Pirates in baseball: Alec Burleson, Ryan McCrystal continue swinging hot bats

by | Jun 15, 2025

Alec Burleson was moved up to third in the lineup for Saturday’s game and came through again in an 8-5 win for the Cardinals over the Brewers.

He singled in a run in the first inning as St. Louis led from start to finish. He ended the game 2-for-5 to raise his batting average to .299.

He’s batting .372 in June (16 for 43) with two doubles, a homer and five RBI. He’s also hitting .357 over the past week and .339 over his past 15 games.

Ryan McCrystal

He batted 2-for-5 with two runs and four RBI in the leadoff spot in a 10-0 win over St. Lucie.

Playing at DH, he raised his batting average to .277 with a RBI double in the third and a three-run homer in the seventh. He also scored in the third.

Since his return from an injury that kept him out a week, he’s batting .429 (9 for 21) with four runs and nine RBIs.

See below to find out what the rest of the Pirates in baseball did on Saturday.

Major League Baseball

  • Connor Norby, Miami Marlins: 0-for-4 in 4-3 win over Nationals
  • Alec Burleson, St. Louis Cardinals: See above
  • Shawn Armstrong, Texas Rangers: Did not pitch in 5-4 win over White Sox in 11 innings
  • Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians: 
  • Jeff Hoffman, Toronto Blue Jays: Did not pitch in 3-2 loss to Phillies
  • Zach Agnos, Colorado Rockies: Did not pitch in 4-1 loss to Braves
  • Clayton McCullough, Miami Marlins (manager): Team won, 4-3 over Nationals, to improve to 27-41

Triple-A

  • Carson Whisenhunt, Sacramento RiverCats (Giants): Did not pitch in 7-1 loss to Tacoma

Double-A

  • Trey Yesavage, New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays): Did not pitch in 7-4 loss to Reading
  • Carter Spivey, Akron Rubber Ducks (Guardians): Did not pitch in 7-1 win over Hartford
  • Trey Benton, Akron Rubber Ducks (Guardians): On season-ending disabled list

Single-A

  • Carter Cunningham, Vancouver Canadians (Blue Jays): 0-for-4 in 6-1 win over Spokane
  • Josh Moylan, Hudson Valley Renegades (Yankees): 0-for-2 with a walk in 1-0 win over Greenville
  • Josh Grosz, Hudson Valley Renegades (Yankees): Did not pitch in 1-0 win over Greenville
  • Tyler Bradt, Peoria Chiefs (Cardinals): Did not pitch in 8-0 loss to Cedar Rapids
  • Jacob-Jenkins-Cowart, Beloit Sky Carp (Marlins): 0-for-4 in 12-1 loss to Quad Cities
  • Ryan McCrystal, Daytona Tortugas (Reds): See above
  • Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman, Modesto Nuts (Mariners): Placed on full-season disabled list on April 15.
  • Erik Ritchie, Clearwater Threshers (Phillies): Did not pitch in 14-1 loss to Tampa
  • Landon Ginn, Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Cubs): Postponed due to rain. DH vs. Hickory on Sunday.

Frontier League

  • Danny Beal, Down East Bird Dawgs (Independent): Did not pitch in 7-2 in over New Jersey

Photo credit: Alec Burleson (AP photo)

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