Pirates in baseball: Back to normal for Jeff Hoffman in Blue Jays’ win

by | May 10, 2025

After a couple of bumpy relief appearances, ECU alum Jeff Hoffman was back to his old self in a 6-3 win by the Blue Jays over the Mariners on Friday.

He struck out the side in the ninth inning to lock things up and lower his ERA to 4.00. He picked up his eighth save of the season in the win.

He gave up six runs on six hits in two previous relief appearances against the Angels on May 6 and May 7 to raise his ERA to 4.24 before Friday.

Gavin Williams

He picked up his third win of the season in a 6-0 win by the Guardians over the Phillies.

He pitched the first five innings, giving up four hits and four walks with eight strikeouts. He improved to 3-2 on the season and lowered his ERA to 4.38.

Williams struck out two in the first and three in the second to set the pace for the Guardians.

Josh Grosz

He had one of his best starts of the season on Friday in a 4-1 win for Hudson Valley against Wilmington.

Grosz (2-1) started and went 6.2 innings, giving up a run on three hits with nine strikeouts. He lowered his ERA to 4.30.

He struck out two in the first two innings, then struck out the side in the third. He gave up a triple with one out in the seventh and got his last strikeout before being lifted in the seventh. Reliever Hayden Merda gave up a single that scored Wilmington’s only run, which was charged to Grosz.

Josh Moylan played first base and was 0-for-3 at the plate with a walk.

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

Major League Baseball

  • Connor Norby, Miami Marlins: 1-for-4 in 6-2 loss to White Sox
  • Alec Burleson, St. Louis Cardinals: Came in to play first base but did not get an at-bat in 10-0 win over Nationals.
  • Shawn Armstrong, Texas Rangers: Did not pitch in 2-1 loss to Tigers
  • Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians: See above
  • Jeff Hoffman, Toronto Blue Jays: See above
  • Zach Agnos, Colorado Rockies: Gave up his first earned run in the Majors in a 13-9 loss to the Padres. He pitched the eighth inning, gave up a run on two hits with a strikeout. His ERA is now 0.87.
  • Clayton McCullough, Miami Marlins (manager): Lost 6-2 to drop to 14-23 on the season.

Triple-A

  • Carson Whisenhunt, Sacramento RiverCats (San Francisco Giants): Did not pitch in 11-2 loss to Tacoma

Double-A

  • Carter Spivey, Akron Rubber Ducks (Guardians): Did not pitch in 7-6 loss to Somerset
  • Trey Benton, Akron Rubber Ducks (Guardians): On season-ending disabled list

Single-A

  • Trey Yesavage, Dunedin Blue Jays (Blue Jays): Did not pitch in 9-1 win ovr Fort Myers.
  • Carter Cunningham, Vancouver Canadians (Blue Jays): 1-for-4 with a run and walk in 10-1 win over Spokane
  • Josh Moylan, Hudson Valley Renegades (Yankees): See above
  • Josh Grosz, Hudson Valley Renegades (Yankees): See above
  • Tyler Bradt, Peoria Chiefs (Cardinals): Did not pitch in 8-4 win over Wisconsin.
  • Jacob-Jenkins-Cowart, Jupiter Hammerheads (Marlins): 0-for-4 with a run and walk in 10-1 win over Palm Beach
  • Ryan McCrystal, Daytona Tortugas (Reds): 2-for-4 with two RBI in 7-2 win over Tampa. He grounded out and drive in a run in the second and singled in a run in the seventh.
  • Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman, Modesto Nuts (Mariners): Placed on full-season disabled list on April 15.
  • Erik Ritchie, Clearwater Threshers (Phillies): Did not pitch in 7-5 win over St. Lucie

Frontier League

  • Danny Beal, Down East Bird Dawgs (Independent): Did not pitch in 10-3 loss to Ottawa. Will start Saturday vs. Ottawa.

Photo credit: Jeff Hoffman (Toronto Blue Jays photo)

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