Morning Rundown: Pirates complete sweep of Mets, Valdez hits 20th home run of season
Pirates blow Mets out of the water for a series sweep
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ offense once again led the way to a victory this weekend, clinching a series sweep of the New York Mets, 12-1.
Oneil Cruz hit a pair of home runs to lead the offense. He now has 15 home runs and 35 RBI on the season.
Ke’Bryan Hayes picked up three more hits on the day, two of which were doubles. He went 7-13 this weekend with three doubles and five RBI. Tommy Pham had another big weekend, as he picked up two more hits, going 2-4 with a home run and two RBI.
Mike Burrows allowed one run on four hits and a walk, striking out five over 4.1 innings pitched.
Staying at home, the Pirates open up a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday. Andrew Heaney will start the first game.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 pm ET.
Bucs on Deck: Pittsburgh Pirates Top 30 Midseason Update
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The high-flying Greensboro offense continued its onslaught on Sunday, winning 7-0. They were led by their two biggest mashers this season, Javier Rivas and Esmerlyn Valdez.
Rivas hit his 16th of the season while going 2-3 with three RBI. While Valdez continued to extend his lead, hitting his 20th home run. He has a comfortable lead in the South Atlantic League over anyone who isn’t Rivas.
No one in the Pirates’ minor leagues has more than Valdez right now.
Indianapolis Indians placed 1B Darick Hall on the 7-day injured list
Bradenton Marauders placed 3B Ethan Lege on the 7-day injured list
FCL Pirates placed RHP Ronaldo Gallo on the full-season injured list
Top Exit Velocity
Oneil Cruz - PIT - 112.1 mph - Home Run
Bryan Reynolds - PIT - 109.6 mph - Home Run
Ke’Bryan Hayes - PIT - 105.6 mph - Lineout
Tommy Pham - PIT - 105 mph - Single
Matt Fraizer - IND - 105 mph - Single
Top Pitch Velocity
Cam Sanders - IND - 98.1 mph
Cam Sanders - IND - 98 mph
Genesis Caberera - PIT - 97.9 mph
Mike Burrows - PIT - 97.9 mph
Carmen Mlodzinski - PIT - 97.6 mph
Most Whiffs
Wilber Dotel - ALT - 12
Mike Burrows - PIT - 10
Hunter Barco - IND - 10
Connor Wietgrefe - GBO - 9
Tanner Rainey - IND - 6
Beau Burrows - ALT - 6
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Indianapolis Indians - 3 vs Omaha Storm Chasers
Top Hitter - Nick Yorke: 1-4, 2 RBI, SB
Top Pitcher - Hunter Barco: 6 IP, H, ER, 7 K
Altoona Curve - 6 vs Chesapeake Baysox - 4
Top Hitter - Mike Jarvis: 2-4, R, 3 RBI, BB, 2 2B
Top Pitcher - Beau Burrows: 2 IP, H, 3 K
Greensboro Grasshoppers - 7 vs Winston Salem Dash
Top Hitter - Javier Rivas: 2-5, R, HR, 3 RBI
Top Pitcher - Carlos Jimenez: IP, 3 K
Valdez to AA
Valdez and Griffin named to the Future's Game
DKPS had a bunch of crazy factoids:
+26 run differential was team’s highest in 3 game series since 1975 and tied for fourth highest in team history
First time w 9+ runs in every game of a series since 1999
First time w 40 hits in a series since a 4 game series in 2019