Morning Rundown: Pirates can't hole late lead, lose in extra innings, Plaz homers, Billy Cook doubles
Pirates lose in extra-innings while Axiel Plaz homers in the minors and the new kids in Indianapolis keep on hitting
The Pittsburgh Pirates blew another late lead and eventually lost in extra innings to the San Diego Padres. They must win on Thursday to avoid getting swept before heading out on the road for six games.
They found themselves up 3-1 after two innings but surrendered a three-run home run to Kyle Higashioka in the fourth inning. Andrew McCutchen tied it up at four after hitting his 14th home run of the season.
Trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth, McCutchen would again score a big hit, driving in two to give the Pirates the lead.
Rookie Jackson Merrill hit a solo home run off of David Bednar to tie it in the ninth and eventually send it to extra innings.
After scoring three runs in the top of the 10th, the Padres pulled ahead 9-6. The Pirates came within a run of tying it, even getting the winning run on second, but couldn’t bring him home.
With the loss, the Pirates dropped under .500 and will need a win on Thursday to avoid being swept.
Luis Ortiz is scheduled to pitch the series finale before the Pirates travel west for six games.
Axiel Plaz hit his 15th home run of the season for the Marauders, and Jhonny Severino picked up a pair of hits as Bradenton took the second of six against the St. Lucie Mets.
Severino had three batted balls of over 100 mph, with another at 99. After striking out in three of his five at-bats on Tuesday, he put the ball in play in each of his plate appearances.
Yordany De Los Santos picked up another hit, and a walk. He also stole second and third base within a few pitches of each other, once again flashing his speed.
Connor Oliver, Danny Carrion, Noah Takacs, and Greiber Mendez combined to allow just one run on four hits and five walks for the Marauders’ pitching staff.
The Greensboro Grasshoppers managed just two hits on the day, the first not coming until the seventh inning.
Termarr Johnson struck out three times, as did Shawn Ross and Kalae Harrison. Mitch Jebb played his first professional game in center field. He picked up the first hit of the game—a bunt hit in the seventh—and stole a base.
Lonnie White Jr. launched his 13th home run of the season, going 1-3 with a strikeout.
Alessandro Ercolani continued his hot play recently, striking out a season-high seven batters in four innings pitched. He’s allowed just two earned runs in his last 20.2 innings pitched.
Billy Cook hit another double for the Indianapolis Indians, and Nick Yorke played in center field for the first time in his professional career. He has hit safely in every game since being acquired by the Pirates.
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Top Exit Velocity
Esmerlyn Valdez - BRD - 112.5 mph - Double
Andrew McCutchen - PIT - 109.8 mph - Single
Billy Cook - IND - 108.7 mph - Double
Alika Williams - IND - 107.3 mph - Single
Jhonny Severino - BRD - 106.7 mph - Single
Top Pitch Velocity
Aroldis Chapman - PIT - 105.1 mph
Aroldis Chapman - PIT - 104.7 mph
Aroldis Chapman - PIT - 103.2 mph
Aroldis Chapman - PIT - 102.7 mph
Aroldis Chapman - PIT - 102.2 mph
Most Whiffs
Derek Diamond - GBO - 10
Luis Cessa - IND - 10
Alessandro Ercolani - GBO - 8
Po-Yu Chen - ALT - 8
Marco Gonzales - PIT - 7
Connor Oliver - BRD - 7
Indianapolis Indians - 4 vs Nashville Sound - 3
Top Hitter - Billy Cook: 1-3, RBI, 2B
Top Pitcher - Brady Feigl: 2 IP, 2 K
Altoona Curve - 8 vs Portland Sea Dogs
Top Hitter - Tsung-Che Cheng: 2-4, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB, HR
Top Pitcher - Jaden Woods: 1.2 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Greensboro Grasshoppers - 1 vs Rome Emperors - 4
Top Hitter - Lonnie White Jr.: 1-3, HR, RBI, R
Top Pitcher - Alessandro Ercolani: 4 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 7 K
Bradenton Marauders - 4 vs St. Lucie Mets - 1
Top Hitter - Esmerlyn Valdez: 2-4, R, 2B, SB
Top Pitcher - Danny Carrion: 2 IP, H, BB, 3 K
Well..July was fun.
Very demoralizing loss for the big league team. They definitely are giving good effort, but aren’t making the plays necessary to win, be it with the bat, glove, or arm, right now.
Bae looked like a kid whose dog died after he failed to drive in the runner from 3B in 9th inning. Definitely a sign he cares a lot…maybe too much.
Going to be tough to bounce back from this one. Need the vets to lead by example, kinda like Cutch did yesterday.