Pirates clinch series over Guardians, weekend minor league update

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.Bucs On Deck is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.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 listTop 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 RunTop 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 mphMost Whiffs* Paul Skenes - PIT - 18* Irwin Ramirez - BRD - 10* Hung-Leng Chang - GBO - 10* Brandon Neeck - ALT - 9* Matt Ager - ALT - 8Support the site by becoming a paid member and get access to all of our premium content, including our top prospect list with complete player write-ups and video breakdowns, which come out weekly.It will also give access to my player feature articles from on-site trips.We have monthly and yearly plans available, with the latter averaging $4.16/month.Indianapolis Indians - 13 vs Columbus Clippers - 6GamedayTop Hitter - Shawn Ross: 2-4, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB, HRTop Pitcher - Antwone Kelly: 4 IP, 3 H, BB, 2 KAltoona Curve - 6 vs Reading Fightin Phils - 10GamedayTop Hitter - Ivan Brethowr: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, HRTop Pitcher - Brandon Neeck: 2.1 IP, 5 KGreensboro Grasshoppers - 3 vs Hub City Spartanburgers - 7GamedayTop Hitter - Brian Sanchez: 2-4, 2 RBI, BB, 2BTop Pitcher - Kyle Larsen: 2 IP, BB, 3 KBradenton Marauders - 2 vs Tampa Tarpons - 7GamedayTop Hitter - Richard Ramirez: 2-3, R, RBI, BB, HRTop Pitcher - Brandon Cain: IP Get full access to Bucs On Deck at bucsondeck.substack.com/subscribe