The Pirates’ Esmerlyn Valdez led the way as the Bucs swept a doubleheader from the first-place Brewers yesterday.
Joe Block recaps a big Saturday at PNC Park.
After winning only three times against Milwaukee last season, the Pirates have won four out of five from the Brewers this year, and this afternoon, they go for the series sweep, but the game will not feature the anticipated premier pitching matchup of Paul Skenes and Jacob Misiorowski. The Brewers late yesterday announced that Misiorowski is feeling lingering fatigue from his start on Tuesday in St. Louis, when he threw seven innings and gave up three earned runs in a 40-3 win over the Cardinals.
Left-hander Robert Gasser (2-3, 4.15 ERA) will start against Skenes (7-8, 3.58 ERA). Airtime is 11:15 with the Pirates Insider show with general manager Ben Cherington. First pitch is at 12:15.
Cherington and his scouting staff were busy yesterday with the first day of the MLB Draft. With their first pick, fifth overall, the Pirates selected LSU outfielder Derek Curiel, who was rated as high as the tenth-best prospect in the draft, but the “best college bat” by some scouting services. The 6-2, 192-pounder primarily plays center field. In two seasons at LSU, he’s hit a combined .349 with a .979 OPS. this year, he led the Tigers with a .353 batting average and stole 13 bases in 15 attempts.
With their second-round choice, the Bucs picked high school shortstop Aiden Ruiz, followed by a compensation pick in second-baseman Chris Rembert, then third-rounder Jason DeCaro, a right-handed pitcher from North Carolina, and Nevada high school outfielder Andruw Giles. The draft concludes with six more rounds today in Philadelphia.
