A great day for the organization

James McDonald has righted the ship. The Pirates are now on a winning streak. McDonald tonight looked more like the pitcher people were hoping for at the end of last year. 5 strike outs was his best performance so far this year. He did not give up any runs until the 6th, which he escaped with only 2 thanks to a well placed strikeout. So give that man a quality start. Synder continues to play well and got his first homer of the year and Garrett Jones put one over the wall as well. The Pirates are getting off to fast starts. They are not always adding to their first inning performances, but it is putting our pitchers at ease when they hang runs on the other team from the get go.

Better news yet is the big game from Jameson Taillon. He went four innings striking out 6 while not walking anyone and only giving up 2 hits. Justin Howard had two hits as did Mel Rojas Jr. as the Power won the opening game of their twin bill. The second game was also a win thanks to Brandon Crumpton's nice pitching along with two innings from Trent Stevenson. Each allowed only one run. This was just enough to make sure the Power won as Mel Rojas Jr., went 3 for 3 with a run scored and an RBI. Dan Grovatt scored twice on what was officially an 0 for 1 day. That man is a living base on balls. The Power are loaded with great talent this year as Curry, Howard, Rojas, and Grovatt all look great. Even Emlsey-Pai is hitting .386.

Altoona broke out the rally caps and won the game. Jordy Mercer now has a couple of games with good swings raising his average back to .200. That happened on a 3 for 4 night with 2 doubles. Jeremy Farrel was 2 for 2 and Sanchez was 3 for 5. The pitching was not so good, but a 10-9 come from behind win is good enough. The win was accomplished with a one out walk drawn by Mercer. You bet, a walk. Shelby Ford singled and then Tony Sanchez singled scoring Mercer to tie the game and Kris Watts doubled scoring Ford to end the game.

Bradenton did not really fit this great day for prospects mold, but Jarek Cunningham continued his hot hitting with a double and two hits. Kyle McPhearson struggled and the Maurders were easily bested.

Overall, the prospects played great at most of the levels including the big leagues. Let us not overlook that we gained a game and now sit only two out of first and half a game out of second.