Weekly Report: Close But No Cigar Tryout Week, Justin & Cam Return, Bubba Bounce Back, 200 K For Paul, AFL Roster Drops

A Dozen Games To Go…

Pirates Stuff: 

• RHP Justin Lawrence finished his Indy rehab (elbow) and is back with the Bucs. RHP Colin Holderman (0-2-1/7.01 in 24 games) was optioned to Indy. 
• RHP Cam Sanders was recalled from Indy on Sunday to replace RHP Yohan Ramírez, who was placed on the Paternity Leave List.
• OF Jack Suwinski began his rehab assignment at Indy on Thursday; he’s been out since late August with a groin injury.
• Indy OF Billy Cook will play winter ball for the Yaquis de Obregón Club of the Mexican Pacific League (LAMP), which opens on October 15. He missed most of August after being clipped in the hand with a pitch.
• Paul Skenes became the eighth Pirates pitcher to fan 200+ batters in a season, joining Ed Morris (Alleghenies), Bob Veale, Ollie Perez, Mitch Keller, AJ Burnett, Frankie Liriano and Gerrit Cole. Skenes has blown it past 203 batters so far.

Paul Skenes – 200 K/MLB Graphic

• It was pretty inevitable, but Wednesday’s loss guaranteed Pittsburgh their seventh consecutive losing campaign.
• The Arizona Fall League roster reveal for the Buccos: Pitchers: Altoona – Derek Diamond (RH 3-2/10.00), Dominic Perachi (LH 3-1/3.63) & Jaden Woods (LH 4-3-4/3.75); Greensboro - Joshua Loeschorn (RH 5-4-2/3.97) & Carlson Reed ( RH 2-4/4.08), Position Players: Altoona – Esmerlyn Valdez (OF/1B .289/26 HR); Greensboro – Will Taylor ( OF .231/10 HR); Bradenton – Tony Blanco Jr. (1B/OF/DH .264/7 HR). They’ll play for the Salt City Rafters. The Fall League starts playing ball on October 6. 
• On Monday (9/15, Clemente Day), Roberto Clemente Jr. and Carlos Baerga will make history by broadcasting the first-ever Spanish television broadcast out of Pittsburgh for the Pirates. They’ll be joined in the booth by past Roberto Clemente Award recipients. The game against the Cubs starts at 6:30 and will be on SNP+ and the SNP (SportsNet Pittsburgh) app. For out of market fans, Major League Baseball will distribute the Spanish telecast via live streaming on MLB.com.
• Pirates announcer Greg Brown was awarded the Bob Prince Award as this year’s Outstanding Sports Personality at the annual Catholic Youth Association/Art Rooney dinner at Acrisure Stadium. Andrew McCutchen was the last Pirate to win the honor back in 2016, with Neil Walker, Billy Maz and Lanny Frattare past Bucco Prince awardees.
• Bill Christine, Pirates beat writer for the Press (1969-71) and Post-Gazette (1973-75) passed away Monday from leukemia; he was 87. Bill left here to cover horse racing and spent the last 20 years of his career with the LA Times.

Game Stuff:

• Mike Burrows and Braxton Ashcraft were solid v the O’s on Tuesday, but those bats…still, Tommy Pham homered in the ninth to make it 2-2, sending it into overtime at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. It just prolonged the ho-hums; Dauro Moreta gave up a run in the 11th on a flare that was originally called foul but flipped to fair on review, plating the winning ghost runner run. The Birds had six hits and the Pirates had five.
• Paul Skenes sat down his 200th batter of the year, but it wasn’t enough as the Pirates went down in extras again, 2-1, with two hits in 10 frames.
• Wash, rinse, repeat – the Bucs were swept, 3-2. The Pirates have dropped six straight and were 1-for-10 w/RISP this afternoon.

Spencer Horwitz – 2025 photo/Pirates

• Pittsburgh visited DC and thanks to a Spencer Horwitz two-run bomb, had a 3-0 lead. It didn’t last all that long, tho the Pirates did rally to cut the lead to 6-5, and that’s how it ended as Alexander Canario was thrown out at home in the ninth. That’s seven straight losses, with the last four decisions dropped by a run.
• Big bounce back for Bubba Chandler; he went six IP, giving up a run on two hits with seven K. He left down 1-0, but the Bucs finally struck in the eighth when a pair of two-out, two-run raps by Cutch and Nick Yorke put the Bucs up, 4-1. Jared Triolo added a ninth-inning solo shot while Carmen Mlodzinski and Dennis Santana sealed the deal.
• The Pirates scored three times in the first; the Nats tallied a trio in the second. Then the bats went quiet until DC pushed across the game-winning run in eighth frame that was unearned as Oneil Cruz booted the ball in center. The Bucs tried to come back, but left runners on the corners in the ninth to drop 7-of-8 games.
• Pittsburgh opens a three-game stand v the Cubs on Monday to celebrate Clemente Day with the A’s closing out the home season with three more. September has been an audition month, with the Buccos hopin’ some home mojo will kick in again.

MLB Stuff: 

• Yah, it was a deep, deep dive, but OptaStats discovered that Josh Bell is the 3d player in MLB history to homer from both sides of the plate in a game in 3 straight seasons with 3 different teams, joining Nick Swisher (2007-09) and Tony Clark (2003-05).
• Lefty Jose Quintana, who made a workmanlike stop in Pittsburgh in 2022, injured his calf on Sunday. The results of a Monday MRI will determine his status for playoff-bound Milwaukee; Q was likely slated as a bullpen guy in October.