Notes: Good Week on the Road; Andujar, Mlodzinski Called Up; Davis, Contreras, Skenes Updates; Junior Moves (Again) & Hack Honored at Home

Hullo, Labor Day...

Notes:

• The week began with a set at Kansas City. It was a good start with a 5-0 win; Johan Oviedo tossed a complete game 2-hitter and Ke'Bryan Hayes remained on fire with four hits & a walk. They rallied late in the second match, getting homers from Hayes in the eighth (told ya he was hot) and Liover Peguero in the ninth to support Colin Selby and Luis Ortiz to take a 6-3 decision. The Bucs swept the set, 4-1, behind starter Andre Jackson and a bunch of boxes checked - it was the Pirates first sweep since June, Jackson's first MLB win, Jack Suwinski's first homer in five weeks, Vinny Capra's first big league extra-base hit and RBI...the trip to St. Louis was a happy journey. The good vibes carried over to the opener. With solid work by Mitch Keller and company, the Bucs prevailed in 10 innings, 4-2. The second game was equally nail-biting; Josh Palacios drilled a two-run, 9th-inning dong and David Bednar stranded runners at second and third to cap a rollercoaster 7-6 win. It was their 63rd win, one more than they had in all of 2022. The streak ended at five games; the off-and-on Johan Oviedo wasn't on as the the Bucs fell in the finale, 6-4.
• The Pirates posted a 9-4 slate in the 2023 season series v St. Louis, the first time since 2013 that they’ve recorded a winning record against the Redbirds.  

Miguel Andujar - 2023 photo/Pirates

• A handful of September moves: 1B/OF Miguel Andújar was called up, RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (sore elbow) came off the IL, OF Cal Mitchell & RHP Yohan Ramirez were DFA’d, and RHP Max Kranick’s rehab stint (TJ surgery) ended and he was optioned to Indy.
• RF Henry Davis (thumb/wrist) started taking BP and intends to be back with the boys before the season ends.
• Roansy Contreras has hit a bump; he's experiencing some soreness and has been pulled from Indy's rotation. He's now in playing catch mode, return date TBD.
• The Paul Skene watch: Altoona stretched Skenes out to two innings this time; he K'ed three and gave up one hit in a scoreless, 25-pitch outing v Erie on Saturday. He's due out on the hill again on Thursday against Harrisburg and old LSU mate Dylan Crews, the draft's #2 pick.
• RHP Junior Fernandez made three outings for the Pirates last year, was released and has since gone to the Yankees & Blue Jays, both which let him go. He just signed another minor league deal with the Washington Nationals.
• Ellwood City native Hack Wilson had a Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission roadside marker dedicated to him on Woodside Avenue (State Route 65) at the Lincoln HS Baseball Field in Ewing Park, with the event hosted by the Ellwood City Area Historical Society. In 1930 as a Chicago Cub, Hack swatted 56 home runs, the NL record for 68 years, and drove in 191 runs, a mark yet to be topped. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979.