Pittsburgh Pirates flame throwing reliever Aroldis Chapman was suspended for two games, after being ejected earlier this week for arguing the strike zone with...
The Pittsburgh Pirates look like they need a day off. Fortunately for Pirates fans, Thursday's action will feature top prospects Paul Skenes and Bubba...
Valentin Linarez had one of the biggest recorded velocity jumps in minor league baseball last year.
Baseball America tracked the year-over-year four-seam velocity gainers from...
At the start of the 2023 international signing period, the Pittsburgh Pirates added David Matoma as their first signing out of Uganda. The right-handed...
BRADENTON, Fla. - The Pittsburgh Pirates are converting 2023 third round pick Garret Forrester to a catcher, splitting his time between first base and...
The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed Blaine Boyer and Brett Sinkbeil to minor league deals, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Both pitchers are...
It's a rainy night for half of the Pirates' minor leaguers:
The Indianapolis Indians and Toledo Mud Hens had the first game of their 4-game series postponed due to an all-day-long rain. Yesterday it was snowing in Toledo, and this was not totally unexpected. The Tribe and the Hens are scheduled to play at 10:30 am on Wednesday, then play a double-header on Thursday at 5:30 pm to make up for today.
Pitcher Jose Ascanio was supposed to join the Indians today, to begin a rehab assignment, but that has obviously been washed away too.
The Altoona Curve and the Harrisburg Senators were also rained out in Altoona. They are also playing at 10:30 am on Wednesday, and that is the last scheduled game of this series with the Senators, so they will make up the rain out in June.
Curve pitcher Aaron Thompson was named the Eastern League for last week. He made two starts in the week, and won both games, earning a 0.75 ERA, with just 3 hits allowed in 12 innings.
The Marauders came out on the short end of a pitching duel today. Quinton Miller pitched well, but was charged with the loss, as he allowed the only run of the game on 5 hits and 2 walks in 6 innings of work, with 2 strikeouts. Miller gave up the run in the bottom of the 1st. The inning began with back-to-back singles, then both runners stole a base. An RBI ground out brought in the run. A walk and another single had another runner heading for the plate, but CF Evan Chambers made an excellent throw in to the plate, where C Ramon Cabrera tagged out the runner.
Miller scattered a walk and two singles over the next 5 innings, but did not let any further runs score. He was relieved by Jason Erickson to begin the 7th. After a 1-2-3 7th, Erickson worked around a single and a walk for a scoreless 8th inning.
Unfortunately, the Hammerheads' pitchers were having even better luck against the Marauders' batters. Bradenton put two runners on base in the 2nd, when LF David Rubinstein and Cabrera both singled, but Rubinstein was tagged out at third as he tried to pick up two bases on Cabrera's single. The Marauders went down in order in the next 3 innings, then RF Adelberto Santos singled to open the 6th, but was left on base. With their last chance in the bottom of the 8th, 2B Jarek Cunningham lined a 2-out single into center field, and Chambers walked. But a ground out ended the threat and the game.
During batting practice today, Indians' SS Pedro Ciriaco (photo) declared that "tonight is the night". Then he made good on it, leading the Indians in their win over the Bats at Slugger Field in Louisville, Kentucky.
Ciriaco came into the game with a .059 batting average, with just 2 hits in his first 11 games of the season. Tonight, he posted the first Indians' run of the game with a single in the 3rd inning. He singled again in the 6th innings, and nearly picked up an RBI, though 1B Matt Hague was out at the plate. Then Ciriaco capped the Indians' big 8th inning with a 3-run home run, giving the Tribe a defiinive lead that would carry them to the win.
After yesterday's 13-inning marathon, tonight's game began in much the same way: two perfect innings by both starters, Sean Gallagher for the Indians and Scott Carroll for the Bats. Ciriaco was the first base runner of the game when he singled up the middle in the 3rd. He stole second base, but was left stranded. Gallagher walked RF Brian Barton and hit C Corky Miller with a pitch to begin the bottom of the 3rd, but when Barton strayed too far off second base, the alert Tribe C Jason Jaramillo picked him off. Gallagher got out of the inning with a strikeout and a fly out.
(Photo: Starter Sean Gallagher)
The Indians got the scoring started in the top of the 4th. 2B Chase d'Arnaud led off the inning with a line drive single into center field. A ground out by LF Alex Presley moved d'Arnaud to second, and a balk by Carroll pushed d'Arnaud to third. D'Arnaud scored the first run of the game when Bats' SS Zack Cozart bobbled RF Andrew Lambo's grounder. Lambo reached second base on a passed ball. 3B Andy Marte nearly had an RBI double with a sharply hit ball down the left field line, but it was ruled a foul ball, and Marte went back to try again. He worked a walk, to put two Indians' runners on base. Jaramillo drove both of them in with a line drive that just barely got past Bats' CF Dave Sappelt, and the Indians had a 3-0 lead.
Louisville got one of the runs back in the bottom of the inning. Cozart reached base on an error, when his grounder skipped off the glove of Marte at third. LF Yonder Alonso walked, and a fly ball gave the Bats runners on the corners. A wild pitch let Cozart come in to score. Alonso stole second base then moved to third when 3B Chris Valaika reached base on Ciriaco's fielding error. Gallagher stopped the rally with two strikeouts, and held the score at 3-1. The bottom of the 5th began with a single by Miller, which hopped past the diving Ciriaco. Moments later, Sappelt brought in Miller with his 2-run homer, to tie the score at 3-3.