Pirates Prospect Watch: Gonzales Returns, Terrero Has Four-Hit Night

Pittsburgh Pirates’ prospect Nick Gonzales was back in the Indianapolis Indians’ lineup after exiting their last game early with a shoulder injury. Gonzales finished the game 1 for 5 and committed a pair of errors at third base.

Both Double-A Altoona and Low-A Bradenton were victorious and while Triple-A Indianapolis and High-A Greensboro lost, all four affiliates received strong contributions from a number of prospects.

Notably, three starting pitchers turned in strong performances on the mound for their respective teams.

Here are the highlights from Tuesday’s action.

Indianapolis (7-9)

RHP Luis Ortiz

• Game stats: 5.0 innings, four hits, no runs, one walk, one strikeout
• Season stats: 0-1, 2.08 ERA, 4er/17.1ip, 11 hits, seven walks, 18 strikeouts, four appearances/four starts

2B Aaron Shackelford

• Game stats: 3 for 4, one double, one RBI
• Season stats: .214/.378/.321, three doubles, two RBIs, one steal, 10 games

Ortiz’s strong start was spoiled as Indianapolis was walked-off by the Memphis Redbirds 5-4. Shackelford had a strong game at the plate with three hits.

Arguably the top Pirates’ prospect, Endy Rodriguez, has started to heat up at the plate and finished the night 2 for 5 with a run scored. Right-hander Cody Bolton threw 1.2 scoreless innings of relief.

Altoona (4-6)

RHP Kyle Nicolas

• Game stats: 6.0 innings, three hits, one earned run, two walks, three strikeouts
• Season stats: 1-1, 5.79 ERA, 9er/14.0ip, 12 hits, nine earned runs, eight walks, 10 strikeouts, three appearances/three starts

RF Matt Gorski

• Game stats: 1 for 3, one home run, four RBIs, one run, one walk
• Season stats: .200/.286/.480, one double, two home runs, five RBIs, two steals, seven games

Gorski’s home run was a grand slam and Nicolas earned his first win of the season after six strong innings as the Curve defeated the Bowie Baysox 6-1.

Henry Davis was on base three times, stole a pair of bases, drove in a run and scored once. Pirates’ prospect Domingo Leyba stayed hot at the plate with a pair of singles, an RBI and a run.

Greensboro (7-3)

RHP Po-Yu Chen

• Game stats: 5.0 innings, three hits, one earned run, two walks, five strikeouts
• Season stats: 0-1, 7.27 ERA, 7er/8.2ip, 10 hits, three walks, seven strikeouts, two appearances/two starts

2B Maikol Escotto

• Game stats: 2 for 4, one home run, two RBIs, one run
• Season stats: .212/.308/.303, one home run, five RBIs, two steals, nine games

Escotto homered and tied the game up in the bottom of the ninth with two outs but the Grasshoppers fell 7-6 to the Greenville Drive in 10 innings. Chen bounced back from a rough first outing and pitched well.

Pirates’ prospects Jase Bowen, Will Matthiessen and Mike Jarvis all joined Escotto with home runs.

Bradenton (6-4)

RF Enmanuel Terrero

• Game stats: 4 for 5, one triple, two RBIs, two runs
• Season stats: .343/.442/.571, one double, two triples, one home run, 10 RBIs, two steals, nine games

LF Tres Gonzalez

• Game stats: 1 for 4, one double, two RBIs
• Season stats: .323/.382/.419, three doubles, seven RBIs, two steals, eight games

Terrero and Gonzalez did most of the heavy lifting for Bradenton in their 7-5 victory over the Daytona Tortugas.

Designated hitter Deivis Nadal had two hits, scored twice and stole a base. Pirates prospect Julian Bosnic recorded four outs — all strikeouts — for his second save of the year.