Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Single-A Offenses Explode & More

Double-A Altoona blown out by Bowie Baysox

Wednesday night saw the Pittsburgh Pirates Double-A affiliate the Altoona Curve suffer a blowout loss against the Bowie Baysox. Following a 12-3 loss, the Curve have fallen back to .500 on the season at 46-46.

Center fielder Connor Scott led off for the Curve, both he and catcher Blake Sabol were 1-for-4 with a double. Shortstop Liover Peguero was also 1-for-4. Fabricio Macias started in left field going 1-for-2 with a pair of walks, runs scored, and RBI. He also his his first Double-A home run. Macias now has an .836 OPS in 61 at-bats for Altoona, which is his third minor league stop this season.

Aaron Shortridge started for the Curve. Shortridge continued his struggles with the Curve. After allowing 8 runs, 7 earned, on six hits, three walks, two home runs, and just one strikeout in 3 innings pitched, he now owns a 9.00 ERA in 15 innings pitched for the Curve this season.

Jeffrey Passantino followed Shrotridge, allowing a run on a solo home run and three hits in 3.1 innings pitched. Passantino also struck out six batters. Colin Selby struggled allowing 3 runs on three hits and a walk in 1.1 innings pitched, Nick Dombkowski then got the final out of the day for the Curve pitching staff.

High-A Greensboro rolls to victory, gets over .500 in the second half of the season

The bats of the Greensboro Grasshoppers scored early an often on Wednesday afternoon. After scoring a tiro of runs in the 1st inning, the High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates did not slow down, including a 10-run 6th inning, in a 19-4 victory over the Winston Salem Dash. With the victory the Grasshoppers are now 40-50 on the season, however, they are 13-12 in the second half of the season.

Designated hitter Abrahan Gutierrez was one of many Grasshopper hitters who had a big day at the plate. Gutierrez was 2-for-4 with a pair of walks and RBI, three runs scored, and his 8th home run of the season. First baseman Jacob Gonzalez (4-for-6, 2 RBI) hit his 6th home run with the Grasshoppers, while third baseman Dariel Lopez (2-for-5, walk, 2 RBI) hit his 15th home run of the season.

Mike Jarvis hit a pinch hit grand slam in his first at-bat, then singled in his second trip to the plate. Outfielder Yoyner Fajardo and Ernny Ordonez each had multi-hit performances in the victory as well.

Matt Eckelman started for the Grasshoppers, allowing a run on a hit, a walk and a pair of strikeouts in 2 innings pitched. Domingo Gonzalez followed with five strikeouts in 3 scoreless innings pitched. Cristian Charle allowed 3 runs in 2 innings of work, Jack Carey then allowed a run in 1.2 innings pitched before Wandi Montout recorded the final out of the game.

Low-A Bradenton scores early, often in blowout victory

Following a 13-5 victory over the Lakeland Flying Tigers, the Bradenton Marauders are now back over .500 on the season at 46-45. Carlos Jimenez worked as an opener for the Low-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, striking out a pair and walk a pair in 2 hitless, scoreless innings pitched.

Sergio Umana allowed 2 runs on four hits, but he did not walk a batter and struck out four in 4 innings pitched. Umana now owns a 1.59 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched for the Marauders this season.

Carlos Lomeli pitched the 7th inning, allowing a run on a home run while striking a batter out. Darvin Garcia pitched the final 2 innings of the game, allowing a run, walking two and striking out four.

Sergio Campana went 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. He also hit his 4th home run of the season while driving in a pair. Tsung-Che Cheng served as the team’s designated hitter and bat leadoff, while he failed to collect a hit he drew a pair of walks and scored twice.

Outifelder Jase Bowen was 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored, and he drove in two, while first baseman Juan Jerez drove in a run. Shortstop Maikol Escotto was 1-for-4 with a walk and a RBI, and outfielder Angel Basabe had a three-hit game.