ALTOONA (93.7 The Fan) – Having a breakout season including what he called an ‘outer-worldly’ week with seven home runs in High A, Pirates AA outfielder/first baseman Matt Gorski left the Curve game Wednesday night with a left quad injury.
Altoona manager Kieren Mattison was not sure the severity of the injury immediately after the game. Gorski will be examined again on Thursday, but given that he was lying face down on the field after it happened. It’s not as bad as it first appeared as Gorski left the ballpark with the help of one crutch.
“For me that’s a good sign, cause when he first went down you don’t know if it’s a knee,” Mattison said. “To see him standing and greeting his teammates after the game to me is a big sign that it’s an injury, but it may not be as long as we thought when he went down.”
The 6’4” right-hand hitter had a career-high 23 home runs and 60 RBI through 67 games. He credited his off-season work including a few adjustments in the batters’ box along with working on his mental approach which has been key. Primarily an outfielder, Gorski had also worked some at first base to try and find a spot in the majors noting what he perceived as a stacked outfield.
Carmen
Essentially a first-round pick in 2020, the 31st overall as a Competitive Balance selection, Carmen Mlodzinski made his 13th start on Wednesday. It was anything but lucky early on. An error allowed the first batter to reach and then John Nogowski (yes, the former Pirate from 2021) hit a mammoth home run to left field and a minute into the game it was 2-0 Harrisburg.
The 23-year-old right hander settled down right after, striking out the next two. He would strikeout the side in the second and finish the game allowing one earned run over six innings, three hits, one walk and struck out eight.
“I would say nothing changed,” Mlodzinski told 93.7 The Fan. “I didn’t let one pitch affect how I would attack the other hitters. Stuck to the game plan, Henry (Davis) and I thought up a really good game plan and stuck to it. I wouldn’t let an extra base hit like that change it.”
“So happy for him,” Mattison said. “He’s been working his tail off all year and been going through some growing pains. It’s nice to see him settling in and not allow the home run affect the next pitch. He continued to fight and battle.”
King Henry
The Pirates first-round pick in 2021 walked and scored on Wednesday extending his hitting streak to five games. Henry Davis is still fighting back from a broken wrist suffered in mid-May. He tells 93.7 The Fan it’s still not 100% and it bothers him, but he’s fighting through it.
“It’s been a matter of getting my timing back and getting comfortable after breaking my wrist,” Davis said. “Not a stretch that I wanted to go on, but any challenge is good for you. Handling it and moving forward, I will be better moving forward.”
Spreading it out
The Curve finished with nine hits by seven different players with Gorski (2), Andres Alvarez (2), Jared Triolo and Blake Sabol (HR) driving in runs.
RHP Kyle Nicolas, acquired in the Jacob Stallings trade, will start for the Curve Thursday night.