Notes: Down & Up Week, Ke'Bryan on IL, '24 Pirates HoF, Chapman Keeps On K'ing, Pitchers Still Shufflin'; Davis, Jones Back

August winds down... 

The Bucs went to Texas for a three-pack. Corey Seager homered twice for the Rangers, and it was enough to give Texas a 4-3 win to hand the Pirates their ninth straight road loss. That streak was snapped by Mitch Keller, who gave up three singles and fanned nine in seven innings to earn a 4-0 dub. A two-out, three-run rally in the fourth sparked by Bryan De La Cruz and Oneil Cruz carried the O. Domingo German and Aroldis Chapman put up zeroes in the getaway game, but David Bednar didn't and the Buccos dropped the rubber match, 1-0. 

Yaz - 2024 photo Justin Berl/Getty

It was back home to open a four-game set against the Reds, featuring the Pirates HoF weekend. On Friday Paul Skenes was himself (six IP - no runs, two hits, nine K)  and the Pirates put up a six-spot on the fifth inning. Yaz added a solo shot and the Bucs started off on the good foot, 7-0. In game two, the Pirates fell behind, 5-0, but the boys kept playing, and a stellar performance by the bullpen and a small ball assault was enough to rally the club to a 6-5 win. No such luck in the sold-out Pirates HoF game; after the awardees tossed out the first pitch, it all went downhill. Rowdy Tellez even pitched an inning in a 10-2 spanking. In the closing match, the Buc pen blew a 2-0 seventh-inning lead, but Yasmani Grandal made it moot by banging a two-run walk-off dinger in the ninth to give Pittsburgh a 4-3 dub and three-games-to-one series win.

Next up - three at PNC v the Cubbies. 

Moves/Injuries: 

• 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes was placed on the 10-day IL (back inflammation). 
• The Pirates recalled RHP Hunter Stratton and called up OF Billy McKinney, 30, whose in his seventh MLB season and with his eighth team. RHP Ryder Ryan was DFA'ed (he's back at Indy) and OF Josh Palacios was reinstated from the IL and optioned to Indy. On Saturday, Stratton crashed into the wall when he slipped backing up home and was taken off in a cart with an apparent knee injury. It was confirmed to be a left knee patella tendon rupture and he went on the 60-day IL. LHP Brady Feigl, 33, who posted a 7-2-2/3.83 line in 51-2/3 IP (33 outings) with Indy was called up; it's his first MLB job.  
• CF Michael Taylor was reportedly outrighted; he hit .196 with four HR.
• C Joey Bart tweaked his hammy Sunday running out a grounder and ended up on the IL; C Henry Davis was recalled from Indy as his replacement.

He's back - 2024 Topps Foil

• RHP Jared Jones' Tuesday rehab line for Indy: no runs, one hit, one walk and 10 K after tossing 73 pitches during five frames of work. The smart money is that his next start will be with Pittsburgh early next week.
• 2B Nick Gonzales, RHP Colin Holderman and RHP Carmen Mlodzinski started rehab assignments with Indy on Tuesday. 
• Endy Rodriguez is getting back into action; he began playing Florida Complex League games on Monday. He played 1B, hmmm...
• 2B Termarr Johnson has been promoted to Altoona. He was hitting .235 with 13 homers at Hi A Greensboro of the Sally League.
• After being released by the Seattle Mariners (he spent five years in their system), Australian national team LHP Blake Townsend, 23, agreed to a minor league deal with the Pirates. In the off season, he's with Adelaide of the Australian League.

Stuff:

• Barry Bonds, Jim Leyland and Manny Sanguillen were presented as the newest members of the Pirates HoF on Saturday with a pregame celebration.

Pirates new HoF'ers Jimmy, Manny & Barry - Pirates photo

• With strikeout #1,226 on Friday night, LHP Aroldis Chapman moved into fourth place for the most strikeouts by a relief pitcher in MLB history.
• RHP Thomas Harrington was the International League's Pitcher of the Week. He went seven shoutout innings last week, tossing a perfecto until the sixth. He gave up two hits, issued no walks and fanned a pair during Indy's 3-0 win over St. Paul.
• The 2024 Washington Wild Things won the Frontier League's West Division championship, its ninth division title, and are now assured of a playoff spot.
• UT Ben Gamel was waived by the Mets and claimed by the Astros.
• Joey Votto retired on Wednesday.