Morning Rundown: Sammy Siani has three hit night
Morning Rundown: Sammy Siani has three hit night
Sammy Siani picks up three hits, Scottsdale loses again
Sammy Siani collects three hits, Scottsdale loses
Recap by John Dreker
The Scottsdale Scorpions had an evening game on Saturday, hitting the road to play the Surprise Saguaros. Two Pittsburgh Pirates were in the starting lineup. Termarr Johnson hit lead-off and played shortstop, while right fielder Sammy Siani batted seventh. Johnson was in the lineup for the first time since leaving Tuesday's game early. Valentin Linarez and Eddy Yean both made appearances out of the bullpen.
Johnson started the game with a ground out to second base. Siani doubled in his first at-bat. It was his third double of the fall. He had a man on first base, who got thrown out at home trying to score on the play. Johnson came up in the second with runners on the corners and two outs. He struck out swinging to end the inning.
Scottsdale went down 2-0 in the first, which led to an early appearance from the bullpen. Linarez took over in the bottom of the second inning. He got the first guy to ground out, but an errant throw allowed the batter to get to second base on the error. Linarez struck out the next batter on three pitches. He walked the third batter, then got a fly ball and another swinging strikeout to end the inning. He threw 17 pitches, with nine going for strikes.
Linarez remained on for the third inning. He threw 14 pitches (11 strikes) in the inning, which included a two-out single, two ground balls and a fly out. He was throwing a tick harder during his second inning of work, reaching his game-high for all three of his pitch types in the frame. Linarez topped out at 94.5 MPH with his four-seamer, which he threw 17 times. His slider (80-84 MPH) and change-up (86-88) were used seven times each. He was sitting 95-96 MPH with his four-seamer in his last outing, which was lower than the average 96.7 MPH (touching 98 MPH) fastball that Anthony Murphy saw live in early September. Linarez could be tiring as the fall goes along. He has a 1.69 ERA over 5.1 innings, though that comes with six walks.
Siani singled in the fourth inning on a line drive to right field. He scored two batters later on an error to give the Scorpions a 3-2 lead. Johnson had a big spot again in the fourth, coming up with two runners on base and no outs. He singled on a grounder up the middle to make it a 4-2 game. Johnson scored two batters later on a triple by Josue Briceno that made it 6-2.
Yean came on in the sixth inning with two men on base, two outs, and Scottsdale holding on to a 9-7 lead. He gave up a single that tied the game, though the batter was thrown out at second base to end the inning. He remained on for the sixth, which started off rough. He walked the first batter, then gave up two singles to score a run. After a strikeout, the next batter singled. That play worked out for Yean, as another runner was thrown out on the bases. He got a fly ball to finish the inning.
Yean retired just two of the seven batters he faced, but his defense bailed him out twice. He ended up allowing one run on four hits and a walk in 1.1 innings. He worked always strictly four-seam fastball, using it for 24 of his 29 pitches. It topped out at 97.3 MPH, while sitting 95-96 MPH. He threw four sliders and one changeup. Yean has allowed seven runs on 11 hits and four walks in 4.2 innings this fall.
Siani walked in the fifth, then scored one batter later on a two-run homer from Charlie Syzkowny. Johnson struck out in the fifth inning. Siani grounded out to second base to start the top of the seventh. Johnson struck out to start the top of the eighth. Siani singled in the ninth with two outs. He represented the go-ahead run while also moving a runner up to second base with his third hit. Syzkowny struck out swinging to end the game, handing Scottsdale another loss.
Johnson finished his day 1-for-5 with a run scored, RBI, and three strikeouts. He had five strikeouts over his first 39 plate appearances this fall. He currently has a .286/.432/.543 slash line through nine games played.
Siani ended up 3-for-4 with a double, walk and two runs scored. He is currently hitting .410/.452/.564 through 42 plate appearances. The offense is high in the league this year so that 1.016 OPS surprisingly only ranks him 14th in the league. His batting average ranks third.
Scottsdale lost 10-9 on Friday, dropping them to a 5-10 record. Yean took the loss. Surprise moved to 10-5 with the win. These same two teams meet today at 3:30 PM EST as part of a four-team doubleheader played in Phoenix. The games were seven innings long last time they played more than one in the same location, so that's possible for today as well.
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Top Exit Velocity
Kody Huff - 112.3 mph - Groundout
Josue Briceno - 110.4 mph - Single
Peyton Williams - 108.5 mph - Single
Brett Squires - 107 mph - Single
Charlie Szykowny - 107 mph - Single
Top Pitch Velocity
Eddy Yean - 97.3 mph
Ryan Jennings - 97.1 mph
Eddy Yean - 97.1 mph
Ryan Jennings - 97 mph
Ryan Jennings - 96.9 mph
Most Whiffs
Ryan Jennings - 8
Valentin Linarez - 8
Dylan De Lucia - 6
Zak Kent - 5
TJ Brock - 4
My man. Def leading in my Siani vs Head head to head. Reminds me of a young Rocky Balboa. I'm aware that makes little sense besides Italian and Philly.
Thanks for the recap. And we are at another year in the AFL where a Pirate CF is impressing. Siani this year and Jase Bowen last year. Bowen was primarily an A+ player going into the AFL last year, Siani has had close to a full season of work in the Eastern League of AA before this year in the AFL. I doubt the pitching is up to the level of what he was exposed to in AA this year, but he is taking full advantage of the opportunity.
I can see Sammy Siani starting 2025 at AAA, but hopefully he will get serious work in the Pirate outfield during ST. He's seeing the ball very well, and could be a valuable add for the Pirates for his defense, and his bat. He will be a 24 year old in 2025, one of the many prospects who lost a full year of competition/development in 2020. Good BB/K at AA in 2024 with 35 BB/81 K.