In the Arizona Fall League on Wednesday afternoon, the Surprise Saguaros lost 5-4 to Scottsdale in a game that saw seven runs scored in the first inning.
For the second day in a row, and just the fourth time this fall, all three Pittsburgh Pirates were in the starting lineup. Eric Wood was the designated hitter and batted fourth. Connor Joe was in left field for a second straight game and he batted fifth. Jin-De Jhang was behind the plate and he hit seventh.
Wood singled on a line drive to right field in the first inning, bringing home the second run for Surprise. He then stole second base and scored three batters later. Wood lined out to right field in the third inning, then grounded out to first base in the sixth. He led off the ninth inning with his team down 5-3 and flew out to center field for the first out. Wood finished the day 1-for-4, giving him a .375 average.
Joe walked in the first inning, but was thrown out on the bases to end the inning. He grounded out to second base in the third inning, then grounded out to third base in the sixth. Joe drew a four-pitch walk in the ninth inning, then scored three batters later. He finished 0-for-2 with a run and two walks.
Jhang batted in the first inning with two outs and Joe on first and Wood on second base. He singled on a line drive, which scored Eric Wood, but Connor Joe was thrown out at third base to end the inning. Jhang grounded out to first base in the fourth inning, then grounded back to the pitcher in the seventh inning. In the ninth inning with two outs, Jhang picked up his second RBI single of the game, bringing Surprise within one run. He left for a pinch-runner. Jhang went 2-for-4, driving in two runs. He now has a .366 average.
Edgar Santana came out to pitch the eighth inning. He allowed a single to the lead-off hitter, then recorded three straight ground outs to end the inning. Santana threw a total of 12 pitches, with seven going for strikes. PITCHf/x wasn’t available for this game. In seven appearances, he has thrown a total of 10.2 shutout innings, while posting a 0:17 BB/SO ratio. Santana also retired both batters he faced in the Fall-Stars game on Saturday night.
Surprise travels to Glendale tomorrow for an afternoon game. Tanner Anderson will be on the mound making his sixth start.
