On Thursday afternoon in the Arizona Fall League, the Surprise Saguaros won 3-1 over Glendale. There were no Pittsburgh Pirates in the starting lineup after consecutive days with all three in at the same time. However, Tanner Anderson was on the mound making his sixth start of the fall, while Montana DuRapau pitched out of the bullpen.
Anderson was spotted three runs in the top of the first inning, then came out and made quick work of Glendale’s top three hitters. On 13 pitches (eight strikes), he got a ground out, an infield pop up and a liner to right field for three outs.
The second inning didn’t go as well for Anderson. He gave up a lead-off single, then recorded two quick outs on a foul ball and a grounder. That was followed by two single to score a run. He limited the damage by getting a ground ball for the third out. Anderson needed 23 pitches (13 strikes) to get through this frame.
Anderson quickly put himself into trouble in the third inning, allowing a single, hitting a batter, then loading the bases with another single. He recorded the first out on a shallow fly to center field, then got a ball hit right back to him, starting a 1-2-3 double play to get out of the inning with no runs allowed. Despite the three base runners, it was a fairly quick inning. He threw 13 pitches, with 11 going for strikes.
In the fourth, Anderson walked the lead-off batter. That was followed by a double play and a grounder to second base to end the inning. He finished with 58 pitches total, 36 going for strikes. Despite allowing seven runners and not recording a strikeout, Anderson still had a good day. He limited the opposition to one run and posted a 6:1 GO/AO ratio. He now has a 3.63 ERA in 22.1 innings, and improved on the 3.22 GO/AO ratio he had coming into the day.
PITCHf/x wasn’t available for this game, but you can read more about Anderson here, including some video and talk about his unusual delivery.
Montana DuRapau followed Anderson and immediately hit the first batter. That was followed by a strikeout, then a single that put runners on the corners with one out. DuRapau got an infield pop up for the second out, then a grounder to first base to end the inning. He threw 15 pitches, with eight going for strikes. He has now allowed six runs over nine innings in his nine appearances this fall.
Surprise travels to Mesa for an afternoon game tomorrow. There are only six games left in the season, and Surprise trails first place Peoria by one game. The two teams meet in the final game of the season next Thursday.
