Pirates Prospect Watch: Inside-the-Park Grand Slam in Bradenton

Although they extended one of the longest ongoing winning streaks in professional baseball in the process, Pirates’ minor league affiliates picked up just one win on Friday night as bullpen woes led to a pair of blown leads.

Triple-A Indianapolis again went with an opener, sending Wily Peralta to the mound. They couldn’t hit anything harder than a single, though, falling 3-0 to the Louisville Bats.

The Altoona Curve saw their game with the Somerset Patriots rained out, with the makeup date set as part of a May 11 doubleheader.

The Greensboro Grasshoppers played to a 3-0 lead through six innings, piggybacking Alessandro Ercolani off starter Derek Diamond. They then allowed four runs across the seventh and eighth innings, eventually losing 4-3. 

Single-A Bradenton blew a 6-0 lead and almost fumbled the game away, but Eddy Rodriguez hit a walk-off single to prevail 8-7 and extend their winning streak to eight games.

Here are Friday night’s top performing Pirates prospects.

Triple-A Indianapolis (17-17)

RHP Wily Peralta

• Game: 3 IP, 0 ER, 3 K’s.
• Season: 22 IP, 4.50 ERA, 17 K’s in 10 appearances (4 starts).

SS Liover Peguero

• Game: 1-for-3 with a walk.
• Season: .293/.324/.415 with 8 doubles, 2 triples and a homer in 31 games.

Double-A Altoona (7-23)

DNP: inclement weather.

High-A Greensboro (16-14)

RHP Derek Diamond

• Game: 4 IP, 0 ER, 4 K’s.
• Season: 13 IP, 3.46 ERA, 12 K’s in 4 appearances (1 start).

C Shawn Ross

• Game: 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.
• Season: .140/.355/.404 with 3 doubles and 4 homers in 19 games.

Single-A Bradenton (13-18)

SS Keiner Delgado

• Game: 2-for-5 with a double.
• Season: .304/.304/.739 with a double and 3 homers in 5 games between rookie ball and Bradenton.

DH Esmerlyn Valdez

• Game: 1-for-3 with an inside-the-park grand slam and a walk.
• Season: .273/.389/.477 with 6 doubles and 4 homers in 27 games.