Meet Your Bucs: Eric Fryer

by Zane Heiple

Photo by web.minorleaguebaseball.com

A few days ago Fans From The Stands reported on how the Pittsburgh Pirates would be making a few moves with their roster to get them through interleague play and a doubleheader.  Today they made a move that was not originally in those plans, when they designated catcher Dusty Brown for assignment and called up Eric Fryer from AAA Indianapolis.  Fryer will be the seventh catcher to be on the Buccos roster this season.

Eric Fryer is a former tenth round pick of the 2007 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.  He would become a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2009, along with Casey Erickson, when they came over from the New York Yankees for Eric Hinske.  Many scouts consider him to be an athletic catcher with good speed and a strong arm.  He spent the 2009-10 seasons in the Pittsburgh organization at High A and was with AA Altoona to start the 2011 season.

His combined stats with Altoona and Indianapolis are a .315 batting average with seven home runs and twenty-five RBIs.  Defensively behind the plate he has posted a .986 fielding position, while throwing out 25% of runners who have tried to steal.  He has played outfield in the Minor Leagues, but since the Pirates only have two catchers on the roster he will be used to back up Michael McKenry.

Stay tuned to www.fansfromthestands.com for more roster updates as they happen.

Buccos Complete Sweep Of Stros

by Zane Heiple

Photo by Getty Images

While the Pittsburgh Pirates have had much more success on the road this year than they did in 2010, the one thing that has eluded them is the sweep over their opponents.  The Pirates came into today’s matinee against the Houston Astros with a chance to break out the brooms.

The Buccos wasted little time gaining the lead over the Astros.  After Jose Tabata reached on a single and Andrew McCutchen walked, Garrett Jones blasted a three run home run to right field.  The Astros almost had a run in the third but a relay from Tabata to Ronny Cedeno to Dusty Brown had Hunter Pence out at home.  Houston did however score two in the bottom of the fourth.  They would then tie the game in the fifth when Pence hit a double that scored Michael Bourn.

Pittsburgh’s offense would come back to life in the sixth inning with some help from Bourn.  Jones would hit a fly ball to center field, but Bourn was unable to handle the ball.  This mistake would allow Cutch to score from second.  Josh Harrison then doubled to score Walker from third.  Unfortunately Jones was thrown out at home by Houston second baseman Jeff Keppinger.

James McDonald finished his day with two outs in the sixth inning.  McDonald wasn’t at his best today but it was efficient enough to pick up his fifth win of the year.  He gave up three runs on seven hits, while striking out and walking four.

Joel Hanrahan was given the day off after pitching three straight days.  With a save on the line, Jose Veras was given the task to finish off the Stros.  After a leadoff single by Jason Bourgeois, Bourn would ground out.  Keppinger would single to bring home Bourgeois.  This would be followed by two straight ground outs to Pirates third baseman Brandon Wood to close the game and give the Buccos the sweep and a 5-4 win.

Great to see the Pirates finish off a series in a sweep.  This is the fourth straight game the Buccos have won and will now head to Cleveland for their first road interleague series of the year.

Record vs. Astros:  5-1
Record vs. N.L. Central:  16-10
Record On The Road:  20-15
Overall Record:  35-33

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!!!

Meet Your Bucs: Wyatt Toregas

by Zane Heiple

Photo by zimbio.com

The Pittsburgh Pirates placed catcher Chris Snyder on the 15 day disabled list on Thursday for a herniated disk injury in his lower back.  Wyatt Toregas was called up from AAA Indianapolis to give the Buccos another catcher on the 25 man roster.

Toregas is a former 2004 draft pick of the Cleveland Indians in the 24^th round out of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.  He has spent the majority of his career in the Minor Leagues and did not make his Major League debut until August of 2009.  During that stretch he played in 19 games where he batted .176 with 6 RBI.  Behind the plate he threw out 2 of 10 batters that attempted to steal on him.  After spending the 2010 season with the Columbus Clippers, he was released by the Indians and then signed a contract with the Pirates in 2011.

So far he has spent all of 2011 with the Indianapolis Indians where he has hit .034 and thrown out 25% of runners who have attempted stealing.  While this is by no means an answer to the injuries of Ryan Doumit and Snyder, Toregas is an insurance policy incase Dusty Brown needs time off.  Pittsburgh has stated that they have started looking outside the organization for catching help, so there could be more updates from behind the plate coming soon.

