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Prospect Watch: Henry Davis Belts Two in Altoona Loss

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Henry Davis had two bombs and a double, and Matt Gorski continued to recover from a bad start, but Altoona lost in extras anyway.  Dominic Perachi had a good start and Termarr Johnson showed signs of life, but Bradenton lost in extras anyway.  Greensboro won behind a big game from Jase Bowen and Indianapolis got stomped.

SUNDAY’S RESULTS

Prospect Watch: Eight-Run Inning Leads Greensboro to Victory

TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS

Pirates 2023 Minor League Previews: Indianapolis Indians

INDIANAPOLIS @ ST. PAUL

Final Score:  St. Paul 11, Indianapolis (15-18) 3
Indianapolis Starter
:  Caleb Smith
Pitching Line
:  3.2 IP, 7 H, 8 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
Box Score

Top Performers:

  • Nick Gonzales 1-4, 2B, BB
  • Aaron Shackelford 1-3, BB
  • Chavez Young 2-3, 3B, BB, SB

Game Recap:

Indianapolis got routed by St. Paul, 11-3.

Caleb Smith is having a strange year.  He’s started six games.  In three, he allowed a total of four runs over 16.2 IP.  In the other three, he’s allowed 22 runs in ten innings.  He was mentioned as a possibility to replace Vince Velasquez, but that seems awfully farfetched after his eight-earned-run, three and two-thirds innings outing today.

Following Smith, Hunter Stratton and Eli Villalobos combined for two and a third scoreless innings, but Yerry De Los Santos and John O’Reilly gave up three runs between them.

With Smith having put them in a deep hole early, the Indy hitters needed to put together some good at-bats, but instead they put together Pirates-in-May at-bats.  In the second, they loaded the bases with one out and failed to score.  In the third, they got runners to second and third with nobody out, only to see Canaan Smith-Njigba, Endy Rodriguez and Ryan Vilade all whiff on pitches far out of the strike zone.

Indy eventually got all its runs on RBIs from Chavez Young.  He had a two-run single and an RBI triple.  With seven hits and seven walks, they had plenty of chances, but they went 1-for-11 with RISP.  Nick Gonzales and Rodriguez each had a double, and Vinny Capra drew three walks.  Jared Triolo made his AAA debut, going 1-for-4.  Canaan Smith-Njigba went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.  Since being optioned, he’s fanned 12 times in 27 ABs.

DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA CURVE

Pirates 2023 Minor League Previews: Altoona Curve

ALTOONA VS AKRON

Final Score:Akron 12, Altoona (13-13) 6
Altoona Starter
:  Justin Meis
Pitching Line
:  4 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Box Score

Top Performers:

  • Henry Davis 3-4, 2B, 2 HR (8)
  • Matt Gorski 3-5, 2B, HR (4)
  • Tyler Samaniego 1.2 IP

Game Recap:

Henry Davis and Matt Gorski had big days, but Altoona couldn’t translate them into many runs.  The Curve ended up losing to Akron, 12-6, when Tahnaj Thomas got obliterated for seven runs in the tenth inning.

With Ben Cherington in attendance, Davis went deep twice, giving him eight on the year, and also doubled.  And, of course, he got hit by a pitch.  He’s now batting 316/464/711.  Gorski singled, doubled and homered, the latter his fourth on the year.  After a dismal start, Gorski has his OPS up to .713.

But nobody else did much for Altoona, except Andres Alvarez, who singled and walked twice.  The Curve went 1-for-14 with RISP.

Justin Meis didn’t have a great start.  He went four and left with two on and nobody out in the fifth.  Both runners scored on an error by Liover Peguero, leaving Meis responsible for four runs, three earned.

The only other run in regulation came when Oliver Garcia and Cam Junker combined to walk four straight batters in the sixth.  Juan Minaya, Tyler Samaniego and Noe Toribio went a total of four scoreless innings.

That all led to a disastrous tenth for Thomas.  Altoona was able to get the free runner home in the bottom half, but that was all.

