Morning Rundown: Greensboro forces game three, Pirates' affiliates sweep the night
All three affiliates win, including Greensboro forcing a game three in the playoffs
The Greensboro Grasshoppers forced a win-or-go-home game three on Friday after defeating the Hudson Valley Renegades 3-1 on Thursday.
Wilber Dotel, Garrett McMillan, and Valentin Linarez combined to allow just one run on five hits.
The offense didn’t pick up their first hit until the seventh inning, a Duce Gourson single, but had already scored two runs. Jack Brannigan came around to score from second after a throw from the catcher to first got away and went into the outfield.
He would later drive in Javier Rivas on a sacrifice fly.
McMillan pitched five shutout innings, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out seven. Dotel started and allowed just a hit and a walk while striking out four in three innings.
Yoyner Fajardo went 2-2 with two walks and three runs scored out of the lead-off spot for the Altoona Curve. Matt Fraizer hit a double and a home run, driving in a pair of runs. Termarr Johnson also drove in a pair, one on a single and the other on a sacrifice fly.
Emanuel Chapman started and pitched three shutout innings, allowing just two hits while striking out two. Jack Carey pitched the final two innings and picked up the win.
Joshua Palacios picked up three hits, including a double and triple, leading the Indianapolis offense to a 6-2 win over Rochester. Ji Hwan Bae hit a triple and drove in two while also walking three times.
Beau Sulser started and pitched five shutout innings, with Aaron Shortridge coming in relief. Ryder Ryan picked up the save after pitching 1.1 innings.
The Pirates begin a three-game weekend series against the Kansas City Royals on Friday. Luis Ortiz, Mitch Keller, and Jared Jones are projected starters. The Saturday and Sunday games will be day games, with Friday’s contest starting at 6:40 pm ET.
Support the site by becoming a paid member, and get access to all of our premium content, including our Top 25 list with complete player write-ups and video breakdowns, which come out weekly.
It will also give access to my player feature articles from on-site trips.
We have monthly and yearly plans available, with the latter costing an average of $4.16/month.
Top Exit Velocity
Malcom Nunez - IND - 109.3 mph - Groundout
Jack Suwinski - IND - 108.6 mph - Flyout
Matt Gorski - IND - 106.3 mph - Flyout
Jack Suwinski - IND - 105 mph - Flyout
Liover Peguero - IND - 102.8 mph - Single
Top Pitch Velocity
Ryder Ryan - IND - 94.4 mph
Ryder Ryan - IND - 94.1 mph
Ryder Ryan - IND - 93.9 mph
Ryder Ryan - IND - 93.6 mph
Ryder Ryan - IND - 92.9 mph
Most Whiffs
Garrett McMillan - GBO - 14
Beau Sulser - IND - 12
Wilber Dotel - GBO - 8
Cy Nielson - ALT - 6
Emmanuel Chapman - ALT - 6
Indianapolis Indians - 6 vs Rochester Red Wings - 2
Top Hitter - Joshua Palacios: 3-4, 3 R, RBI, 2B, 3B
Top Pitcher - Beau Sulser: 5 IP, 2 H, 5 K
Altoona Curve - 8 vs Richmond Flying Squirrels - 1
Top Hitter - Matt Fraizer: 2-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, 2B, HR
Top Pitcher - Emmanuel Chapman: 3 IP, 2 H, 2 K
Greensboro Grasshoppers - 3 vs Hudson Valley Renegades - 1
Top Hitter - Jack Brannigan: 0-2, BB, R, RBI
Top Pitcher - Garrett McMillan: 5 IP, 3 H, BB, 7 K
I just saw where our old friend Jacob Stallings had a big game yesterday which prompted me to check on his season, and I am happy to see that he's had a great bounce-back (partial) season after his struggles with Miami. In just 74 games with Colorado he's put up a .799 OPS (park-adjusted OPS+ of 115) and 1.5 WAR.
Off Topic.
I'm not sure if anyone tuned into MLB Network to watch Kumar's debut, but I'm glad I did.
FB sat 96-97, but the story was the slider. I can't remember a pitcher making MLB hitters look that bad. Also, great demeanor on the mound and smooth repeatable delivery. Rooting for the guy.