Halladay Quiets Pirates Offense, As Phillies Avoid Sweep

by Zane Heiple

Photo by Getty Images

Roy Halladay, along with a combination of poor pitching and defense helped the Philadelphia Phillies avoid a sweep by the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Halladay showed why he is considered one of the best pitchers in the Majors in the seven innings he pitched today.  The only blemish on his day was a two run home run that Neil Walker hit in the first inning.  After that he would allow only four more hits while striking out a total of six batters and walking one.  Roy would also go 1-3 at the plate with a walk.

James McDonald was not nearly as fortunate as his day would end after walking the bases loaded with no outs in the top of the fifth.  His first three innings were solid as he only gave up two hits to the first eleven batters he faced.  The fourth inning, he walked the first two batters and a passed ball by catcher Dusty Brown, allowed a Raul Ibanez sacrifice fly to put Philly on the board.  With the bases loaded, Chris Resop would enter the game and get one out before Ryan Howard would collect the first of three RBI today with a sacrifice fly to tie the game.  After an intentional walk, Resop would hit Carlos Ruiz to give the Phillies a lead they would not relinquish. 

Evan Meek would replace Resop in the sixth and give up a run on a single to Placido Polanco that scored Halladay.  The Pirates showed some life in the seventh, with runners on first and third, Chase Utley made a diving catch on a line drive by Jose Tabata to end the inning.

Both teams scored in the eighth inning.  Howard brought RBI number two in during the top part, while an Andrew McCutchen single would bring around Josh Harrison for the final Pirates run of the day.  Philadelphia then added two more in the top of the ninth to give themselves a 7-3 win over the Buccos.

It was a rough day for the Pirates as the Phillies capitalized on the mistakes that Pittsburgh made.  The Buccos needed to play a near perfect game when they face a great pitcher like Halladay and they were unable to accomplish that today.  McDonald will need to bounce back quick as he will be set to start again on Saturday.  Overall it was big of the Pirates to take two out of three from the top team in the National League.  They will have tomorrow off before starting a three game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday.

Record vs. Phillies:  2-1
Record vs. N.L. East:  6-10
Record at Home:  11-15
Overall Record:  28-30

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!!!

Pirates Lose Early Lead And Game To Mets

by Zane Heiple

Photo by Getty Images

The Pittsburgh Pirates wrapped up a four game series with the New York Mets this afternoon.  Paul Maholm got the nod for the Buccos, while the Mets countered with Mike Pelfrey.  Maholm has pitched well all year, but has received little run support in many of those starts, while today would be different in many aspects the result would be the same.

Pittsburgh would jump out to a red hot start today, scoring seven runs in the first three innings.  They scored three runs in the first on RBI’s from Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, and Matt Diaz.  The Buccos equaled that total in the second with another McCutchen RBI single and a two-run home run from Walker.  The third inning also saw Xavier Paul bring home Dusty Brown to give the Pirates their 7-0 lead.

The Mets did counter in the bottom of the third when they scored three runs.  After Jose Reyes and Justin Turner singled, Carlos Beltran hit a three run shot to left field.  This 7-3 scored held up until the sixth inning when New York got the best of the Maholm by scoring four runs and tying the game.  Ruban Tejada singled to right field scoring Beltran and Jason Bay.  A throwing error by Diaz led to Nick Evans scoring from second on a single by Daniel Murphy.  Maholm would leave the game after this play.  His final stat line read 5.2 innings pitched, six earned runs on eight hits, with two walks and two strikeouts.  New York then tied the game on a passed ball by Brown that allowed Tejada to score.

New York then closed the door with a two run eighth inning.  Tejada hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield and then Jose Veras issued a bases loaded walk to Beltran that scored Josh Thole.  Walker collected another RBI in the ninth, but that wasn’t enough as the Mets went on to win 9-8.

Frustrating loss for the Pirates today in two regards.  First, anytime a team has a seven run lead, they need to capitalize and collect the W.  By not doing this, we as fans see that there is still much work to do for the Pirates to separate themselves from the team that lost 105 games last season.  Second, it would have been huge to take three of four from the Mets and five of seven on this road trip before heading into a ten game home stand that features the first place Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks, along with another four game series with the Mets.

Pittsburgh will try to counter tomorrow when they begin a three game series with the Phillies.  It will be interesting to see if the Pirates surprising rotation success can at least match that of Philadelphia’s stable of aces.  First pitch tomorrow at PNC Park is scheduled for 7:05pm

Record vs. Mets:  2-2
Record vs. N.L. East 4-9
Record on the Road:  17-15
Overall Record 26-29

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!!!

Another Strong Start From McDonald Helps Pirates Beat Mets 5-1

By Chad Carlson

Photo Credit: AP

So far this season, the Pittsburgh Pirates have done much better than expected.  Predicted by most to have a record similar to that of last season, the Buccos have maintained a mark within (and not lower than) five games under .500.  Coming into tonight’s game against the New York Mets, the Pirates were in danger of dropping to 24-29, and a disappointing series in New York could lead to the downfall that is characteristic of most Pirates’ seasons as of late.

