Prospect Watch: Gage Hinsz Looks Strong in Seven Shutout Inning Performance

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Altoona is on their All-Star break until Thursday.

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Bradenton has off tonight.

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CHARLESTON, WV – Gage Hinsz’s 2-4 record is woefully unfair to the young pitcher. His worst start saw him give up five runs, and with tonight’s seven shutout innings, Hinsz’s ERA has dropped to 3.47. The Power offense, though, hasn’t come through to support Hinsz’s efforts; in Hinsz’s eight starts, they have scored eleven runs with him on the mound. (This does not include any runs scored after Hinsz left the game.)

Tonight’s start marked a high point for Hinsz’s 2016 campaign, which is remarkable considering he threw five shutout innings and gave up a mere three hits in his debut. His health control were the biggest concerns going into the season. He is fully healthy now, but although his control is greatly improved, he has given up at least one walk and/or hit batter in each of his starts…until tonight. An impressive 57 of Hinsz’s 78 pitches went for strikes.

Hinsz relied almost exclusively on his fastball, banging it low in the zone. He went to his looping curveball on a handful of occasions, notably using it to get an inning-ending strikeout in the second. He was extremely efficient, especially in later innings, needing only 24 total pitches to get through the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings.

Although the box score will tell you that Hinsz allowed six hits, it is a bit misleading. The only true success the Augusta Greenjackets had came on the second inning double, which scorched past a diving Tyler Filliben at third. Four of the other five hits, all singles, fell into the gaps between the middle infield and the outfield. The other single could have been listed as an error as the ball popped out of Alfredo Reyes’s glove.

Despite Hinsz’s brilliance, the Power kept the Augusta Greenjackets in the game by, once again, struggling offensively. Casey Hughston struck quickly with a lead-off triple and then came around to score on a Mitchell Tolman sacrifice fly, but after that, the Power mustered only two base runners. The Hughston lead-off run would stand as the only offense of the night as the Power won 1-0.

This offensive malaise can partially be attributed to their lack of plate discipline. In six of Greenjacket starter Michael Connolly’s eight innings, the Power saw twelve pitches or fewer. This continues a team-wide cold streak that saw the Power hit .150 on the recent seven-game road trip.

Cesilio Pimentel notched the save, his third of the season, with two perfect innings of relief. He showed off his exceptional 12-6 curve in the ninth, getting the second out via strikeout. – Abigail Miskowiec

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Morgantown moved to 11-14 on the season with a 1-0 win over Hudson Valley. Starter Matt Anderson threw three shutout innings, striking out five batters. In his first 10.2 innings as a pro, the Pirates 2016 tenth round pick has 19 strikeouts. He was followed by Luis Escobar, who has moved to a bullpen role as he struggles with his control. He had a solid outing on Tuesday night, throwing three shutout innings. Those results don’t tell the entire story though, as he needed 61 pitches to get through his short outing, with just 33 going for strikes. Escobar allowed three singles, a hit batter and a walk, while striking out one batter.

The Black Bears scored their lone run in the seventh. Albert Baur started the inning with a walk, then moved to second base on an error. Kevin Krause then grounded into a double play, moving Baur to third base. He would score on a wild pitch.

Morgantown had four hits all game. Third round pick Stephen Alemais improved his average to .289 with a 1-for-3 night, collecting a double in the first inning. First round pick Will Craig saw his average drop to .164 with an 0-for-4 night. Both Craig and Alemais committed their third errors of the season. Ty Moore had a single, HBP, stolen base and an outfield assist. Sandy Santos had a single and a walk. Kevin Mahala had a single and two walks.

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Bristol has off tonight.

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The GCL Pirates lost a crazy game on a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning. The game included six errors from the Pirates, an eight run inning, and 24 at-bats from the Tigers East with runners in scoring position. The Pirates took a 10-6 lead in the fifth inning, only to give up five runs in the bottom of the inning. They came back and tied it in the ninth, but reliever Francis Rodriguez loaded the bases with no outs before giving up the walk-off homer.

Starter Brian Sousa went four innings, allowing six runs on seven hits and two walks. Mister Luciano followed and all five batters he faced reached base and eventually came around to score. That brought in Alex Martinez, who threw four shutout innings, though he allowed all three inherited runners to score. Rodriguez followed him in the ninth and took the loss. Four of the runs against the Pirates were unearned, though they also got help from an error that led to four unearned runs.

Four players for the Pirates had two hits each in the game. Edison Lantigua had two singles, a walk, and scored two runs. Henrry Rosario had two hits, scored twice, and drove in two runs. One of those runs was on his fourth home run of the season. Andrew Walker had two hits, scored twice, walked and picked up an RBI. He hit his first double and stole his second base of the season. Nelson Jorge had a single, double, scored twice and drove in a pair. Yondry Contreras had an RBI ground out and an RBI single.

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The DSL Pirates had a 5-2 lead in the fifth inning, only to allow a pair of runs in the sixth and seventh innings for the 6-5 loss. Starter Adonis Pichardo gave up nine hits, but only allowed two runs over his five innings of work. Reliever Oliver Garcia lost the game with four runs over his 1.1 innings. The first batter and last batter he faced in the game was Luis Martinez and he tripled each time. Edgardo Leon threw a scoreless 1.2 innings to finish the game for the Pirates.

Top prospect Kevin Sanchez had the only two-hit game for the Pirates. He had a single, double, walk, run scored and his fourth stolen base. Catcher Samuel Inoa had a single, two walks and he drove in a pair of runs. Shortstop Rodolfo Castro has cooled down from his hot start. He is 1-for-16 in his last four games, with his average dropping down to .289 after an 0-for-4 in this game. Cristopher Perez tied Castro for the team lead when he hit his seventh double in this game.