The Pirates broke out the bats last night in Colorado and Rich Hill stymied the Rockies from the mound. Joe Block recaps the convincing win.
The Pirates will send right-hander Vince Velasquez [1-2, 5.40 ERA] to the mound tonight to face Rockies righty Jose Urena [0-2, 9.90 ERA]. Velazquez threw six shutout innings against the Cardinals his last time out last Thursday. It’s an 8:15 airtime, 8:40 first pitch on 100.9 The Groundhog.
Don Leppert, the first base coach for the World Series winning 1971 Pirates, passed away last Thursday at his Ohio home at the age of 91. The former catcher also played two seasons for the Pirates, hitting a home run on the first pitch of his first Major League at-bat at Forbes Field off the Cardinals’ Curt Simmons in 1961. He also played for the Washington Senators in a four-year MLB career. He coached for the Blue Jays and Astros, in addition to his time as the Pirates’ first base coach.
ALTOONA CURVE
Fresh from a 3-3 road trip to Erie, and losers of their last two games, the Altoona Curve are home tonight to take on the Bowie Baysox at the start of a six-game series. It is Jackie Robinson Appreciation Night at PNG Field, with all bleacher seats going for just 42 cents per ticket, in honor of Robinson’s number 42 jersey.
Kyle Nicolas, at 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA, starts for the Curve. In his last outing, he gave up 5 earned runs in 3-and-a-third innings against Erie last Wednesday.
The Curve will play its first Education Day game of the season tomorrow, with the first pitch coming at 11 AM.
