Morning Rundown: Pirates win in extra innings, Cruz hits two home runs, Mlodzinski K's 10
Pirates walk off the Brewers, Cruz homers twice, Mlodzinski makes first AAA start
An Abner Uribe wild pitch in extra innings scored Adam Frazier, giving the Pirates a 6-5 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday. Paul Skenes allowed one run on four hits and two walks, striking out eight over six innings, but received a no-decision.
They used six relievers after Skenes, with Ryan Borucki getting his first win of the season.
Oneil Cruz hit his ninth and tenth home runs of the season, including a solo shot in the ninth to tie the game. Bryan Reynolds walked in a run and hit an RBI single, and he continued to look like he was crawling out of the slump he was in.
The Pirates continued their series against the Brewers on Saturday, with a familiar face taking the mound for the road team. Quinn Priester, the Pirates’ first-round pick in 2019, gets the nod for the Brewers, who will face Mitch Keller.
First pitch is at 4:05 pm ET.
Carmen Mlodzinski made his first start in Triple-A on Friday, striking 10 batters over six shutout innings.
He picked up 16 whiffs on 42 swings, with all but two coming from his secondary pitches. It took him just 81 pitches to get through his entire start.
Konnor Griffin hit his eighth home run of the season for the Marauders, hitting a slider 110.9 mph off the bat into the stands. He and Joel Mendez had the two hardest-hit balls in the Florida State League on Friday.
Indianapolis Indians placed CF Ji Hwan Bae on the 7-day injured list retroactive to May 22, 2025
Top Exit Velocity
Oneil Cruz - PIT - 117.9 mph - Home Run
Oneil Cruz - PIT - 113.4 mph - Home Run
Joel Mendez - BRD - 111.5 mph - GIDP
Konnor Griffin - BRD - 110.9 mph - Home Run
Jack Suwinski - IND - 106.8 mph - Home Run
Top Pitch Velocity
Paul Skenes - PIT - 99.9 mph
David Matoma - BRD - 99.8 mph
Paul Skenes - PIT - 99.7 mph
Paul Skenes - PIT - 99.6 mph
Paul Skenes - PIT - 99.5 mph x2
Most Whiffs
Carmen Mlodzinki - IND - 16
Paul Skenes - PIT - 10
Khristian Curtis - GBO - 8
Alessandro Ercolni - ALT - 6
Dennis Santana - PIT - 5
Ryan Borucki - PIT - 5
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Indianapolis Indians - 4 vs Toledo Mud Hens - 0
Top Hitter - Nick Yorke: 1-2, 2B, 2 RBI
Top Pitcher - Carmen Mlodzinski: 6 IP, 4 H, BB, 10 K
Altoona Curve - 3 vs Akron RubberDucks - 6
Top Hitter - Tres Gonzalez: 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI
Top Pitcher - Wilkin Ramos: IP, 2 K
Altoona Curve - 0 vs Akron RubberDucks - 5
Top Hitter - Termarr Johnson/Imanol Vargas: 1-2, BB, 2B
Top Pitcher - Garrett McMillan: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 K
Greensboro Grasshoppers - 10 vs Asheville Tourists - 5
Top Hitter - Esmerlyn Valdez: 2-5, 2 R, RBI, HR
Top Pitcher - Blake Townsend: 2.2 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 4 K
Bradenton Marauders - 3 vs Clearwater Threshers - 2
Top Hitter - Konnor Griffin: 1-4, R, HR, 2 RBI
Top Pitcher - Victor Cabreja: 5 IP, H, BB, 2 K
FCL Pirates - 8 vs FCL Orioles - 9
Top Hitter - Edward Florentino: 3-3, 2 R, BB, SB
Top Pitcher - Angel Camacho: 2 IP, H, BB, 2 K
When Oneil Cruz does not play or get a hard hit, the leader boards for top exit velocities usually seem to sit in the 100-105 MPH range…until a TEENAGE Konnor Griffin showed up!
That kid’s physical talent is incredible. Now, they just need him to continue to develop and avoid having some dumbass anonymous scout say he walks on water. :)
Great to see the Bucs come back and win it. They have had so many games like this where they have just folded. Pitching ranged from Excellent to Poor, but the hitters pulled them out - that's a nice turnaround. Oneil Cruz with 2 HR's leading the way. Sign him!!!!! Any suggestions for a package that could buy us the first 2 years of FA?
Quinn Priester up next and he is fighting for a place in the Rotation. Yesterday's SP Peralta is their Ace, and Priester's ERA is about 3 runs higher than Peralta. Struggling with control so far with about the same number of K's and BB's, so hopefully we will not be too anxious to help.
Edward Florentino, all 6'4" 200 of him, lit it up in the FCL - still just 18, bats L, and plays 1B, and all of the OF positions. If the Pirates at A were not so deep, I would be asking why Florentino was not being promoted. FCL ends a lot earlier than A, but I would still like to see he and a few others from the FCL get an earlier bump to A. The Pirates have a lot of late round college draftee's at the lower levels, but we need to clear the path for players with that extra oomph!