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Pirates' Hayes produces a grand ending

No. 46 overall prospect caps six-RBI day with walk-off slam
Ke'Bryan Hayes hit a career-best seven homers while winning a second straight Gold Glove last season. (Lynne Sladky/AP)
February 24, 2019

Ke'Bryan Hayes drove in six of the Pirates' 10 runs on Sunday -- and he didn't even start.The Bucs' second-ranked prospect entered as a defensive replacement at third base to start the sixth inning and went 2-for-3 with a pair of dingers, including a walk-off grand slam with two outs in

Ke'Bryan Hayes drove in six of the Pirates' 10 runs on Sunday -- and he didn't even start.
The Bucs' second-ranked prospect entered as a defensive replacement at third base to start the sixth inning and went 2-for-3 with a pair of dingers, including a walk-off grand slam with two outs in the ninth, to lift the Pirates to a 10-6 triumph over the Marlins at LECOM Park.

MLB.com's No. 46 overall prospect replaced Jung Ho Kang -- who clubbed his own pair of roundtrippers -- and picked up where he left off. The 22-year-old turned around a 3-2 fastball from Marlins No. 4 prospectNick Neidert in the sixth for a two-run blast that cleared the deepest part of the park in center field.
After hiting a sharp line drive to shortstop to end the seventh, Hayes stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the ninth against Marlins No. 28 prospect José Quijada and crushed another 3-2 heater, this time to left, to set off a celebration.
Pirates No. 18 prospect Pablo Reyes was 2-for-2 with a double and scored twice. 
Monte Harrison, the Marlins' third-ranked prospect, collected a pair of hits. Victor Victor Mesa, the team's No. 2 prospect, left after suffering a strained right hamstring beating out a double play grounder in the first. MLB.com's No. 99 overall prospect will see a doctor on Monday, the team announced.

In other spring action:


Red Sox 8, Twins 5
Top Red Sox prospect Michael Chavis mashed his second three-run homer in as many days and 20th-ranked Kutter Crawford locked down the save after yielding a hit and two walks in a scoreless ninth inning. No. 23 Red Sox prospect Colten Brewer fanned all three batters he faced in the fourth. Twins No. 7 prospect Brent Rooker tripled and scored a run, while outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr delivered an RBI double for Minnesota. Box score
Orioles 9, Blue Jays 8
Top overall prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in a run with a dribbler back to the mound that he legged out for a single in the third inning and scored in his Grapefruit League debut. Billy McKinney chipped in two hits, including a double, and scored a run, while Rowdy Tellez collected a pair of hits and scored once. Right-hander Hector Perez allowed two hits and fanned one in a scoreless inning out of the Jays bullpen. Orioles No. 18 prospect Dillon Tate allowed a walk and 21st-ranked Cody Carroll yielded two hits as each posted a scoreless inning out of the bullpen. O's No. 22 prospect Branden Kline struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth. Box score
Yankees 8, Rays 5
Yankees No. 2 prospect Jonathan Loaisiga tossed two scoreless innings in a victory over Tampa Bay. The right-hander issued a walk while striking out two. Box score
Astros 5 (ss), Braves 2
Astros prospect Abraham Toro knocked a pair of hits and drove in two runs. Left-hander Framber Valdez got the start for Houston and allowed a hit and a walk over two scoreless frames. Atlanta righty Bryse Wilson tossed two innings of scoreless relief, yielding a hit while fanning two. Braves prospects Joey Wentz, Kyle Muller and Tucker Davidson each notched a shutout frame to close the game. Box score
Nationals 12, Cardinals 2
Top Nationals prospect Victor Robles worked a walk and scored in the second inning, then drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the third. Second-ranked Carter Kieboom went 1-for-1 with a walk and an RBI. Nats No. 14 prospect Malvin Pena allowed a hit and struck out one in a scoreless inning, while 30th-ranked Kyle McGowin walked two and fanned two in a pair of hitless frames. No. 3 Cardinals prospect Andrew Knizner drove in a run with a forceout in the fifth and 30th-ranked Seth Elledge allowed a hit and a walk while whiffing one in a scoreless seventh. Box score
Astros 10 (ss), Mets 1
Astros prospect Myles Straw made a spectacular diving catch to rob Tim Tebow of a two-run double and went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored. Ronnie Dawson contributed up two hits, an RBI and a run scored for Houston. J.B. Bukauskas tossed two perfect frames out of the Astros 'pen and Brandon Bielak worked around a walk by fanning two in two scoreless innings. Mets No. 23 prospect Ryder Ryan worked a perfect ninth, recording three ground-ball outs. Box score
Diamondbacks 12, Indians 3
D-backs prospect Daulton Varsho blasted a two-run homer in the ninth inning. Right-hander Taylor Widener allowed a hit and fanned a pair in two scoreless innings, while Yoan López struck out one and walked one in a shutout frame. No. 19 Indians prospect Oscar Mercado went 2-for-3 with a two-run dinger to left field. Box score
Cubs 9, Giants 5
Cubs No. 24 prospect Dakota Mekkes yielded a walk and struck out two in an inning of hitless relief. Giants right-hander Tyler Beede worked two hitless frames, walking one and fanning one. Righty Logan Webb allowed a hit and walked two while punching out a pair over 1 2/3 innings, while lefty Garrett Williams surrendered two hits and fanned two in a scoreless frame for San Francisco. Box score
Royals 14, Athletics 5
Royals No. 14 prospect Kelvin Gutierrez roped an RBI double, walked and scored a run. Meibrys Viloria, Kansas City's 19th-ranked prospect, capped a six-run first inning with a three-run homer. No. 16 prospect Richard Lovelady allowed two hits and a walk while striking out two over the final two frames for the Royals. Box score
Dodgers 13, Angels (SS) 9
The Dodgers got a powerful glimpse of their future, with a trio of prospects doing most of the damage. Ninth-ranked DJ Peters, who's gone deep 56 times the last two seasons, hit a pair of solo homers. Dodgers No. 22 prospect Matt Beaty and 30th-ranked Omar Estevez also cleared the fences. On the mound, No. 3 prospect Dustin May worked around a walk and struck out one in a scoreless inning to earn the win. Sixth-ranked Dennis Santana and No. 8 Mitchell White combined for five strikeouts across two hitless frames. Angels No. 8 prospect Matt Thaiss continued his hot start with a bases-loaded triple and 21st-ranked Luis Madero allowed an unearned run on one hit in two innings. Box score
Padres 5, White Sox 4
Padres No. 14 prospect Jacob Nix walked one in two hitless frames and Aderlin Rodriguez hit a pair of two-run homers to lift San Diego. Seventh-ranked White Sox prospect Blake Rutherford doubled, singled twice and drove in a run. Box score
Mariners 4, Rockies 2
Top Mariners prospect Justus Sheffield walked one and fanned four in two scoreless innings and No. 9 Erik Swanson picked up the win, striking out one while walking two in one frame. Mariners No. 12 prospect Shed Long and 15th-ranked Dom Thompson-Williams both singled and drove in a run. Rockies No. 10 prospect Ryan Castellani struck out one in two innings of perfect relief. Box scorer
Reds 14, Angels (ss) 2
Reds No. 2 prospect Taylor Trammell singled twice and scored two runs as Cincinnati pounded out 17 hits. Seventh-ranked Vladimir Gutierrez made the start and earned the win, surrendering one hit in a scoreless frame. No. 11 prospect Jimmy Herget struck out one in a perfect eighth. Angels No. 17 prospect Brennon Lund accounted for his club's offense with a two-run single, while 27th-ranked John Curtiss fanned one in a hitless ninth. Box score