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AFL Recap: Big Day At The Plate For Alen Hanson

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The Scottsdale Scorpions offense broke out on Saturday, scoring 12 runs in a victory over Peoria. Just one Pirates players took part in today’s game, but he played a major part on offense.  Scottsdale is now 4-6 on the season. They are off on Sunday.arizona_fall_league_logo

Alen Hanson was the only Pittsburgh Pirates player in the starting lineup today. He batted lead-off and was in at shortstop. He didn’t start yesterday, though he did enter the game late as a pinch-runner. Hanson had struggled at the plate and in the field through the first nine games of the AFL season. He was hitting .217 in 23 AB’s, with one walk and 11 strikeouts. Three of his five base hits were bunt hits. Hanson did have a couple highlights on offense, a triple and three stolen bases. On defense, he had five errors prior to Saturday, with two games in a row in which he committed both a fielding and throwing error.

On Saturday, Hanson led off the game with a ground ball single up the middle. He had a strong AB, seeing a total of eight pitches. Hanson moved to second base on a wild pitch, then to third base with no outs after a single from the second place hitter. He scored the first run of the game three batters later.

In his second AB, Hanson singled on a line drive to right field. He was caught stealing a few pitches later, though it was likely a delayed steal or missed hit-and-run as the play went 2-4-3. In the fifth inning, Hanson was hit by a pitch, a 95 MPH fastball. He was a little shaken up, but stayed in the game. Two batters later, he came around to score his second run of the game, tying the score. Hanson came up for a fourth time with two outs in the sixth, the score tied and a man on first. He flew out to right field to end the inning.

In the eighth inning, Hanson came to the plate with no outs, the bases loaded and his team winning by a 5-4 score. He had an eight pitch AB that ended with a two-run single. Two batters later, he scored his third run of the day. He came up for a sixth time in the ninth inning and popped out to shortstop. He finished the day 3-for-5, three runs, two RBI’s and a HBP. On defense, he handled everything hit his way.

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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