Morning Rundown: Pirates swept by the Mets, Paul Skenes scheduled to pitch
Pirates get swept by the New York Mets, Paul Skenes and Bubba Chandler scheduled to pitch in minors on Thursday
Bailey Falter pitched five solid innings for the Pirates, but the offense went quiet Wednesday afternoon.
The offense combined for just five runs in the three-game sweep by the Mets, including a single run in the final two contests.
They head into their off day with a couple of question marks on the offensive side. Ke’Bryan Hayes missed his second straight game after being scratched from his start on Tuesday.
Joey Bart was initially scheduled to start on Wednesday but was scratched in favor of Henry Davis.
According to Derek Shelton, Bart was struck in the head by a baseball during batting practice earlier in the week. They thought he was on pace to play, but he ended up needing to sit out.
The Pirates are off on Thursday before returning home for seven straight at PNC Park against the Red Sox (three games) and Milwaukee Brewers (four).
Technically, Friday would be Marco Gonzales’ turn in the rotation, but now that he is on the injured list, the Pirates will have a decision to make.
The off day could allow them to skip the spot in the rotation altogether and start again with Mitch Keller, although they also optioned Jose Hernandez to Triple-A, so that frees up the roster spot for whoever will make that start.
They could call someone up, with Quinn Priester being the leading candidate. He will be on full days of rest and already on the 40-man roster.
Altoona Curve transferred SS Francisco Acuna to the Development List
RHP Jaycob Deese was assigned to the Altoona curve from the Greensboro Grasshoppers
Greensboro Grasshoppers activated Nick Cimillo.
Optioned Jose Hernandez to Triple-A Indianapolis
Support the site by becoming a paid member, and get access to all of our premium content, including our Top 25 list with complete player write-ups and my video breakdowns, which come out weekly. It will also give access to my player feature articles from on-site trips.
We have monthly and yearly plans available, with the latter coming out to an average of $4.16/month.
Top Exit Velocity
Oneil Cruz - PIT - 111.7 MPH - GIDP
Omar Alfonzo - BRD - 107.7 MPH - Lineout
Javier Rivas - BRD - 107.5 MPH - Double
PJ Hilson - BRD - 106.3 MPH - Field Error
Oneil Cruz - PIT - 106 MPH - Single
Top Pitch Velocity
Kyle Nicolas - IND - 98.3 MPH
David Bednar - PIT - 98.2 MPH
Kyle Nicolas - IND - 98.2 MPH
Kyle Nicolas - IND - 97.9 MPH
Kyle Nicolas - IND - 97.6 MPH
Most Whiffs
Ben Heller - BRD - 12
Cam Alldred - IND - 12
Hunter Barco - GBO - 10
Darvin Garcia - GBO - 9
Hung-Leng Chang - BRD - 8
Indianapolis Indians - 1 vs St. Paul Saints - 0
Top Hitter - Carter Bins: 2-4, RBI, 2B
Top Pitcher - Cam Alldred: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 K
Altoona Curve - 0 vs Bowie Baysox - 5
Top Hitter - Joe Perez: 1-3, BB
Top Pitcher - Eddy Yean: 2.1 IP, H, 3 BB, 3 K
Greensboro Grasshoppers - 8 vs Hickory Crawdads - 6
Top Hitter - Shawn Ross: 1-3, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI
Top Pitcher - Hunter Barco: 4 IP, 5 H, ER, BB, 4 K
Bradenton Marauders - 4 vs Daytona Tortugas
Top Hitter: Javier Rivas: 1-5, walk-off bases-clearing double in extra-innings, 3 RBI
Top Pitcher: Hung-Leng Chang: 4 IP, 2 H, BB, 3 K
Probable Pitchers
Pittsburgh Pirates - Off
Indianapolis Indians - Paul Skenes
Altoona Curve - Bubba Chandler
Greensboro Grasshoppers - Patrick Reilly
Bradenton Marauders - Antwone Kelly
Well-timed off day today as the team needs a reset after that abysmal performance in Queens. Boston and milwaukee coming next so will need to clean shit up in all aspects of the game to make it a strong homestand
Looking at today's Probable Pitchers of Skenes, Chandler, Reilly, and Kelly at the different levels of the minors. Not hard to think all 4 will be in MLB at some point. An indication of the quality of pitching depth for the Pirates.