Top prospect Gerrit Cole gets the start tonight for Altoona. In six starts since the Eastern League All-Star game, he has gone 1-3 2.97 in 30.1 innings. Cole ranks third in the Pirates farm system in strikeouts (112), trailing Jeff Locke (who is in the majors) by one for second place. Indianapolis has a ten game lead in their division with 19 games left in the season. A full recap of yesterday’s games can be found here.
Triple-A: Indianapolis (74-51) @ Rochester (64-60) 7:05pm
Probable starter: Rick VandenHurk (11-4 3.43)
Yesterday’s Result: Rochester 6 Indianapolis 2 (game story)
Rick VandenHurk will make his 16th start for Indianapolis tonight. He has also pitched twice in relief and he started the season with a rehab start for Bradenton. As a starter with the Indians, VandenHurk has pitched a total of 88.1 innings, giving up 88 hits, eight homers, 29 walks and he has 82 strikeouts, with a 1.29 GO/AO ratio. In his last start, he went 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out seven batters, the fifth start in a row that he has reached that number.
Double-A: Altoona (58-63) @ Portland (57-65) 6:00pm
Probable starter: Gerrit Cole (3-4 3.43)
Yesterday’s Result: Portland 1 Altoona 0
Gerrit Cole will make his tenth start for Altoona tonight. He has pitched 42 innings with the Curve, giving up 40 hits, two homers, 13 walks and 43 strikeouts. Cole made 13 starts for Bradenton this year, pitching 67 innings, allowing 53 hits, five homers, 21 walks and he struck out 69 batters. He has a 1.41 GO/AO ratio and a .229 BAA on the season. In his last start, he threw 5.1 scoreless innings. Cole has struck out either five or six batters in seven of his nine starts for Altoona.
High-A: Bradenton (55-66 overall 26-25 2nd half) vs Charlotte (48-68 overall 19-30 2nd half) 6:30pm
Probable starter: Casey Sadler (4-5 3.57)
Yesterday’s Result: Charlotte 6 Bradenton 3 in 10 innings
Casey Sadler will get his 14th start of the season tonight. He has also pitched 15 times in relief. On the year he has thrown a total of 111 innings, allowing 105 hits, three homers, 25 walks, with 83 strikeouts, a 1.51 GO/AO ratio and a .251 BAA. In his last start, Sadler threw seven shutout innings, giving up just three hits and a walk. In his previous start, he allowed two of the three homers he has given up all season. Sadler is tied with Jameson Taillon for the fourth best WHIP(1.17) in the FSL.
Low-A: West Virginia (52-70 overall 29-23 2nd half) @ Kannapolis (21-30 overall 54-67 2nd half) 7:05pm
Probable starter: Robby Rowland (8-3 3.36)
Yesterday’s Result: West Virginia 7 Greensboro 6
Robby Rowland will make his 16th start of the season tonight. He has pitched a total of 83.2 innings, allowing 84 hits, seven homers, 21 walks and he has 43 strikeouts, with a 1.83 GO/AO ratio. In his last start, Rowland went six innings, giving up three runs on two hits and two walks. He struck out four batters, tying a season high that he has reached six times in his last nine starts. On the road he is 3-2 4.07 in eight starts and one relief appearance.
Short Season A: State College (28-26) vs Jamestown (22-30) 7:05pm
Probable Starter: Joely Rodriguez (2-1 3.06)
Yesterday’s Result: Jamestown 9 State College 2
Joely Rodriguez will make his 11th start of the year tonight. He has pitched a total of 47 innings, allowing 44 hits, one homer, 11 walks and he has 20 strikeouts, with a 1.49 GO/AO ratio. In his last start, Rodriguez went four innings, allowing three runs on seven hits. It was just the second time he allowed more than five hits in a game and third time he gave up three runs or more. At home, he is 1-0 4.18 in five starts.
Rookie: GCL Pirates (30-21) vs GCL Blue Jays (20-31) 12:00pm
Yesterday’s Result: Pirates 2 Blue Jays 1
DSL: Pirates1 (39-24) vs Mets2 (39-24) 10:30am
Yesterday’s Result: Pirates 15 Mets 14
DSL: Pirates2 (28-32) vs Giants (26-36) 10:30am
Yesterday’s Result: Pirates 3 Giants 0
