In the Arizona Fall League on Wednesday afternoon, the Surprise Saguaros defeated Scottsdale by a 6-1 score. That gave Surprise a 7-6 record, good for second place in their division.
Two Pirates were in the starting lineup and another came out of the bullpen. Eric Wood hit fourth and played left field. Jin-De Jhang caught and batted seventh.
In the first inning, Wood came up with runners on the corners and one out. He singled on a line drive to center field to bring home a run. He was called out on strikes in the second inning. In the fourth inning, Wood hit an RBI single to make it a 6-0 game. He doubled to lead-off the seventh inning, leaving him 3-for-4 with a run and two RBIs.
Jhang came up in the first inning with Surprise up 2-0 and two runs on. He doubled on a fly ball to left field, bringing home Eric Wood with his team’s third run. Jhang singled on a line drive to center field in the third inning, then popped out to second base in the fifth inning. With Wood on third base in the seventh, Jhang grounded back to the pitcher to end the inning, giving him a 2-for-4 day, with one RBI.
Jhang got some praise from former pro scout Bernie Pleskoff, who has been covering games in the AFL.
I was impressed today with: #Pirates catcher Jin-De Jhang showed excellent skills as both a hitter and as a receiver. Complete game today.
— Bernie Pleskoff (@BerniePleskoff) October 26, 2016
Alex McRae came on for the fifth inning and gave up a noteworthy hit (AFL noteworthy). He allowed a double to Tim Tebow, his first extra-base hit in the AFL. It was a four-seam fastball that registered 91.6 MPH. McRae also walked a batter in the inning, but got out of the frame with no damage. He recorded two ground outs and a fly out. McRae threw 15 pitches, with ten going for strikes. His fastball topped out at 93.2 MPH, and he also threw five sliders. In four appearances this fall, McRae has allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks, with four strikeouts, in seven innings.
Surprise now travels to Peoria for an afternoon game on Thursday. We will have live coverage from the AFL next week, covering four games and the Fall-Stars game.
