Morning Rundown: Mike Burrows strikes out 10 in last Triple-A game, Paul Skenes gets 11th win of the season
Burrows strikes out 10 in Triple-A finale. Skenes wins 11th game
The Pittsburgh Pirates avoided a sweep against the Cincinnati Reds with a 2-0 win on Sunday. Paul Skenes pitched five shutout innings, striking out nine and allowing just two hits on the night.
Rookie Nick Yorke went 1-3 with a walk and his first major league home run. It was a solo home run that traveled 108.7 mph off the bat. Oneil Cruz provided the other run for the Pirates as he hit his 21st home run of the season.
Colin Holderman, Carmen Mlodzinski, Dennis Santana, and Aroldis Chapman pitched scoreless innings out of the bullpen to close things out. Chapman picked up his 11th save of the season.
Pittsburgh has the day off before beginning their final home series against the Milwaukee Brewers. They will then travel to New York to face the Yankees in the final series of the season.
Mike Burrows struck out 10 batters in five innings pitched for the Indianapolis Indians in the final day of the Triple-A season. He threw 91 pitches and generated 21 whiffs on 48 swings.
The fastball wasn’t getting a lot of whiffs as he worked back from Tommy John, which is expected. On Sunday, he got nine whiffs on 21 swings (43%) with his four-seamer. He had at least a 30% whiff rate on all four pitches.
Making his first appearance with Indianapolis, Brandan Bidois struck out a hitter while allowing a hit in his only inning pitched.
Eddy Yean also pitched and struck out two. He got five whiffs on 10 swings.
Pittsburgh Pirates sent RHP Jake Woodford outright to Indianapolis Indians
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Top Exit Velocity
Oneil Cruz - 109.7 mph - Groundout
Matt Gorski - 109.2 mph - Home Run
Nick Yorke - 108.7 mph - Home Run
Billy Cook - 107.8 mph - Single
Oneil Cruz - 106.9 mph - Home Run
Top Pitch Velocity
Aroldis Chapman - PIT - 102 mph
Paul Skenes - PIT - 100.2 mph
Paul Skenes - PIT - 100.1 mph
Aroldis Chapman - PIT - 99.8 mph
Paul Skenes - PIT - 99.8 mph
Most Whiffs
Mike Burrows - IND - 21
Paul Skenes - PIT - 16
Eddy Yean - IND - 5
Josh Walker - IND - 4
Justin Bruihl - IND - 4
Indianapolis Indians - 9 vs St. Paul Saints - 4
Top Hitter - Tsung-Che Cheng: 3-4, 2 R, BB, SB
Top Pitcher - Mike Burrows: 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 10 K
With the Counsell move in the off-season, the Cubs and Brewers had new managers this year. The Reds have fired Bell and Marmol is on the hot seat. By all normal baseball measures, Shelton should be fired meaning all the NL Central teams should have managers with one year or less tenure. Fascinating!
My argument with Cherington and Shelton (and always with Nutting) is that the bottom line for MLB teams is the win-loss record. Success should be measured by that line. Professional athletes should be playing to win. With only 30 GM and MGR openings every year, there should be at least a couple good candidates willing to take the reigns, particularly with some intriguing talent on board. Maybe a new "Whiteyball" guy or a Leyland-type or someone who can actually get modern players to play team ball. I personally will be disappointed with the status quo if there is yet again no accountability. It's too bad this owner doesn't publicly show any moxie or desire to actually want a competitive team. You'd think he could increase his investment with a better product on the field.
Wonder if the Pirates might call up Michael Burrows to make a spot start in Jones or Skenes place? Doesn’t really affect service time, options, etc.