Pirates Prospects Have Quiet Day In AFL Loss
On the heels of a slugfest that a pair of Pittsburgh Pirates prospects starred in, it was quite the opposite in the Scottsdale Scorpions' loss 4-1 to the Mesa Solar Sox on Thursday in the Arizona Fall League.
Pirates outfield prospect Sammy Siani and infield prospect Kervin Pichardo combined to go 2-7 with three strikeouts for the Scorpions on Thursday. Pichardo and catching prospect Geovanny Planchart were a combined 6-10 with two home runs, six RBIs and three runs scored in Scottsdale's 11-10 loss to the Peoria Javelinas on Wednesday.
Planchart and Pirates' No. 3 prospect Termarr Johnson didn't play against the Solar Sox (8-6).
SIani flew out on a hard-hit ball to center field in his first at-bat and struck out on his ensuing appearance at the plate. In the top of the sixth inning, the Pirates outfield prospect tallied his only hit on a single to center field. Siani struck out for the second time in his final at-bat of the game.
Pichardo went hitless in his first two at-bats, as he grounded out in the top of the second inning and struck out in the top of the fifth. Pichardo doubled with two outs in the seventh inning and was the tying run in a 2-1 ballgame. He would ultimately get stranded in scoring position, as Eddinson Paulino struck out to end the inning, thwarting the Scorpions' best chance to tie the game up.
Pichardo was the last batter to reach base for Scottsdale. The Pirates infield prospect also had a throwing error in the top of the second inning, his first of the AFL. Pichardo's throwing mishap led to Mesa plating an unearned run to take a 1-0 lead.
Scottsdale will look to snap its two-game skid on Friday when it faces the first-place Surprise Saguaros (9-5) at 4:30 p.m. ET.
