Gameday 94: Pirates look to avoid another sweep
Bailey Falter vs Kris Bubic
The Pittsburgh Pirates are looking to avoid a second straight sweep on Wednesday while facing the Kansas City Royals.
They dropped their fifth straight game on Tuesday, losing by way of a walk-off single by Nick Loftin after receiving 6.2 solid innings from Mitch Keller.
Oneil Cruz and Nick Gonzales hit home runs for the Pirates, with Tommy Pham, Henry Davis, and Ke’Bryan Hayes hitting doubles. No Pirates recorded more than one hit on the night.
The series finale will see a pair of lefties battle it out, with Bailey Falter taking on Kris Bubic. First pitch is scheduled for 7:40 pm ET. Pittsburgh will have a day off on Thursday before a series in Minnesota to face the Twins heading into the All-Star break.
Bucs on Deck: Pittsburgh Pirates Top 30 Midseason Update
We are past the halfway mark of the 2025 minor league season, and it seems like a perfect time for an update on our Top Prospect list, which has been expanded to 30 players.
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Pirates Lineup
LF - Tommy Pham
DH - Andrew McCutchen
RF - Bryan Reynolds
2B - Nick Gonzales
CF - Oneil Cruz
3B - Ke’Bryan Hayes
C - Joey Bart
1B - Jared Triolo
SS - Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Royals Lineup
2B - Jonathan India
SS - Bobby Witt Jr.
DH - Vinnie Pasquantino
3B - Maikel Garcia
1B - Salvador Perez
RF - Jac Caglianone
LF - Nick Loftin
C - Freddy Fermin
CF - Tyler Tolbert
Pitching Matchup
PIT - Bailey Falter (6-4, 3.69 ERA, 92.2 IP, 56 K)
KC - Kris Bubic (7-6, 2.36 ERA, 103 IP, 107 K)
Yesterday’s Feature
Minor league top performers: Edward Florentino takes home Player of the Week honors
Another week in the books in the minors, and all four minor league affiliates are at the top, or are de facto at the top of their respective divisions (Bradenton is second, but really first since Lakeland already locked up a playoff spot).
Today’s Feature
The Week In Bradenton: FCL Middle Infielders
Considering the hitters they’ve lost to promotion (Konnor Griffin, Will Taylor, Derek Berg) and injury (Axiel Plaz), it wouldn’t be surprising if Bradenton’s offense had cratered. It wasn’t that good to begin with, having spent much of the season last in the ten-team Florida State League in scoring. But they’ve hung on…
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Reynolds is now 1-for-28 in July with 12 Ks.
The hitting side of this ENTIRE roster needs to be retooled.
Did someone say the Cheringtons are in town?
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