HIGH-A: GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS

Pirates 2023 Minor League Previews: Greensboro Grasshoppers

GREENSBORO VS JERSEY SHORE

Final Score:  Greensboro (17-11) 7, Jersey Shore 5
Greensboro Starter
:  Valentin Linarez
Pitching Line
:3 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Box Score

Top Performers:

  • Tsung-Che Cheng 1-3, 2B, BB
  • Jase Bowen 2-4, 2B, HR (6), 4 RBI
  • Hudson Head 2-3, BB
  • Will Kobos 1.1 IP, 3 K

Game Recap:

Greensboro and Jersey Shore put up a lot of offense early, with the Hoppers leading, 7-5, after three and a half.  Then the offense stopped and there was no more scoring, giving the Hoppers a win.

Jase Bowen put up a lot of the offense.  He had a two-run double in the first and a two-run home run, his sixth longball of the year, in the third.  Those ended up being three-run innings for the Hoppers, enough to get them a win.

Hudson Head was the only other player with two hits and he also reached on a walk.  Tsung-Che Cheng had a double and a walk.  His batting line now stands at 278/387/544, and he has just two fewer walks than strikeouts.  Jackson Glenn also doubled, and Wyatt Hendrie doubled in his first game at the level.

Valentin Linarez had a shaky start, lasting only three innings and allowing three runs.  Grant Ford allowed two over the next three innings, but it got him the win.  Michell Miliano managed a scoreless inning and two-thirds despite giving up two hits and three walks.  Will Kobos bailed Miliano out of a bases-loaded jam and ended up retiring the last four batters, three on strikes, for the save.

LOW-A: BRADENTON MARAUDERS

Pirates 2023 Minor League Previews: Bradenton Marauders

BRADENTON VS LAKELAND

Final Score:  Lakeland 7, Bradenton (16-12) 6
Bradenton Starter
:  Dominic Perachi
Pitching Line
:  5 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 9 K
Box Score

Top Performers:

  • Enmanuel Terrero 2-5, SB
  • Termarr Johnson 2-5, 2B
  • Rodolfo Nolasco 1-3, 2 BB
  • Javier Rivas 2-4
  • Elijah Birdsong 2 IP, 4 H, 3 K
  • Miguel Fulgencio IP

Game Recap:

Bradenton got a strong start from Dominic Perachi, but a bullpen meltdown cost them a 7-6, 10-inning loss to Lakeland.

Perachi fanned nine over five innings.  He gave up just three hits and a walk, and was charged with one run.  He left with a 3-1 lead, as the Marauders got a run on a ground out in the first, then Javier Rivas and Geovanny Planchart each singled in a run in the fifth.

Elijah Birdsong and Miguel Fulgencio held the lead, for two innings and one, respectively.  Fulgencio has yet to allow a hit in three, one-inning outings.  Unfortunately, Mike Walsh gave up three in the top of the ninth to put Lakeland ahead, 4-3.  Bradenton came back to tie the game in the bottom half on a two-out, RBI double by Deivis Nadal, which was only fair because a Nadal error let in one of the runs off Walsh.

In the tenth, Ryan Harbin had a shot to put up a zero when the free runner got thrown out at home.  Unfortunately, Harbin got knocked around for three runs after that.  The Marauders got two in the bottom half and put runners at first and second with one out, but they couldn’t get the tying run in.

Termarr Johnson struck out his first two times up, but finished 2-for-5 with a double.

Wilbur Miller
Wilbur Miller
Having followed the Pirates fanatically since 1965, Wilbur Miller is one of the fast-dwindling number of fans who’ve actually seen good Pirate teams. He’s even seen Hall-of-Fame Pirates who didn’t get traded mid-career, if you can imagine such a thing. His first in-person game was a 5-4, 11-inning win at Forbes Field over Milwaukee (no, not that one). He’s been writing about the Pirates at various locations online for over 20 years. It has its frustrations, but it’s certainly more cathartic than writing legal stuff. Wilbur is retired and now lives in Bradenton with his wife and three temperamental cats.

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