Morning Rundown: Pirates recall Kyle Nicolas, Quinn Priester throws six shutout innings
Kyle Nicolas rejoins the Pirates and Priester throws six shutout innings against the Giants.
Quinn Priester pitched perhaps his best game in the majors to this date Friday night. Facing fellow rookie Kyle Harrison, the pair matched head-to-head, both throwing six shutout innings, with neither factoring into the decision.
Priester struck out six over six innings for the Pirates, only allowing a single walk. He picked up 14 whiffs on the night, primarily using his sinker and slider - with 50 of the 84 pitches he threw being the two.
Not only did he get a good amount of whiffs, but he also recorded 15 called strikes.
It was a big start for Priester, who struggled while in the majors but now has a signature performance.
Kyle Nicolas was recalled by the Pirates and joined them in San Francisco. He’s been near unhittable while pitching for Triple-A Indianapolis this year in his 10.2 innings of work.
In that span, he’s allowed just two hits and one run, striking out 13 batters but walking nearly one batter per inning (nine).
The Pirates sent Ryder Ryan back to Triple-A to make room for Nicolas, who pitched 5.1 innings in the majors during the 2023 season but allowed seven earned runs.
There have been many encouraging pitching performances in the Pirates’ system; unfortunately, Braxton Ashcraft hasn’t been one of them.
Added to the 40-man roster this off-season, Ashcraft has struggled so far this season. For the second time in four appearances, he has allowed four earned runs and 19 hits in 14.1 innings pitched.
The control has remained strong, with just two walks, but he has a 6.91 ERA with 12 strikeouts in those 14.1 innings.
There is something good that has come out of his last two games, he’s pitched into the fifth inning both times after not doing that at all in 2023.
Recalled Kyle Nicolas from Triple-A Indianapolis
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Top Exit Velocity
Connor Joe - PIT - 107.1 MPH - Double
Ke’Bryan Hayes - PIT - 106.6 MPH - Groundout
Garret Forrester - BRD - 104.6 MPH - Groundout
PJ Hilson - BRD - 102.5 MPH - Double
Andrew McCutchen - 102.2 MPH - Flyout
Top Pitch Velocity
Aroldis Chapman - PIT - 99.1 MPH
Aroldis Chapman - PIT - 98.6 MPH
Aroldis Chapman - PIT - 98.2 MPH
Aroldis Chapman - PIT - 97.2 MPH
Aroldis Chapman - PIT - 97.1 MPH
Most Whiffs
Quinn Priester - PIT - 14
Carlson Reed - BRD - 12
JP Massey - GBO - 10
Braxton Ashcraft - ALT - 8
Luis Peralta - GBO - 7
Indianapolis Indians - PPD
Altoona Curve - 2 vs Akron RubberDucks - 6
Top Hitter - Abrahan Gutierrez: 1-3, RBI, BB
Top Pitcher - Chris Gau: 2 IP
Greensboro Grasshoppers - 4 vs Greensville Drive - 2
Top Hitter - Mitch Jebb: 1-5, 2 RBI, SB
Top Pitcher - JP Massey: 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, BB, 7 K
Bradenton Marauders - 1 vs Clearwater Threshers - 0
Top Hitter - PJ Hilson: 2-3, R, RBI, HR, 2B
Top Pitcher - Carlson Reed: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K
Probable Pitchers
Pittsburgh Pirates - Martin Perez
Indianapolis Indians - Eric Lauer
Altoona Curve - Po-Yu Chen
Greensboro Grasshoppers - Wilber Dotel
Bradenton Marauders - Michael Kennedy
Pretty well played game last night, bummer we lost, but I never thought we were that good, so I can deal with it without blaming the mgr every time bednar and chapman implode, or some bad hitter doesnt come thru... This year does make me long for those years (2013-2015) that it just seemed like such a given we would win with a lead after 6, boy that was an awesome time...
Nick and lamb for cruz and tellez, we need to shake something up