Morning Rundown: Scottsdale season is over in the AFL

Scottsdale lose the play-in game, ending their AFL run

Photo Credit: WTM

Scottsdale drops play-in game, season over

Recap by John Dreker

The Scottsdale Scorpions made the Arizona Fall League postseason with an incredible 7-0 finish, needing all of those wins to take second place on the final day of the season. They hosted the Salt River Rafters on Friday night. The winner of this game would go on to play the Surprise Saguaros on Saturday night for the league championship.

Three Pittsburgh Pirates were in the starting lineup for Scottsdale. Sammy Siani played right field and batted second. Shortstop Kervin Pichardo hit in the seventh spot in the order. Catcher Geovanny Planchart batted ninth. The starting pitcher was Derek Diamond, who finished the regular season with a 2.45 ERA, 12 strikeouts, and a 0.82 WHIP over 11 innings. Brandan Bidois and Valentin Linarez would also make appearances.

Diamond had a strong run to finish the regular season, but his first inning was one of the worst for any Pirates pitcher this fall. He hit the lead-off batter on the sixth pitch of the plate appearance. That was followed by a single that saw Pichardo commit a throwing error, which allowed the runner from first to score. After Diamond walked the next batter, he served up a three-run homer to Garrett Martin. Diamond then settled down, getting a line out, a ground out, and a strikeout to end the inning. He needed 34 pitches in the inning, with 20 going for strikes.

After Siani grounded out to first base in the first inning, Diamond was replaced on the mound by Brandan Bidois. He got a pop out to first base from the first batter, then things quickly went downhill. He allowed a double, walk, and a double that made it a 5-0 game. A runner was thrown out at home on the play with an all-Pirates effort. Siani threw to Pichardo as the cutoff man, who threw to Planchart for the out. The next batter singled to make it a 6-0 contest. Bidois picked up a strikeout for the final out. He threw 21 pitches, with 11 going for strikes.

Pichardo reached on a fielding error in the second. Planchart had a big chance in the second, coming up with men on the corners, two outs, and a 6-0 score. He grounded out to shortstop to end the inning.

Bidois remained on for the third inning. He got a quick pop-out to shortstop for the first out. A ground out to first base followed four pitches later. He ended a quick inning with a five-pitch strikeout.

Siani singled on a ground ball to center field in the third inning. Bidois then threw a 1-2-3 fourth inning for his longest outing of the fall. He finished his day with two runs on three hits, a walk, and three strikeouts over three innings. He threw a total of 46 pitches, with 27 going for strikes.

Pichardo drew a walk in the fourth inning. The top of the fifth saw Valentin Linarez take the mound. He allowed a double to the first batter he faced. An error then allowed the next batter to reach base, putting runners on the corners. Linarez struck out the next batter. A walk followed. Pichardo then committed his second error of the game, which allowed two runs to score. Linarez picked up a strikeout to end the inning. Scottsdale was down 8-0 at that point. 

Planchart and Siani both struck out in the fifth inning. Linarez stayed out for the sixth. He struck out three batters in a scoreless frame, though he allowed a double and a walk with two outs. His day was done with two innings of work. He threw a total of 45 pitches, with 29 going for strikes.

Pichardo's tough day continued in the bottom of the sixth when he grounded into a double play. Planchart grounded out in the seventh, as the game was well out of hand at that point. Salt River took a 13-0 lead in the eighth. Siani flew out to left field in the bottom of the eighth. Planchart walked and scored in the ninth. Siani struck out in the ninth. Scottsdale managed to score four runs late but still lost 13-4.

Siani went 1-for-5. Pichardo was 0-for-3 with a walk. Planchart had an 0-for-3 day, finishing with a walk and a run scored.

For those who want to watch some baseball today, Salt River takes on Surprise at 8:00 PM EST on MLB Network for the league title.

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