Pirates Prospect Watch: Gonzales Homers in Track Meet Loss

The Indianapolis Indians began their season yesterday—the first of the Pirates minor league affiliates to do so—dropping their Opening Day matchup with the Louisville Bats 9-8 after a pitching blow up in the middle innings.

2020 Pirates first round pick Nick Gonzales put Indianapolis ahead in the third inning with a two-run homer to the opposite field, and the Indians led 4-1 after four innings of one-run ball from starter Michael Plassmeyer. The wheels started to come off there, as Colin Holderman—making a rehab assignment as he continues to work his way back from a nasty bout of the flu—allowed three runs across two outs.

Louisville hit reliever Kade McClure even harder, tagging the veteran right-hander for five runs in .1 innings to take the lead for good. First baseman Jake Lamb homered in the ninth to pull Indianapolis within a run, but they couldn’t rally to tie the game. Here are some of the top performers from the back-and-forth road loss.

Triple-A Indianapolis (0-1)

• 2B Nick Gonzales: 2-for-5 with two RBI, a home run and a single.
• 3B Malcom Nuñez: 2-for-5 with two singles and an RBI.

The rest of the Pirates minor league clubs will begin their season on Friday, April 5.