When Pirates manager Derek Shelton filled out his lineup card yesterday, he couldn’t find a lot of offense. Jack Suwinski, Ji Hwan Bae, Rodolfo Castro, and Austin Hedges were a combined 0-for-their-last-73 going into the game. After yesterday, they are a combined 0-for-their-last 84 at-bats. Joe Block has the story of the slumping Bucs’ shutout loss to Miami.
With 12 losses in their last 13 games, the Pirates have dropped from first place to fourth in the NL Central. They are seven games under .500. The Pirates are off today and open a three-game series with San Diego at PNC Park tomorrow night.
Pirates GM Ben Cherington added an arm for his battered bullpen yesterday with the acquisition of right-handed pitcher Andre Jackson from the Dodgers, but the team assigned him to Indianapolis for now. Jackson had an ERA of 5.86 in 11 appearances for the Dodgers’ Triple-A farm team and a 6.62 ERA in seven appearances for the Dodgers.
To make room on the 40-man roster, the Pirates designated infielder Mark Mathias for assignment.
ALTOONA CURVE
Altoona’s Mason Martin is hitting only .183 this season, but he clubbed his 11th home run of the year yesterday, a two-run shot, and the Curve beat Bowie, 8-4. Matt Gorski had two hits for Altoona and Pirates first baseman Ji Man Choi, making a rehab start, was 1-for-3.
The Curve finish the first half of the season 34-34 and in third place in the Eastern League’s Southwest Division. They’ll start the second half on Wednesday night with the first of six games in Harrisburg.
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