Morning Rundown: Pirates blow late-inning lead, Thomas Harrington Triple-A debut
Pirates drop series to Diamondbacks. Yorke, Cook success. Harrington Triple-A debut.
The Pittsburgh Pirates blew another late-inning lead and failed at the chance to clinch a key series against another team in the Wild Card picture.
Paul Skenes pitched 5.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out four. He threw exactly 100 pitches, with only 56 going for strikes.
Colin Holderman continues to struggle to keep the ball in the park. He allowed a three-run home run after walking a pair of hitters and surrendering the lead in the seventh.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa batted lead-off and collected a double and triple, driving in a pair of runs. Yasmani Grandal went 3-4 at the bottom of the lineup, including a double.
The Pirates continue their homestand with three more games against the Padres. They then head out to the West Coast for six games against the Dodgers and the Padres.
Billy Cook and Nick Yorke continue to acclimate themselves to the system. Cook has three doubles, a home run, and a stolen base in just two games.
Yorke has hits in each of the five games he has played since the trade.
The Pirates have lacked hitting prospects in the upper levels, and it looked like these two are boosting an area of need.
Thomas Harrington made his Triple-A debut on Sunday. He pitched 5.2 innings, allowing five runs on six hits, one walk, and four strikeouts.
The final line isn’t the best, but he was in control most of the time, with just the second and fifth being blow-up innings. He needed nine pitches to retire Akil Baddoo, Spencer Torkelson, and Jace Jung. He also struck out Baddoo both times he faced him.
RHP Thomas Harrington assigned to Indianapolis Indians from Altoona Curve
CF Matt Fraizer assigned to Altoona Curve from Indianapolis Indians
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Top Exit Velocity
Oneil Cruz - PIT - 112 mph - GIDP
Matt Gorski - IND - 108.3 mph - Double
Bryan Reynolds - PIT - 107.7 mph - Single
Seth Beer - IND - 106 mph - Double
Justin Miknis - BRD - 105.4 mph - Single
Top Pitch Velocity
Colin Holderman - PIT - 99.8 mph
Colin Holderman - PIT - 99.8 mph
Paul Skenes - PIT - 99.8 mph
Paul Skenes - PIT - 99.7 mph
Paul Skenes - PIT - 99.4 mph
Most Whiffs
Paul Skenes - PIT - 10
Thomas Harrington - IND - 9
Garrett McMillan - BRD - 7
Landon Tomkins - BRD - 6
Ryan Harbin - GBO - 6
Drake Fellows - ALT - 6
Cy Nielson - ALT - 6
Indianapolis Indians - 8 vs Toledo Mud Hens - 10
Top Hitter - Billy Cook: 3-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B, HR, SB
Top Pitcher - Brady Feigl: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K
Altoona Curve - 7 vs Richmond Flying Squirrels - 9
Top Hitter - Nick Cimillo: 2-5, R, 3 RBI, HR, SB
Top Pitcher - Cy Nielson: 2 IP, H, 4 K
Greensboro Grasshoppers - 6 vs Winston Salem Dash - 1
Top Hitter - Mitch Jebb: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, BB, 2B, SB
Top Pitcher - Carlson Reed: 3.1 IP, H, BB, K
Greensboro Grasshoppers - 2 vs Winston Salem Dash - 3
Top Hitter - Shawn Ross: 2-3
Top Pitcher - Ryan Harbin: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 K
Bradenton Marauders - 4 vs Palm Beach Cardinals - 5
Top Hitter - Yordany De Los Santos: 2-5, RBI, SB
Top Pitcher - Landon Tomkins: IP, 3 K
Nice blurb on BA about Yorke. They think he’ll be a pretty tough out as he makes a lot of good contact.
Pirates are a flawed team. Not enough depth to the lineup and bullpen. But they are a scrappy team who plays hard every day. Unfortunately they don’t play as smart as they do hard some games.
Yesterday was a prime example. Shelton should’ve pulled Holderman and caused Truvello to pinch hit Grichuk when Beeks was brought into face Joc.
And most egregiously, Shelton should not have taken the bat out of IKF’s hands in 9th inning. He already had two xbh’s. He’s not used to sacrifice bunting, he’s used to mashing lefties!