The Pirates were playing without Bryan Reynolds, Nick Gonzalez, and Rowdy Tellez, but Tellez came off the bench and toughed out a pinch-hit at-bat that kept them alive, and ultimately led them to a win over the Diamondbacks. Greg Brown has the story.
Manager Derek Shelton says the Pirates really needed the win.
Shelton says Tellez and Joey Bart came through in the clutch.
Shelton got together with coaches Don Kelly and Mike Rabello to patch together an end-of-game lineup that had infielder Jared Triolo in right field, where he made a spectacular diving catch, and catcher Yasmani Grandal at first base, where he made the play that ended the game.
The injuries continue to pile up for the Pirates. Nick Gonzalez was put in the injured list with a groin injury, and it could be a longer term injury. General manager Ben Cherington said it could be measured in weeks, not days. Alika Williams was recalled from Indianapolis. Pitcher Hunter Stratton returned to the Pirates’ bullpen. He’d been out since June 14th with a triceps injury. Pitcher Josh Fleming was designated for assignment.
The Major League trade deadline is tomorrow, and there were a number of big trades made yesterday, but not by the Pirates. On The Ben Cherington Show on WCCS, the Bucs’ GM said the Gonzalez injury will play a role in his approach to making a deadline deal or not, but there are other factors, including the long-term prospects you might be giving up.
Cherington says he and his staff are putting in long days and nights ahead of the deadline.
In other Pirates injury news, Jared Jones threw a 30-pitch bullpen session Saturday in Arizona and said afterward he felt great. He will throw another bullpen session in Houston this week before being sent out for a rehab stint in the minors.
PIRATES MINORS
Henry Davis continues to tear it up for Indianapolis. He had two more hits yesterday to raise his average to .317. One of his hits was a home run. The former top overall draft pick has been rumored to be one of the Bucs’ top candidates to be traded.
Altoona has lost eight of their last nine games, falling to Erie yesterday, 5-2. The news was even worse for the Pirates, as recently-promoted pitching prospect Hunter Barco left the game in the second inning with an apparent injury. Neither the Curve nor the Pirates have said anything about it yet. The Curve had only three hits, including a Kervin Pichardo home run.
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