Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Henry Davis Continues to Rake, Michael Kennedy Shoves & More

Bullpen metldown leads to Curve loss

Thursday night the Double-A Altoona Curve appeared to be well on their way to victory. Well, that was until the Curve bullpen got involved. Late inning bullpen woes led to a 6-3 loss for the Curve against the Somerset Patriots to drop Altoona to 30-28 on the season.

Aaron Shortridge started for the Curve. Shortridge allowed three hits, walked three, and struck out six in 6 scoreless innings pitched. Unfortunately, after Shortridge's night ended the bullpen would completely implode for the Curve.

Bear Bellomy was first up. Bellomy allowed 2 runs on a 2-run home run while recording just one out. Next up was Cam Junker who allowed 4 runs on two hits, a home run, and four walks in 1 inning pitched. Lefty Braden Ogle would record a strikeout while getting the final two outs of the 8th inning.

At the top of the Curve lineup Liover Peguero remained red hot going 2-for-5 including a home run to lead off the game, giving him 8 home runs on the season. Matt Gorski was 2-for-5, Jacob Gonzalez was 1-for-3 with a RBI, Andres Alvarez was 1-for-3, and Matt Fraizer was 0-for-3 with a RBI.

Greensboro wins in extra innings

High-A Greensboro fell in an early hole on Thursday night. However, they were able to rally in the later innings to put the game into extra innings. This led to the Grasshoppers defeating the Greenville Drive 6-5 in 10 innings to improve to 33-25 on the season.

Braxton Ashcraft started for Greensboro, allowing 3 runs on five hits, a walk, and four strikeouts in 4 innings pitched. Jaycob Deese followed with 2 innings, allowing an unearned run. Grant Ford pitched 2 scoreless innings and Cy Nielson allowed a run while striking out three in his 2 innings of work.

At the top of the lineup center fielder Tres Gonzalez went 2-for-5 with a run scored. Tsung-Che Cheng continues to rake going 4-for-5 with a double and a run scored, he now owns a 1.014 OPS this season.

Shawn Ross, who homered earlier in the game, played hero in the 10th inning. He led the inning off with a double to score Jase Bowen who started the inning on second base to give the Grasshoppers a 6-5 lead they would not relinquish.

Poor 9th inning sinks Bradenton

For much of the night the Low-A Bradenton Marauders appeared to be in position to win their game. However, a poor 9th inning would sink the Marauders in a 7-4 loss against the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. With the loss, the Marauders are now 31-29 on the season.

Wilber Dotel started for Bradenton and pitched well. In 4 innings of work, Dotel allowed a run on a solo home run. Other than that, he allowed just one hit, walked two, and struck out five. Luis Peralta followed Dotel by allowing 3 runs on three hits, two home runs, and three strikeouts in 3 innings pitched.

Joshua Loeschorn pitched a scoreless 8th inning and returned to the mound for the 9th. In the 9th, Loeschorn ran into trouble that led to Bradenton's loss. He hit a batter to start the inning, issued a walk, and then allowed a go-ahead, game winning 3-run home run.

No Marauder batter had a multi-hit night. Nick Cimillo and Rodolfo Nolasco both went 1-for-3 with a solo home run. Alexander Mojica was as 1-for-4 with a RBI, Shalin Polanco was 1-for-4 with a run scored, and Termarr Johnson was 0-for-3 with a walk.

FCL Pirates outslug the FCL Red Sox

In the Florida Complex League, the FCL Pirates outslugged the FCL Red Sox 12-11. With the win, the FCL Pirates are off to a strong 6-2 start this season.

Even though the game finish with a score of 12-11, it was the starting pitcher who helped steal the show for the FCL Pirates. 2022 draft pick Michael Kennedy made the start, allowing a run, walking three batters, and striking out six in 4 scoreless innings pitched. Kennedy now owns a 1.23 ERA to go with 11 strikeouts in 7.1 innings pitched this season.

The lefty was one of the highest ceiling players drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates last summer. This led to him getting a large over-slot signing bonus to get him to skip college and turn pro. Through two starts, the very early returns on Kennedy have been positive.

Catcher/first baseman Eybert Escalona went 2-for-5 with his 1st home run of the season, two runs scored, and two RBI. Australian import Solomon Maguire served as the DH and went 1-for-1 with a pair of walks, a double, and three runs scored.

Center field Jhonson Pena went 2-for-3 with a RBI and two runs scored. Outfielder Braylon Bishop, one of the big over-slot signings from the 2021 draft, went 1-for-4 with a double, a walk, two RBI, and a run scored.