Morning Rundown: Don Kelly gets first win as manager, Konnor Griffin has four-hit night
Pirates beat the Braves, Konnor Griffin has big night for Bradenton.
Don Kelly picked up his first win as a manager on Friday, as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Atlanta Braves 3-2 at PNC Park.
Alexander Canario and Jared Triolo hit solo home runs, and Bailey Falter tossed six shutout innings in the winning effort.
Andrew McCutchen also hit his seventh double of the season. David Bednar allowed a pair of hits, but also struck out three in the eighth, while Dennis Santana had a bit of a scare in the ninth, but still picked up his fourth save of the season.
The Pirates will now look for a series win on Saturday. Andrew Heaney will face AJ Smith-Shawver. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET.
Konnor Griffin got off to a quick start on Friday, hitting a home run on the pitch he saw. He collected three more after that on his way to a four-hit day. He was also hit by a pitch, meaning he reached base each time he stepped to the plate.
The Pirates’ first-round pick from 2024 hit a double, scored twice, and drove in a pair of his own. Griffin has eight hits over his last three games against Lakeland and is hitting .283/.344/.513 with six doubles, a triple, and six home runs. He also has 12 stolen bases.
Hunter Barco made his Triple-A debut on Friday, allowing one run (the first of the season) on two hits and three walks while striking out five over 4.1 innings pitched.
I’m in Bradenton for the start of the FCL season, as well as to catch some Marauders games next week.
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Indianapolis Indians activated C Eli Wilson
Pittsburgh Pirates recalled CF Ji Hwan Bae
Top Exit Velocity
Oneil Cruz - PIT - 117.6 mph - Single
Ethan Lege - BRD - 110.3 mph - Double
Konnor Griffin - BRD - 107.4 mph - Single
Bryan Reynolds - PIT - 106.8 mph - Single
Nick Solak - IND - 106.7 mph - Single
Top Pitch Velocity
Yohan Ramirez - IND - 97.7 mph
Hunter Stratton - IND - 97.2 mph
David Bednar - PIT - 97.1 mph
Yohan Ramirez - IND - 97.1 mph
David Bednar - PIT - 97 mph
Yohan Ramirez - IND - 97 mph
Most Whiffs
Clevari Tejada - BRD - 9
Bailey Falter - PIT - 7
Jack Carey - GBO - 7
Hunter Barco - IND - 6
Dauri Moreta - IND - 6
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Indianapolis Indians - 3 vs Columbus Clippers -2
Top Hitter - DJ Stewart: 2-3, RBI, BB, 2B
Top Pitcher - Hunter Barco: 4.1 IP, 2 H, ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Altoona Curve - 0 vs Erie SeaWolves - 7
Top Hitter - Imanol Vargas: 1-2, 2 BB
Top Pitcher - Garrett McMillan: 5 IP, 3 H, 3 K
Greensboro Grasshoppers - 3 vs Hub City Spartanburgers - 1
Top Hitter - Lonnie White Jr: 1-3, R, HR, RBI, BB, SB
Top Pitcher - Jack Carey: 3 IP, BB, 4 K
Bradenton Marauders - 8 vs Lakeland Flying Tigers - 0
Top Hitter - Konnor Griffin: 4-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR
Top Pitcher - Clevari Tejada: 5 IP, H, 5 K
FCL Pirates - 6 vs FCL Orioles - 4
Top Hitter - Kendrick Herrera: 2-4, R, RBI, 2B
Top Pitcher - Irwin Ramirez: 3 IP, 2 H, BB, K
What I love about the Griffin clip —— which we’ve seen before —— is that on the double (to left field) he went out of the box full bore with a triple in mind. I hope he never loses that.
I wasn’t able to post this in the game thread last evening, but Nutting gave one on one interviews to Mackey and DK yesterday. So clearly he is feeling some pressure to explain himself. Here is the Mackey version:
https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pirates/2025/05/09/nutting-qa-pirates-cherington-williams-shelton-changes/stories/202505090061