All Hands on Deck: Dylan Busby with two more homers for Bradenton

By Brian Cartwright Aug 28, 2019, 1:06am EDT

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RHP Parker Markel was demoted to Indianapolis, while in response RHP Yefry Ramirez was promoted to the Pirates.

Games

Triple-A

Indianapolis (64-70) crushed 11-3 by visiting Toledo (64-70)

The Indians had tied the score with three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, but reliever Dovydas Neverauskas suffered an epic meltdown in the eighth and ninth to hand the win to the Mud Hens.

Starter Alex McRae (7-7, 5.00 in 113 ¹⁄₃ IP) gave up three early runs, all scoring on a pair of home runs. In seven innings he gave up total of four hits and three walks, striking out five.

After 2B Cole Tucker (265/352/412) singled and SS Jake Elmore (337/406/480) walked to lead off the sixth, one out later 1B Will Craig (248/324/428) lined a single to center for the first run and after two outs CF Jason Martin (267/320/435) tripled to center to drive in two more and tie the score.

When Neverauskas took over from McRae in the eighth, Pete Kozma (255/329/386) led off with a single then with two outs Jeimer Candelario (331/428/623) blasted a two-run homer and Christin Stewart (325/46/542) went back-to back. Returning for the ninth, Neverauskas struck out Mike Mahtook and Grayson Greiner, but Kozma walked and Chad Sedio (259/339/391) brought him home with a two-run blast to right. After Candelario walked, the hook came out and Luis Escobar was brought in to pitch, but he gave up a walk and two singles to the first two batters he faced.

Now accepting hugs. pic.twitter.com/VbDZgDdLvZ
— Indianapolis Indians (@indyindians) August 28, 2019

Double-A

Altoona (67-67) with a 3-0 blanking of visiting Akron (60-74)

A day after Domingo Robles tossed a complete game shutout, right-hander Pedro Vasquez (9-5, 3.16 ERA in 125 ¹⁄₃ IP) went seven scoreless innings, giving up just three hits and a walk while striking four. He threw 63 of 92 pitches for strikes.

It's happening AGAIN@vasquezpedro14 breaks out the ️ to end his seventh scoreless inning.

We're up, 1-0, at the stretch. pic.twitter.com/BeyZGxbVo2
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) August 27, 2019

2B Brett Pope (249/320/321) singled in 1B Jerrick Suiter (232/276/296) in the second inning, with the Curve holding on to that 1-0 lead until the eighth when they scored twice more without the benefit of a hit, capitalizing on a hit by pitch, walk, throwing error on a steal, sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch.

High-A

Bradenton (72-61) cruises to 9-0 win over visiting Palm Beach (56-72)

For the second straight time since returning from the injured list, Osvaldo Bido (12-8, 3.32 ERA in 135 ²⁄₃ IP) was limited by a pitch count while Conner Loeprich (3.94 ERA in 96 IP) took over when Bido was done. This time Bido went three scoreless, striking out four while allowing only one baserunner, a single, and throwing 31 of 40 pitches for strikes. Loeprich went the final six innings, striking out six without a walk while giving up just two hits.

LF Lolo Sanchez (261/345/381) led off the bottom of the first with a homer, his sixth, and six batters later 3B Dylan Busby blasted a two-run shot, his first of two on the night, as the Marauders scored five times in the opening frame.

In the seventh, 1B Mason Martin (254/351/559) hit a solo homer, his 35th, and Busby followed with another two-run blast.

Busby has hit three home runs and driven in nine in his last two games, giving him 22 long balls on the year.

1B Lucas Tancas (285/344/435) was 4-for-4, while Martin, Sanchez and CF Daniel Amaral (276/356/352) had two hits apiece.

Low-A

Greensboro (76-56) with 3-0 whitewash of Rome (63-70)

The Grasshoppers’ pitching staff turned in the third shutout of the night as Steven Jennings (7-11, 4.68 ERA in 125 IP) allowed six hits and no walks in five innings, striking out three. Jennings has allowed only one earned run in his last three starts, covering fifteen innings.

23 year old right-handed reliever Cody Smith (2.94 ERA, 44 K’s in 33 ²⁄₃ IP) struck out four in two innings.

CF Fabricio Macias (282/331/399) had three hits and 1B Luke Mangieri (262/343/400) drove in two with a sixth inning single.

Short Season A

West Virginia (37-32) wins 6-3 in 10 innings at State College (36-34)

The Black Bears scored three times in the tenth on a single by LF Fernando Villegas (290/361/443) and a double by DH Brendt Citta to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Quinn Priester (3.19 ERA, 41 K’s in 36 ²⁄₃ IP), the Pirates’ first pick in this year’s draft, made his first start after being promoted from the Gulf Coast League and was greeted very rudely in the first inning, giving up three runs on a single, walk, single and another walk to the first four batters, wrapped around a couple of wild pitches.

In the second Priester loaded the bases on a single, hit by pitch and walk, but then retired the last seven batters he faced, three on strikes.

The Blacks Bears’ bullpen was excellent, holding State College off the board over the final six innings. Trey McGough (2.56 ERA, 40 K’s in 31 ²⁄₃ IP) struck out eight without a walk in four innings and Cameron Junker (1.40 ERA, 43 K’s in 25 ²⁄₃ IP) fanned five of the six batters he faced, including the side in the bottom of the tenth, giving the staff seventeen punchouts in the ten innings.

West Virginia currently one game behind first place Batavia in their division, and for a spot in the playoffs. Batavia comes to Morgantown for a showdown on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, after which West Virginia finishes the regular season with games in Mahoning Valley on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Advanced Rookie

Bristol (33-33) falls shirt 5-4 to visiting Danville (30-37)

Starter Luis Ortiz (4.09 ERA in 50 ²⁄₃ IP) was roughed up for four runs, three of them earned, in four innings as he was tagged with five hits and five walks, striking out just one.

The Pirates scored once with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to close the gap to one run, but ended with runners at first and third.

1B Samuel Inoa (289/359/422) had a two-run homer in the fourth, his third of the year. Inoa and DH Yoyner Fajardo (336/386/362) each had two hits.

Rookie

GCL Pirates (18-35) victorious 5-3 over visiting Braves (18-31)

After the Pirates started the bottom of the seventh inning with three straight bunt singles to load the bases, LF Juan Pie lashed a single to center to drive in the tying and winning runs.

After starter Mario Garcia (4.35 ERA, 54 K’s in 49 ²⁄₃ IP) let in two runs in three innings on four hits and three walks, the bullpen gave up just one more run over the next six innings.

Reliever Orsen Josephina (3.00 ERA, 20 K’s in 15 IP) finished the game with three perfect innings, fanning five of the nine batters he faced.

DH Sammy Siani (246/375/315) went 3-for-4 with a walk, scoring three runs.

Dominican Rookie

The Royals-1 beats the Rockies 4-1 to win their best of three first round playoff series 2-0, and the Diamondbacks-2 won 4-3 over the Reds-2, leaving the teams tied at 1-1 in their best of three.