Your daily Pittsburgh Pirates Prospect Watch article for recaps of all of today’s games. Be sure to pick up your copy of the latest Prospect Guide in our store, available as an ebook or a limited edition paperback.
The FCL schedule, as always, is a mystery. If you go by the current schedule, the Pirates’ two teams will complete their suspended game from yesterday, but their regularly scheduled game has been canceled.
INDIANAPOLIS
(7:05pm)
Boxscore
Starting Pitcher: James Marvel (4-6, 5.60, 99.2 IP, 71 K)
Notable Performances:
Game Recap:
Rained out, to be made up as part of a doubleheader tomorrow.
ALTOONA
(7:05pm)
Starting Pitcher: Jeffrey Passantino 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Notable Performances:
Oneil Cruz 2-5, 3B
Ji-Hwan Bae 0-1, 3 BB
Rodolfo Castro 0-4
Mason Martin 0-2, BB, HBP
Cal Mitchell 1-4, 2B
Jack Suwinski 1-1
Matt Fraizer 1-1
Game Recap:
Altoona (52-52) dropped to .500 and continued their baffling hitting slump. They suffered their seventh straight loss and third straight shutout, 2-0, to Akron. I’m honestly starting to wonder whether the players might be getting discouraged over the team’s unwillingness to promote anybody to AAA. The Curve wasted a good start from Jeffrey Passantino, who dropped to 1-7 despite giving up just one run over five innings. Oddy Nunez fanned six over two innings without allowing a hit, but he still gave up a run. Altoona had six hits, five walks and a hit batsman, but stranded 10 and went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Oneil Cruz had a single and a triple, Ji-Hwan Bae drew three walks and Cal Mitchell had a double. Rodolfo Castro went 0-for-4 and is now hitless in his last 29 at-bats.
GREENSBORO
(6:30pm)
Starting Pitcher: J.C. Flowers 4.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Notable Performances:
Andres Alvarez 2-5, HR (4)
Nick Gonzales 0-2, 2 BB
Jared Triolo 1-3, BB
Blake Sabol 2-4, 2 HR (8)
Eli Wilson 1-4, HR (1)
Game Recap:
Blake Sabol hit a pair of two-run bombs as Greensboro (69-38) beat Hudson Valley, 8-4. Sabol connected in the second and fourth, to provide the Grasshoppers with their first four runs. He now has eight since moving up to Greesboro. J.C. Flowers started off with four shutout innings, helped by a caught stealing in the second after a leadoff double. Flowers gave up a run in the fifth and left with one out and one on. Garrett Leonard got out of that inning, but gave up a run in the sixth. Michell Miliano gave up two runs over his two innings before Colin Selby threw a scoreless ninth. By then the Hoppers had tacked on four more. Eli Wilson drove in two with his first Greensboro home run. Jared Triolo drove in a run with a single and Andres Alvarez, filling in for an injured Liover Peguero, had two hits, including his fourth dinger of the year. Alvarez figures to be an organizational utility guy, but he’s red hot and now has an OPS of .902.
BRADENTON
(6:05pm)
Starting Pitcher: Logan Hofmann 4 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 9 K
Notable Performances:
Jackson Glenn 0-4, BB
Dariel Lopez 0-3, BB
Jack Herman 1-4, HR (12)
Hudson Head 2-4, 3B
Jase Bowen 1-4
Alexander Mojica 3-4
Game Recap:
Bradenton (65-40) lost to Tampa, 6-4. Logan Hofmann fanned nine over four innings, but he caught too much of the plate at times and gave up three gopher balls in the first two innings. That cost him four runs. He threw two scoreless innings after that, then Eddy Yean came on for four innings. He struck out six, but gave up two runs, one on another longball. Marauders’ pitchers fanned 16 in the game, but their hitters whiffed 14 times. Bradenton twice came back to within one run, but came up short. That included having the bases loaded with nobody out in the sixth and failing to score. Jack Herman and Daniel Rivero each went deep, Herman’s 12th and Rivero’s first of the year. Alexander Mojica had three hits, and Hudson Head had a single and a triple.
FCL PIRATES BLACK
(Time unknown — completion of suspended game from Sept. 3)
Starting Pitcher: Carlos Jimenez 1.2 IP, 3 H, 7 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
Notable Performances:
Braylon Bishop 0-3, BB, SB
Juan Jerez 1-3, BB
Bubba Chandler 0-1
Lonnie White, Jr. 1-4, HR (1)
Wyatt Hendrie 0-2, 2 BB
A.J. Graham 0-3
Game Recap:
The Gold (27-12) and Black (16-12) teams finished their suspended game from yesterday with the Gold team winning, 13-5. The game had been suspended in the top of the second with the Gold up, 7-0. Carlos Jimenez had a rough start before the game was stopped, giving up seven runs, five of them unearned. Luis Peralta threw two and a third scoreless innings, but Parker Brahms, an NDFA who opened the season with Bradenton, gave up four run while recording only two outs. Wander Romero gave up another two without allowing a hit. Brennan Malone threw a scoreless inning for the Gold team before the suspension. Bladimir Dotel allowed only one hit over three innings, but he walked four and was charged with three runs, two of them unearned. Jack Carey, this year’s 11th round draft pick out of Duke, made his pro debut with a 1-2-3 inning and picked up the win. Mike Jarvis, Tsung-Che Cheng and Rodolfo Nolasco continued to provide the offense for the Gold team. Jarvis had a walk, single and triple, stole two bases and scored three times. Cheng hit a double and drew four walks. He now has 26 walks in 33 games, with only 16 strikeouts. Nolasco batted only twice, getting a single and his sixth home run of the year, and driving in four. Luke Brown had a triple. For the Black team, Lonnie White, Jr., hit his first career home run. Rayber Romero also homered, his first of the year.
FCL PIRATES GOLD
(See above)
Starting Pitcher: Brennan Malone 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Notable Performances:
Mike Jarvis 2-3, 3B, BB, 2 SB
Tsung-Che Cheng 1-1, 2B, 4 BB
Rodolfo Nolasco 2-2, HR (6)
Luke Brown 1-2, 3B
Brenden Dixon 1-5
Jack Carey 1 IP, 1 K
Game Recap:
See above.
DSL PIRATES BLACK
(10:30am)
Starting Pitcher: Kevison Hernandez 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K
Notable Performances:
Shalin Polanco 1-4, 2B
Diego Chiquillo 3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
Game Recap:
The Black team (23-14) beat the Gold team (11-26), 5-3. Starter Kevison Hernandez threw three shutout innings for the winners. Diego Chiquillo followed, giving up two runs, one earned, while fanning seven over three innings. Jose Garces had a rough start for the Gold team, giving up four runs over an inning and two-thirds. Four different relievers then allowed just a run over five and a third. Weslyn Toussaint threw two and a third shutout innings. The Black team had seven hits, including four doubles. First baseman Rafael Escalante was the only player with two hits, including one of the doubles. Rubel Lebron reached base three times on a single and two walks, and also stole a base. Right fielder Ruben Vizcaya stole home. For the Gold team, Miguel Sosa came in to catch at mid-game and had two hits. Esmerlyn Valdez hit his third home run of the season. Jeral Toledo reached base three times on two walks and a hit batsman.
DSL PIRATES GOLD
(10:30am)
Starting Pitcher: Jose Garces 1.2 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Notable Performances:
Esmerlyn Valdez 1-4, HR (3)
Miguel Sosa 2-2
Jeral Toledo 0-1, 2 BB, HBP
Game Recap:
See above.
