Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Shutout Win, Shutout Loss & More
A shutout win, shutout loss and more in Friday night’s Pittsburgh Pirates minor league roundup
Friday night saw the Indianapolis Indians pick up a 3-0 victory over the Memphis Redbirds. With the win, the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates improved to 53-54 on the season as they pulled within a game of .500.
Righty Johan Oviedo started for Indy. In his second outing with Indy since being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Oviedo walked a pair in 2 scoreless, hitless innings pitched. He now has 3 scoreless innings pitched since joining the Pirate organization.
Noe Toribio followed Oviedo, allowing two hits while walking a pair in 3 scoreless innings pitched. This lowered Toribio’s ERA at the Triple-A level to 3.91, although he continues to struggle with command.
Cam Vieaux had 3 scoreless innings as well. Vieaux did not allow a hit, walked a batter and struck koto four. Eric Handhold then struck out a pair as part of a 1-2-3 9th inning to pick up the save for the Indians.
At the top of the Indian lineup Hoy Park and Diego Castillo were both 1-for-4. Cal Mitchell was 1-for-4 with a triple and a run scored, Kevin Padlo was 2-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored and Carter Bins was 1-for-2 with a walk, two RBI and his 7th home run with the Indians. Travis Swaggerty was also 1-for-4.
Double-A Altoona suffers a shutout loss
Friday night saw the Double-A Altoona Curve get shutout by the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. Suffering a 2-0 loss, the Curve fell to four games below .500 on the season at 51-55 as their offense struggled.
One of the few offensvie highlights of the night for the Curve was third baseman Jared Triolo. Batting leadoff, Triolo went 2-for-4. Continuing to push for a 40-man roster spot and to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft this offseason, Triolo now has a .764 OPS this season.
After spending time on the 60-day minor league injured list with a foot issue Nick Gonzales returned to the lineup for the Curve on Friday night. In his return to the lineup the second baseman was 0-for-3.
Catcher Endy Rodriguez was 1-for-4, and shortstop Liover Peguero was 1-for-4 with his 20th double of the season. Matt Fraizer was 1-for-2, while Aaron Shackelford and Fabricio Macias were both 1-for-4. That was it for he Curve offense.
Jeffrey Passntino started for the Curve. Passantino allowed run on two hits, two walks, and two strikeouts in 3 innings pitched. Carmen Mldozinski pitched the final 5 innings for the Curve. Mlodzinski allowed a run on five hits, two walks and six strikeouts. Despite this strong outing, Mlodzinski still owns a 4.62 ERA on the season.
Greensboro picks up a 12-5 victory
It has been a rough season for the High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers. Friday night, however, they had a strong performance in a 12-5 victory over the Jersey Shore BlueClaws. With the win, the Grasshoppers improved to 46-58 on the season.
Leadoff hitter Luke Browns was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored for the Grasshoppers. Right fielder Jase Bowen was 1-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored and two RBI. Dariel Lopez started at shortstop going 1-for-5 with his 15th double of the season, run scored and two RBI.
Catcher Abrahan Gutierrez had the biggest game for a busy Grasshopper offense. The right-handed hitting Gutierrez was 3-for-5 with two doubles, giving him 18 on the season, to go with two runs scored and two RBI.
Designated hitter Jacob Gonzalez was 2-for-4 with a run scored and a RBI. Second baseman Yoyner Fajardo was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run scored.
2020 Pittsburgh Pirates draft pick Nick Garcia started for the Grasshoppers. He allowed 4 runs on seven hits, two walks, two home runs and four strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched. Santiago Florez followed with 3.2 innings pitched, allowing a run on three hits and a walk. Cam Junker then struck out a pair in a 1-2-3 9th inning.
Easy win for Low-A Bradenton
The Low-A Bradenton Marauders scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning on Friday night. This was the beginning of the Marauders rolling to a 6-1 victory over the Palm Beach Cardinals as they improved to 55-50 on the season.
Valentin Linarez started for the Marauders and set the tone. In 6 scoreless innings pitched he allowed two hits, walked a pair and struck out seven. This outing lowered his ERA on the season to 4.03.
Carlos Campos followed Linarez. Campos allowed a solo home run in 2 scoreless innings pitched. This was the lone run that Campos allowed. Sergio Umana then pitched a scoreless 9th inning to finish the game off.
Shortstop Tsung-Che Cheng bat leadoff for the Marauders, going 1-for-2 with a walk, a run scored and a RBI. Center fielder Sergio Campana was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, giving him 11 on the season, a run scored and two RBI.
While third baseman Jack Brannigan was 0-for-3, the 2022 draft pick did draw a walk. Bubba Chandler was 1-for-4 with a RBI while serving as the team’s designated hitter. First baseman Brenden Dixon and Catcher Wyatt Hendrie each had a hit as well.