for the Indians. Cruz was 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and 4 RBI. The home run that Cruz hit left his bat at a whopping 113 MPH. This marks just the latest ball that Cruz has hit at 113+ MPH.

Leadoff man Ji-hwan Bae was 1-for-2 with 2 walks, 2 runs scored and 2 RBI. Rodolfo Castro, Cal Mitchell, Canaan Smith-Njigba, Jason Delay, and Bligh Madris all had 2 hits on the night as well. This included triples by Madris and Delay.

(Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
(Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

Curve fall in extra innings

Saturday afternoon the Double-A Altoona Curve suffered a 2-1 loss in 10 innings against the Erie Seawolves. With the loss, the Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates are now 11-15 on the season.

Carmen Mlodzinksi started for the Curve and pitched 3 strong innings. The righty allowed a run 3 hits, a walk and he struck out 4 in 3 innings pitched. Noe Toribio followed, allowing a hit, walking 2 and striking out 4 in 3 scoreless innings pitched. Toribio has now struck out 20 batters while positing a 1.76 ERA in 15.1 innings pitched this season.

Austin Roberts was next up, striking out a pair in 2 scoreless innings pitched. Tahnaj Thomas, who has dominated for the Curve this season, then took the mound in the 10th inning. Thomas struck out a batter, but also allowed a pair of base hits allowing the runner who started the inning on second base to score. This led to Thomas allowing an unearned run as the Seawolves scored the winning run.

Offensively, there were few highlights for the Curve. Leadoff man Jared Triolo was just 1-for-4, although his hit was his 5th double of the season, while Nick Gonzales was 0-for-4 in the two hole. Catcher Blake Sabol was 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and he drove in Altoona’s lone run.

Four, five, six hitters Lolo Sanchez, Aaron Shackelford, and Matt Fraizer were a combined 0-for-12. Tucupita Marcano started in left field going 1-for-2 with a walk, and right fielder Connor Scott hit his 5th double of the season. Scott now has an .826 OPS this season.

Feb 18, 2020; Texas Longhorns second base Brenden Dixon (1) loses the baseball after maked an out over UTSA’s Nick Thornquist (33) during a game in Austin on Tuesday, Februery 18, 2020. Mandatory Credit: Lola Gomez/American-Statesman – USA TODAY Network
Feb 18, 2020; Texas Longhorns second base Brenden Dixon (1) loses the baseball after maked an out over UTSA’s Nick Thornquist (33) during a game in Austin on Tuesday, Februery 18, 2020. Mandatory Credit: Lola Gomez/American-Statesman – USA TODAY Network /

Weather impacts Greensboro again

The High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers were rained out on Saturday night. This continued a recent trend of poor weather impacting the Pittsburgh Pirates and their minor league affiliates.

As for the Low-A Bradenton Marauders, following a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Tarpons they are now 14-12 on the season. Local produce Justin Meis started for Bradenton turning in another strong start. Meis allowed 3 hits, walked 2 and struck out 6 in 5 scoreless innings pitched. On the season Meis now owns a 3.32 ERA and has struck out 21 batters in 19 innings pitched.

Darvin Garcia followed Meis. In 1.1 innings pitched Garcia allowed 2 runs on 2 hits, 2 walks, a home run and 3 strikeouts. Dante Mendoza allowed a hit, walked a pair and struck a batter out in 1.2 scoreless innings pitched. Carlos Lomeli then continued his strong start to the season by pitching a 1-2-3 9th inning to pick up his 3rd save of the season.

Next. Roberto Perez Placed on the IL. dark

Leadoff man Luke Brown drew a walk and scored a pair of runs. Brenden Dixon was 2-for-4 with his 7th double of the season and a RBI. Center fielder Jase Bowen was 1-for-3 with a RBI, right fielder Randy Romero also had a hit for the Marauders.

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