The Pirates had a chance to get on the board early tonight off Mets’ starter R.A. Dickey…but after a leadoff double by Jose Tabata, the next three batters were retired, and the Buccos left a runner on base in the first frame.

The Mets also led off the first inning with a double by Angel Pagan.  Unlike the Pirates, however, the Mets were able to bring the run home.  Jason Bay hit a dribbler down the third base line, and beat out James McDonald’s throw to first base, allowing Pagan to score from the third.  The Mets had the early advantage, 1-0. 

The Pirates stranded two more batters in the third inning, after Tabata reached base on a walk and Josh Harrison recorded his first Major League hit, Andrew McCutchen struck out (for the second time in the game) to end the inning.

Ronny Cedeno led off the eighth inning with a single, giving the Pirates their first base runner in five innings.  After a pop up out on a bunt attempt from Dusty Brown, Matt Diaz went down on strikes for the second out of the inning.  Tabata was hit by a pitch, putting two men on base, with two outs, and Harrison approached the plate with a chance to be a hero…and that’s exactly what he was tonight, smacking a base hit to right field and advancing to second base on a horrible throwing decision by Carlos Beltran. 

McCutchen, who had struck out his previous three times at the plate, drew a walk to load the bases for Neil Walker.  Real deal is the nickname we give him here at Fans From The Stands, and that’s exactly what he was at this at-bat, drilling a two-run single up the middle to give the Buccos a 3-1 lead.  This ended the night for Dickey, who pitched a strong game, tallying ten strikeouts in the game, but didn’t have enough to finish the eighth frame, and the Pirates made him pay for it.

The Pirates added to the lead in the ninth inning on a bases-loaded, two-out, two-run single by Brandon Wood, stretching the advantage to 5-1. 

Joel Hanrahan didn’t earn a save tonight, but came in and did exactly what he’s done all year to this point.  The Buccos’ closer took care of the Mets 1-2-3 in the final frame, clinching the 5-1 victory, and evening the series at a game a piece.

This was a huge win for the Pirates.  They overcame an outstanding start by a knuckleball pitcher that they struggled against early.  James McDonald put together another strong effort, giving up only one run on six hits through his six innings of work.  They also got contributions from a number of players, including Josh Harrison, who earned his first hit and RBI, Dusty Brown, who tallied a hit and performed very well behind the plate, and Ronny Cedeno, who continues to creep his average up to a respectable mark.

The Buccos are now just three games under the .500 mark, and enter tomorrow’s game against the Mets just one victory shy of their road-win total from a year ago.  Kevin Correia will get the start, and the first pitch is scheduled for 7:10pm.

Record Vs. Mets: 1-1

Record Vs. N.L. East: 3-8

Record On The Road: 16-14

Overall Record: 25-28

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!

Meet Your Bucs: Josh Harrison and Dusty Brown

by Zane Heiple

On Monday it was announce that the Pittsburgh Pirates placed Ryan Doumit (fractured ankle) and Steve Pearce (partially torn calf muscle) on the 15-day DL.  In their place, the Pirates called up infielder Josh Harrison and catcher Dusty Brown.

Photo by web.minorleaguebaseball.com

Josh Harrison is a former 2008 sixth round pick of the Chicago Cubs.  Pittsburgh acquired Harrison, along with Kevin Hart, and Jose Ascanio for John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny on July 30, 2009.  So far this year he has played at AAA Indianapolis.  His stats at the plate read:  .321 batting average, 2 home runs, and 11 RBI in 37 games.  Defensively he has played 8 games at second, 26 games at third, and 1 game at shortstop.  His combined fielding percentage at all three positions is .890.  While in Pittsburgh he will most likely see time at third and shortstop.  He would make his big league debut on May 31, 2011.

Photo by pictures.zimbio.com

Dusty Brown was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 35^th round of the 2000 draft.  He made his Major League debut on June 23, 2009 for the Sox.  Brown became a Minor League free agent after the 2010 season and was signed by the Pirates to a Minor League contract.  So far this year he has played in 30 games with Indianapolis where he has hit .263 with 6 home runs and 19 RBI.  In 26 games behind the plate he has thrown out 42% of base runners, something that is needed at the big league level for the Pirates.  While Chris Snyder will catch the majority of games, Brown has big shoes to fill as Doumit has had one of his better seasons before going down with the injury.

Be sure to check back throughout the season for more updates to the Pirates roster at fansfromthestands.com.