Pirates

Pirates Prospect Watch: Late-Inning Performers Help Pirates Tie Tigers

Published

1 year ago

March 25, 2023

Ji-Hwan Bae-Pittsburgh Pirates, pirates prospects

A pair of Pittsburgh Pirates’ prospects helped the Pittsburgh Pirates come back to draw even with the Detroit Tigers 6-6 on Friday night.

Ji-hwan Bae, who has been playing much better of late, led of the ninth inning with a base hit with the Pirates trailing by a run. Thanks to his speed, Bae but himself in scoring position by stealing second base and moved up another 90 feet on a passed ball.

Outfielder Ernny Ordonez then stepped to the plate and grounded one to third base. Again, using his wheels, Bae raced home to beat the throw and tie the game at six. It was Bae’s second run scored in the contest.

Over his last three games, Bae is hitting .500 (5 for 10) and has raised his spring batting average to .270. With two more steals on Friday, he has now stolen four bases this spring. Bae is still in the mix for a spot on the Pirates’ roster come Opening Day on March 30.

Ordonez might not be a household name in terms of Pirates’ prospects, but he sure picked a good time to drive in his first run of spring training.

Last season with High-A Greensboro, Ordonez hit .212 with 14 home runs and 49 RBIs in 81 games. The Pirates originally drafted Ordonez in the 33rd round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Central Arizona College.

In Other News…

Oliver Garcia, a Pirates’ pitching prospect, made his first spring training appearance. The right-hander retired Kerry Carpenter, the lone batter he faced, via ground out to first base.

Garcia was limited to only three appearances with Double-A Altoona last season after suffering a right elbow injury. For his minor league career, Garcia is 13-12 with a 3.66 ERA in 97 appearances, 21 of which were starts.

The Pirates re-signed the 25-year-old to a minor league deal earlier in the offseason.