The Pirates had their All-Star closer on the mound and a two-run lead in the top of the 9th inning, but David Bednar couldn’t get the job done and the Bucs suffered an ugly loss to the Tigers. Bednar walked two batters and hit another before giving up three run-scoring singles in a third of an inning before being relieved by Roansy Contreras. Here’s Joe Block.
The Pirates continue to struggle at catcher, with only two guys available and very little depth behind them. While Henry Davis and Joey Barts are both healthy and manning the catching duties, Yasmani Grandal remains out recovering from plantar fasciitis and Jason Delay has been shut down from all baseball activities because of a bad knee. Director of Sports Medicine Todd Tomczyk said yesterday that Grandal is taking live batting practice using a new pitching robot device but no decision has been made yet on a rehab assignment.
Other injury news:
- Relief pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski is making “nice strides”, according to Tomczyk, in a minor league rehab assignment. He pitched an inning at Bradenton and gave up a run, then threw a shutout inning for Indianapolis last night.
- Reliever Colin Holderman is regaining strength in Pittsburgh after losing 15 pounds due to illness in spring training.
- Reliever Ryan Borucki is feeling better as he recovers from soreness in his left elbow and triceps, and may play catch in a few days.
- Utility man Ji Hwan Bae is with Indianapolis on a rehab assignment. He was 2-for-4 with a solo home run, an RBI single, and a walk in his first start last night.
- Tomczyk also had injury news on three minor league pitchers: Top Ten prospect Thomas Harrington, who is throwing from 75 to 90 feet as he recovers from a right rotator cuff injury; Jun-Seok Shim, who has a pectoral injury; and Owen Kellington, who is seeking a second opinion for an elbow injury.
The Pirates sent pitcher Ryder Ryan to Indianapolis after the game yesterday, apparently to make room for Holderman to be activated before tomorrow night’s game at Philadelphia. The Bucs are off today.
ALTOONA CURVE
What a home opener last night for first baseman Aaron Shackelford and the Altoona Curve. Shackelford hit a three-run home run and a two-run shot and Kervin Pichardo hit a walkoff run-scoring single in the 10th inning to lead the Curve to an 8-7 win over Harrisburg.
Po-Yu Chen starts for the Curve in the series’ second game tonight.
