The Pirates were embarrassed by the Cubs again yesterday. Greg Brown has the disappointing story.
Manager Derek Shelton says the Pirates played a poor game.
Shelton says the Pirates batters were not aggressive enough.
On The Ben Cherington Show on WCCS yesterday, the Pirates general manager said Paul Skenes just “had a bad night” when he lasted only two-thirds of an inning in his Double-A debut for the Altoona Curve on Saturday. Skenes gave up four runs on three hits with two walks. Cherington said Skenes will get another start for the Curve this week and will remain with them through the season’s end on September 17th.
Cherington is excited about the young pitching depth in the Pirates’ minor league system. The Bucs have a number of pitchers who are either working toward a return to the big leagues or are getting closer to making their debuts, some as early as next season. Among them are Quinn Priester and Roansy Contreras, who are both at Indianapolis, as is youngster Jared Jones. Altoona’s Skenes, Anthony Solometo, and Jackson Wolf; and Greensboro’s Bubba Chandler. All of the young arms appear to be ready to make a move to the next level.
The GM also said Oneil Cruz hasn’t been ruled out from returning from his fractured ankle this season, but it’s “being impacted by the calendar.” He said Cruz has not suffered a setback from his recovery or rehab, but it is “a bit of a setback in terms of the likelihood of him playing games.”
ALTOONA CURVE
Akron got to Altoona starter Nick Dombkowski in the third inning with a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch followed by a grand slam and beat the Curve, 9-2.
The Curve are off today and will start a six-game series at Erie tomorrow night.
