Morning Rundown: Pirates win on Roberto Clemente Day, Altoona closes season with a win
Pirates avoid sweep, Altoona Curve wrap up their 2024 season
On Roberto Clemente day, the Pittsburgh Pirates avoided getting swept by the Kansas City Royals.
Bryan Reynolds doubled home Isiah Kiner-Falefa to open up the scoring in the bottom of the first inning. After falling behind, Nick Gonzales drove in Oneil Cruz on an RBI groundout before IKF put them back in the lead in the fifth.
They’d add on a key insurance run on a bases-loaded walk by Rowdy Tellez, as Kansas City scored the same way in the sixth.
IKF finished the day with three hits and the RBI, scoring twice.
Jared Jones needed 97 pitches to get through four innings, walking three and allowing six hits while striking out five and giving up two runs. Five pitchers followed behind him to finish the win. Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless ninth to get his ninth save.
That wraps up the final home weekend series of the season, and the Pirates only have three more games at PNC Park. They head on the road to face the Cardinals in a four-game series.
The Indianapolis Indians wrapped up their final home game of the season with a loss to the Rochester Red Wings.
Mike Burrows struck out four in 3.2 innings, allowing one run on three hits and a walk. He got up to 96 mph with the fastball but didn’t get a whiff on 26 swings with it.
Michael Plassmeyer, Josh Walker, and Aaron Shortridge also pitched for Indianapolis.
Offensively, Jake Lamb hit a pair of doubles, driving in a run. Jack Suwinski made a fantastic diving catch in center field and then drove in two on a double.
Indianapolis wraps up their regular season with a series in St. Paul to face the Saints.
Altoona wrapped up their season positively, winning Sunday and taking the final series of the year 4-2 against the Richmond Flying Squirrels.
A three-run fifth inning fueled the win, with Jase Bowen and Eli Wilson hitting back-to-back home runs and Nick Cimillo hitting a triple that scored Endy Rodriguez.
Four pitchers combined to hold Richmond to four hits and a run. Jaycob Deese started and pitched three innings, with the next three pitches all throwing two frames a piece.
Altoona finishes the year with a 62-76 record.
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Top Exit Velocity
Nick Yorke - IND - 108.6 mph - Groundout
Ji Hwan Bae - IND - 107.1 mph - Single
Jake Lamb - IND - 104.8 mph - Double
Liover Peguero - IND - 104.8 mph - Groundout
Jack Suwinski - IND - 103.7 mph - Double
Top Pitch Velocity
Aroldis Chapman - PIT - 103.4 mph
Aroldis Chapman - PIT - 102.7 mph
Aroldis Chapman - PIT - 101 mph
Jared Jones - PIT - 100.4 mph
Jared Jones - PIT - 100.2 mph
Most Whiffs
Jared Jones - PIT - 8
Mike Burrows - IND - 8
Aaron Shortridge - IND - 7
Michael Plassmeyer - IND - 5
JC Flowers - ALT - 5
Indianapolis Indians - 3 vs Rochester Red Wings - 6
Top Hitter - Jack Suwinski: 1-3, R, BB, 2 RBI, 2B
Top Pitcher - Mike Burrows: 3.2 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 4 K
Altoona Curve - 5 vs Richmond Flying Squirrels - 1
Top Hitter - Eli Wilson: 2-3, R, 2 RBI, HR
Top Pitcher - JC Flowers: 2 IP, BB, 3 K
BTW, we finished 10 games under .500 last year, but the WC teams got in with only being 6 games above .500. The Pirates of 2024 are currently 7 games under .500, and the teams getting WC spots are presently 13 games above .500 - I think it would be correct to evaluate that as the Pirates losing ground this year, even though we added SP's Skenes and Jones. To me, that means that either BC or DS have to pay for this fallback. 5 years and we are not getting better no matter what spin we try to put on it!
Mitch Keller era 3.87 FIP 3.93
Jared Jones era 3.85 FIP 3.93
I'm cool with these 2 as 3-4 starters and bailey as the 5th. Bubba slotting in as a legit 2 would have this as one of the better rotations in the sport.