Morning Rundown: Ali Sanchez elects free agency, Pirates complete sweep of Marlins

Pirates complete four game sweep of Marlins to begin the season.

After being designated for assignment before Opening Day, Ali Sanchez was outrighted to Indianapolis but decided to elect free agency.

Signed to a split deal in the off-season, Sanchez didn’t have any options remaining, so he needed to clear waivers before being sent to the minors.

He cleared waivers but opted for free agency and will now be eligible to sign with any team.

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It wasn’t pretty, but in the end, the Pirates walked away with another win, completing the sweep of the Miami Marlins with their second victory in extra innings.

Bailey Falter allowed five runs in the first inning, including a grand slam to Jazz Chisholm Jr., but allowed just one in his next three. Luis Ortiz pitched two shutout innings, giving the Pirates time to chip away at the Marlins’ lead slowly.

Rowdy Tellez hit a three-run home run in the seventh, finally putting the Pirates up 7-6. David Bednar came in for the ninth but allowed a game-tying home run to Nick Gordon with one out.

Back-to-back bunts by Alika Williams and Jason Delay scored Oneil Cruz in the top of the 10th. A couple of batters later, Michael A. Taylor walked with the bases loaded to give the Pirates a two-run cushion.

After being non-tendered at the end of last season, Hunter Stratton won back a roster spot, which led him to his first major league save, striking out two in the 10th inning.

The Pirates will head to the Nation's capital to face the Nationals, sprinkling their first off-day between the three games on Tuesday.

Marco Gonzales, Mitch Keller, and Martin Perez are scheduled to start.

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Top Exit Velocity

1. Carter Bins - IND - 112.6 mph - Double

2. Rowdy Tellez - PIT - 106.6 mph - Home Run

3. Nick Gonzales - PIT - 106.6 mph - Double

4. Jason Delay - PIT - 104.5 mph - Lineout

5. Liover Peguero - PIT - 103.9 mph - Forceout

Top Pitch Velocity

1. Aroldis Chapman - PIT - 101.2 mph

2. Aroldis Chapman - PIT - 100.6 mph

3. Aroldis Chapman - PIT - 100.2 mph

4. Aroldis Chapman - PIT - 99.4 mph

5. Aroldis Chapman - PIT - 98.9

Most Whiffs (Whiff%)

1. Quinn Priester - IND - 20 (49%)

2. Bailey Falter - PIT - 6 (21%)

3. David Bednar - PIT - 5 (56%)

4. Aroldis Chapman - PIT - 4 (67%)

5. Hunter Stratton - PIT - 4 (50%)

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Before the game on Sunday, the Pirates reactivated Roansy Contreras from the paternity list, sending Jose Hernandez back to Triple-A.

Hernandez picked up his first major league save during the series against the Marlin.

Indianapolis Indians - 6 vs Louisville Bats - 4

Gameday Link

Top Hitter - Gilberto Celestino: 3-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB

Top Pitcher - Quinn Priester: 5.2 IP, H, ER, BB, 9 K

In his first start of the season, Quinn Priester was fantastic, striking out nine batters in 5.2 innings pitched while walking only one.

He recorded 20 whiffs on 41 swings, relying heavily on his sinker/slider combination to lead the way. He threw the four-seam that gave him issues in the majors last year just 10 times, got up to 96 mph, and got two whiffs on four swings.

The sinker/slider both got over a 40% whiff rate.