The Pirates offense was unplugged last night and Jared Jones said his pitching was “”Just about any word you can think of that means bad,” as the Bucs lost at Milwaukee.
Joe Block has the story.
In the fifth inning, manager Donnie Kelly was thrown out of the game for a Major League-leading sixth time this season when he argued with home plate umpire James Hoye, who had called a ball with Nick Gonzales at the plate but signaled a strike. Hoye admitted his mistake and it was a strike, but he denied Gonzales a chance to challenge the call (which, if he had, he would have lost.)
Kelly says the Pirates didn’t take advantage when they had a chance to drive in runners.
Esmerlyn Valdez was named Rookie of the Month for July, but the outfielder is struggling at the plate in August. Since Valdez was hit on the wrist by a pitch against Arizona last week he is 2-for-26. Kelly says the young outfielder still has a good approach at the plate and he’s hopeful he starts banging the ball again soon.
Multiple sources, led by Pirates beat reporter Alex Stumpf, report the team will call up outfielder Ronnie Simon from Indianapolis today, and he may be helpful against the left-hander Kyle Harrison. Simon is batting .330 with seven home runs and 26 doubles this season. He hit .234 with the Marlins and Pirates last year before dislocating his shoulder in a collision at home plate August 29th against the Red Sox. He had offseason shoulder surgery and was let go, but re-signed as a minor leaguer with the Bucs.
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