On Friday afternoon in the Arizona Fall League, the Surprise Saguaros lost 6-3 to Scottsdale, dropping them to 8-7 (plus one tie) at the halfway point of the season. Surprise trails first place Peoria by 2.5 games.
It was a slow day for the Pirates, so this will be a quick recap. Alex McRae was the only one to see action, as the lineup was without at least one Pirate for the first time this season.
McRae pitched the seventh inning and had a tough outing, even with a little help from his catcher. The first batter he faced reached on a single up the middle. That was followed by a hard liner to right field for the first out. The runner on first was thrown out stealing, but that was followed by a solo home run. McRae walked the next hitter and he stole second base. The inning then ended on a grounder to second base on another out that was struck well. He threw 26 pitches in the frame, 17 going for strikes.
McRae has pitched five times now, throwing a total of eight innings. He has allowed four runs on eight hits and three walks, picking up four strikeouts.
Surprise plays tomorrow afternoon at home against Scottsdale. Tanner Anderson will be on the mound for his fourth start. We will have live coverage of the AFL starting on Tuesday.
