Morning Rundown: Scottsdale wins again, Silver Slugger winners announced

Scottsdale wins again in the fall league, Silver Slugger winners named

Photo Credit: WTM

Scottsdale wins again

Recap by John Dreker

The Scottsdale Scorpions came into Tuesday afternoon with three games left in the Arizona Fall League schedule. They trailed a playoff spot by two games. Their opponent was the Mesa Solar Sox, who also trailed by two games in the standings. Sammy Siani was the only Pittsburgh Pirates player in the lineup. He batted seventh and played left field. Brandan Bidois joined him out of the bullpen late in the game.

Siani struck out swinging in the second inning. He drew a walk in the fourth, then scored one batter later on a double. That made it a 3-0 game at the time. Siani grounded out to shortstop in the fifth inning. He picked up an RBI single in the sixth inning that made it a 9-2 game. He flew out to right field during his final at-bat. 

Bidois came on for the seventh inning. Limited pitch data shows that he picked up the first out on four pitches by getting a swinging strikeout. The next batter singled up the middle. That was followed by another single two pitches later. Bidois settled down with another strikeout swinging and a ground out to end the inning. He threw 21 pitches, with 14 going for strikes. He has allowed seven runs over 7.2 innings this fall, though all of that damage came early. Bidois has given up seven hits, while posting a 9:14 BB/SO ratio.

Siani is now hitting .389/.500/.583 through 20 games, with 17 runs, three doubles, three homers, 17 RBIs, eight walks and a 4-for-4 in stolen base. He was making a bid for a batting title up until this game. That's because teammate Josue Briceno took a commanding lead with a 5-for-5 game, leaving him with a .439 average.

Scottsdale won 11-2, leaving them with a 14-14 record. They have won five games in a row. The Scorpions take on last place Peoria Javelinas (7-19) today on the road at 3:30 PM EST. Scottsdale still trails by two games in the standings with two games left, so they need a miracle finish. The league tiebreaker is head-to-head records, making it possible that Thursday's game against Glendale decides which of those two teams makes the playoffs.

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The Los Angeles Angels signed catcher Travis d’Arnaud to a two-year contract, with a total value of $12 million.

He had spent the last five years with the Atlanta Braves, making the All-Star team in 2022. During the 2024 season d’Arnaud, 35, hit .238/.302/.436 with 15 home runs and 48 RBI.

d’Arnaud will join Logan O’Hoppe as catchers for the Angels.

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The annual winners for the Silver Slugger Award was announced on Tuesday:

American League

C Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals
1B Vladimir Gurerro Jr., Toronto Blue Jays
2B Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
3B Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians
SS Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals
OF Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
OF Juan Soto, New York Yankees
OF Anthony Santander, Baltimore Orioles
DH Brent Rooker, Oakland Athletics
UT Josh Smith, Texas Rangers

National League

C William Contreras, Milwaukee Brewers
1B Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
2B Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks
3B Manny Machado, San Diego Padres
SS Francisco Lindor, New York Mets
OF Jackson Merrill, San Diego Padres
OF Teoscar Hernandez, Los Angeles Dodgers
OF Jurickson Profar, San Diego Padres
DH Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
UT Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers

Bryan Reynolds was a finalists for the utility position, but lost out to Betts.

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