Patrick Reilly had the best start of his pro career on Tuesday. The right-hander went six shutout innings for Greensboro, striking out ten batters as the Grasshoppers won 2-0.
Reilly was drafted in the fifth round last year out of Vanderbilt. This start was the first time in his pro career that he’s gone six innings. It also set a career-high for strikeouts, surpassing the eight strikeouts in a game that he set on April 6th and April 25th this year.
The 6′ 3″, 208 pound starter features a mid-90s fastball, along with a slider/cutter combo, and an ability to change speeds quickly from a fast arm slot. Control has been his biggest issue, but his fastball/slider combo is good enough to project him as a future MLB pitcher, even if only a reliever.
Reilly has a 3.81 ERA in 56.2 innings this year, while striking out 74 batters on the season. He’s having a good month of June, with a 1.17 ERA in 15.1 innings, along with a 17:7 K/BB ratio. If you go back to his start on May 24th, he’s got a 1.42 ERA in 25.1 innings over his last five starts, with 30 strikeouts and 14 walks.
TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
INDIANAPOLIS won 4-2
- RHP Domingo German: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
- RF Matt Gorski: 1-for-3, HR, BB
- 2B-SS Liover Peguero: 4-for-4, 2 SB
- SS-2B Alika Williams: 3-for-5, RBI
- LF Matt Fraizer: 3-for-4, 2 2B, SB
Domingo German had his best start in Triple-A since joining the Pirates. He has allowed three earned runs in 10.1 innings over his last two starts, which might be a sign he’s starting to get into a groove. Matt Gorski hit his 14th home run of the season, giving Indianapolis a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Liover Peguero had four hits, including an RBI single for the tying run.
STATCAST HEROES
German picked up five whiffs on ten swings against his curveball. He also was 3-for-13 on the changeup and 4-for-14 with his fastball. He threw the fastball for strikes, sitting 90.3 MPH, which was down 2 MPH from his season average. Peguero had the hardest hit of the game with a 105.7 MPH single in the seventh inning. The home run from Gorski traveled 416 feet at 104.2 MPH. Alika Williams had two singles with triple-digit exit velocities.
DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA CURVE
ALTOONA lost 3-2
- RHP Po-Yu Chen: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR
- LF Tres Gonzalez: 1-for-4, 2B
- CF Jase Bowen: 1-for-4
- 2B Kervin Pichardo: 1-for-3
- LHP Tyler Samaniego: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Po-Yu Chen has had a good month so far in Double-A. In four starts, he has a 2.92 ERA across 24.2 innings, with 23 strikeouts and seven walks. Chen also pitched 24.2 inningd last month, with a 4.38 ERA and a 12:9 K/BB. The increase in strikeouts this month has helped him to limit runs. Altoona’s offense only managed three hits.
HIGH-A: GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS
GREENSBORO won 2-0, led by Patrick Reilly’s six shutout innings.
- LF Hudson Head: 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI
- 3B Jack Brannigan: 1-for-2
- 2B Mitch Jebb: 1-for-3
- RHP Fineas Del Bonta-Smith: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
- LHP Luis Peralta: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Hudson Head provided the offense in the game, hitting a two run homer in the third inning. It was the eighth homer of the year for Head. Fineas Del Bonta-Smith made a rehab appearance, throwing two shutout innings. This was his third appearance for Greensboro, and the first with multiple innings. Luis Peralta picked up the save, and now has an 0.64 ERA in 28 innings, with 47 strikeouts and an 0.93 WHIP.
SINGLE-A: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
BRADENTON won 6-5 in ten innings.
- CF Shalin Polanco: 2-for-4, HR, 4 RBI, BB
- DH Esmerlyn Valdez: 1-for-4, HR, BB
- 1B Omar Alfonzo: 3-for-5
- RHP Antwone Kelly: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K
- RHP Mike Walsh: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Shalin Polanco hit a grand slam in the bottom of the tenth inning to walk off the game, after Bradenton went down 5-2 in the top of the inning. The homer was the seventh of the year from Polanco. Earlier in the game, Esmerlyn Valdez hit his ninth homer of the year, a solo shot to tie the score at 2-2. Antwone Kelly had another great start. Since the beginning of May, Kelly has a 2.34 ERA in 34.2 innings, with a 38:13 K/BB.
STATCAST HEROES
The home run from Polanco was the hardest hit ball of the game at 109.5 MPH, while also traveling the furthest recorded distance at 353 feet. The homer from Valdez had a 107.3 MPH exit velocity, but no recorded distance. The hardest of three hits from Omar Alfonzo was a 109.1 MPH single. Kelly picked up five whiffs on his fastball, which averaged 94.6 MPH, and touched 96.9. His sinker hit 97.5. He also picked up three whiffs each on the changeup and cutter.
ROOKIE: FCL PIRATES
FCL PIRATES won 4-3
- SS Jhonny Severino: 1-for-3, 3B, BB
- 1B Tony Blanco Jr.: 1-for-3, BB
- C Richard Ramirez: 1-for-4, SB
- RHP Jose Garces: 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K
- 2B-3B Carlos Caro: 1-for-3
The FCL Pirates scored all of their runs in the seventh inning of a seven inning game, while allowing all of their runs in the second inning. The seventh inning scoring was helped by two errors, followed by a Jhonny Severino RBI triple to tie the score at 3-3. Severino scored on a wild pitch to take the lead.
ROOKIE: DSL PIRATES BLACK
DSL PIRATES BLACK won 10-1
- DH Kendrick Herrera: 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI
- RF Andres Villafane: 2-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI
- RHP Irwin Ramirez: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 6 K
Herrera hit his first pro home run, after signing in January of this year. He’s been one of the better early hitters of the recent signing class, starting off with a .734 OPS. Irwin Ramirez was also part of that signing class, and now has a 1.93 ERA in 9.1 innings, with eight strikeouts and 11 walks. He had control issues in this start, but had his best strikeout results.
ROOKIE: DSL PIRATES GOLD
DSL PIRATES GOLD lost 4-3
- SS Jayden Kim: 2-for-2, 3B, BB
- 3B Christopher Orelin: 1-for-3, 2B
- CF Cristian Jauregui: 1-for-2, BB, 2 RBI
Jauregui was signed out of Cuba in January 2023, as one of the more notable signings of last year’s international class. He hit for a .242/.419/.326 line in 124 plate appearances during his rookie season. This year, he’s off to a better start, with a .310/.512/.414 line in 43 plate appearances.
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
- Triple-A: Indianapolis, 7:05 PM – RHP Braxton Ashcraft (1-0, 1.50)
- Double-A: Altoona, 6:35 PM – RHP Drake Fellows (2-0, 1.23)
- High-A: Greensboro, 12:00 PM – RHP Wilber Dotel (3-3, 5.83)
- Single-A: Bradenton, 11:00 AM – RHP Carlson Reed (4-2, 1.99)
- Rookie: FCL Pirates, 11:00 AM – Completion of 6/15 Game
- Rookie: DSL Pirates Black, 11:00 AM – TBD
- Rookie: DSL Pirates Gold OFF
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