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Baseball
Pirates clinch series over Guardians, weekend minor league update
Bucs On Deck Podcast›
Jul 20, 202617:41
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Baseball
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After the bullpen blew another late on Saturday, the Pittsburgh Pirates were able to bounce back to win on Sunday, taking their weekend series against the Cleveland Guardians.
Paul Skenes made his first start coming out of the All-Star break, allowing one run on seven hits and two walks while striking out eight over seven innings pitched. It was good enough to pick up his ninth win of the season.
Jacob Gonzalez went 2-5 with a double and two runs scored. Getting a rare start in center field, Billy Cook went 3-4 with a triple, two runs scored, and a pair of RBI. Esmerlyn Valdez hit his 12th home run of the season, going 1-3 with two RBI and two walks.
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The Pirates will head to New York for three games against the Yankees. Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler, and Mitch Keller are the probably pitchers for the series.
Murf Gray and Duce Gourson wrapped up their first weekend at their new levels after getting promoted coming out of the All-Star break.
Now in Double-A Altoona, Gray went 2-9 with a home run and three walks compared to two strikeouts. He played in all three games and was the designated hitter on Sunday.
For Gourson, he played in two of the three games over the weekend, going 4-7 with four runs scored, a home run, one walk (no strikeouts) while also stealing a pair of bases.
* Greensboro Grasshoppers sent 1B Tony Blanco Jr. on a rehab assignment to Bradenton Marauders
* Pittsburgh Pirates optioned RHP Khristian Curtis to Indianapolis Indians
* Altoona Curve placed LHP Dominic Perachi on the 7-day injured list
Top Exit Velocity
* Shawn Ross - IND - 111.4 mph - Home Run
* Richard Ramirez - BRD - 107 mph - Single
* Jacob Gonzalez - PIT - 106.1 mph - Lineout
* Edgleen Perez - BRD - 105.9 mph - Groundout
* Duce Gourson - IND - 105.2 mph - Home Run
Top Pitch Velocity
* Carlos Mateo - BRD - 102 mph
* Carlos Mateo - BRD - 101.6 mph
* Carlos Mateo - BRD - 101.1 mph
* Carlos Mateo - BRD - 100.9 mph
* Carlos Mateo - BRD - 100.8 mph
Most Whiffs
* Paul Skenes - PIT - 18
* Irwin Ramirez - BRD - 10
* Hung-Leng Chang - GBO - 10
* Brandon Neeck - ALT - 9
* Matt Ager - ALT - 8
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Indianapolis Indians - 13 vs Columbus Clippers - 6
Top Hitter - Shawn Ross: 2-4, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB, HR
Top Pitcher - Antwone Kelly: 4 IP, 3 H, BB, 2 K
Altoona Curve - 6 vs Reading Fightin Phils - 10
Top Hitter - Ivan Brethowr: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, HR
Top Pitcher - Brandon Neeck: 2.1 IP, 5 K
Greensboro Grasshoppers - 3 vs Hub City Spartanburgers - 7
Top Hitter - Brian Sanchez: 2-4, 2 RBI, BB, 2B
Top Pitcher - Kyle Larsen: 2 IP, BB, 3 K
Bradenton Marauders - 2 vs Tampa Tarpons - 7
Top Hitter - Richard Ramirez: 2-3, R, RBI, BB, HR
Top Pitcher - Brandon Cain: IP
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"Pirates clinch series over Guardians, weekend minor league update" is an episode of Bucs On Deck Podcast. Runtime 17 min. Published July 20, 2026. Hit play above to stream it here, or open the free Spot Sports app for background play and offline downloads.
