Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Big Day for Jase Bowen, Strong Start for Luis Ortiz & More

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Strong starts from Luis Ortiz and Po-Yu Chen, a big day for Jase Bowen, and more Pittsburgh Pirates minor league action from Sunday

In need of a victory following recent struggles, the Pittsburgh Pirates top farm club, the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, dispatched of the Memphis Red Birds on Sunday. Following a 6-4 victory, the Indians are now 8-13 on the season.

Luis Ortiz started for Indy and pitched 6 strong innings. Ortiz allowed 2 runs on three hits, a walk, a home run, and two strikeouts. He induced 11 ground ball outs and threw 48 of his 76 pitches for a strike.

So far this season the Pirate rotation has pitched extremely well. However, at some point, they will need to turn to minor league depth. When they do, Ortiz will be that man, especially with Mike Burrows on the shelf. In five starts this season, Ortiz now owns a 2.31 ERA and an 8:20 BB:K ratio in 23.1 innings pitched.

Daniel Zamora and Cody Bolton were the first two relievers to come out of the bullpen after Ortiz's day ended. Zamora allowed a hit, walked a batter, and struck a batter out in a scoreless 7th inning, while Bolton fired a 1-2-3 8th inning. Colin Selby pitched the 9th inning and allowed 2 runs on three hits before getting the game's final out.

Offensively, Miguel Andújar continues to swing a hot bat. Andújar was 2-for-4 with a walk and 2 RBI. If he continues to hit well, it would not be a surprise to see Andújar get another look in the majors soon. Aaron Shackelford and Malcolm Nuñez both went 1-for-4, while catcher Grant Koch was 1-for-2 with a walk and his 1st Triple-A home run.

Curve walk off the Baysox

After getting rained out on Saturday, the Double-A Altoona Curve returned to action on Sunday. While it was a cold, dreary day in Altoona, the Curve were able to capture a thrilling 5-4 walk off victory over the Bowie Baysox. With the win, the Curve are now back to .500 on the season at 7-7.

Aaron Shortridge started for Altoona, allowing 2 runs on four hits, three walks, and two strikeouts in 6 innings pitched. Due to a Lolo Sanchez error, only 1 of the 2 runs that Shortridge allowed was earned. Both runs Shortridge surrendered were in the 1st inning. After the 1st inning, Shortridge allowed just three base runners and faced just one batter over the minimum.

Lefty Nick Dombkowski took the ball in the 7th inning and made quick work of the Baysox. Dombkowski needed just 8 pitches to retire them in order while picking up a strikeout. Noe Toribio struggled in the 8th inning, only recording two outs while allowing 2 runs on two hits, a hit batter, and a walk. Tahnaj Thomas retired all four batters he faced, and stranded both runners he inherited in the 8th inning.

Henry Davis led the way for the Curve offense on Sunday. The former no. 1 overall pick went 3-for-3 with a walk, his 3rd and 4th home runs of the season, two runs scored, and 3 RBI. The aforementioned Sanchez made up for his defensive blunder by going 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk.

Sanchez also played hero in the 9th inning. Fabricio Macias walked to start the inning, Connor Scott singled, and Claudio Final laid down a sacrifice bunt. This brought Sanchez to the plate with runners on second and third with just one out. He proceeded to hit a walk off sacrifice fly, giving the Curve a 5-4 victory.

Po-Yu Chen's strong start, Jase Bowen's multi-home day power another Greensboro victory

High-A Greensboro defeated the Greenville Drive 4-1 to improve to 11-4 on the season. Center fielder Jase Bowen led the way for the Grasshoppers going 3-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs, giving him 5 on the season, and three runs scored.

Outside of Bowen the Grasshopper offense struggled. Hudson Head was 1-for-3 with a walk. Jackson Glenn, Angel Basabee, and Maikol Escotto each had a hit as well. The rest of the lineup combined to go 0-for-15.

Po-Yu Chen started for the Grasshoppers and turned in his second consecutive strong start. The only run Chen allowed in 5 innings pitched came via a solo home run. He did not walk a batter, struck out six, and only allowed one other hit outside of the home run.

Mitchell Miller, Will Kobos, Santiago Florez, and Eddy Yean each pitched a scoreless inning of relief. This quartet did not allow a hit and walked just two.

Bradenton caps off 5-1 week with a blowout victory

The Low-A Bradenton Marauders continued their strong start to the 2023 season by rolling over teh Daytona Tortugas 9-1 on Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Marauders capped off a 5-1 week that improved their record to 10-5 on the season.

J.P. Massey started for the Marauders and fired 5 scoreless innings. Massey allowed two hits, walked a batter, and struck out seven. In 11.2 innings pitched this season, Massey owns a 3.86 ERA and a 5:18 BB:K ratio.

Carlos Lomeli pitched the 6th and 7th innings, surrendering the only run that the Tortugas scored on the day. Lomeli allowed a run on two hits, a walk, and four strikeouts. Darvin Garcia struck out two in a 1-2-3 8th inning, Elijah Birdsong walked a batter and struck out a pair in a scoreless 9th.

At the top of the lineup shortstop Jesus Castillo was 0-for-3 with two walks and a run scored. Termarr Johnson went 1-for-3 with a walk, a run scored, and 2 RBI. Center fielder Tres Gonzalez was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run scored, and designated hitter Javier Rivas was 2-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored, a double, and 2 RBI. Alexander Mojica was 1-for-3 with a walk and a RBI.

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