Pirates in baseball: Carson Whisenhunt shines in Sacramento win

by | Jul 6, 2025

Now this is the Carson Whisenhunt we know and love.

The East Carolina baseball alum picked up his eighth win of the season in an 8-4 win over Reno on Saturday. He gave up two runs on nine hits with three walks and three strikeouts to lower his ERA to 4.50.

He got plenty of run support as the River Cats scored four in the third and fourth innings for a 4-1 lead. The team had four more in the sixth after he was left for the night.

He had some good games before but not a lot to show for it. In June, he was 1-2 with a 6.91 ERA in 27.1 innings with 21 strikeouts and 12 walks. His best outing came on June 17 when he struck out seven over 5.2 innings in a win over Salt Lake.

For the season, he has 82 strikeouts in 17 starts over 94 innings. He’s given up 47 earned runs on 97 hits with 28 walks.

Earlier this week, it was announced he and fellow ECU alum Trey Yesavage would pitch in the MLB Futures Game next Saturday.

Alec Burleson

He had been in a bit of a slump, seeing his batting average drop from around .310 to below .280.

That changed on Saturday as he went 3-for-5 with a run and RBI for the Cardinals in an 8-6 win over the Cubs. He hit a solo homer that sparked a rally by the Cards and eventually led to their win.

Shawn Armstrong

He picked up his third save of the season by getting the final out in a 7-4 win over the Padres. He came on in the ninth and got a groundout for the final out. He lowered his ERA to 3.13 with the save.

Ryan McCrystal

His hot June has extended into July. He was 3-for-4 with two RBI in a 2-0 win over St. Lucie.

He singled in the first but delivered the big blow in the second with a two-run single. It proved to be all Daytona would need to get the win.

He finished June hitting .364 (24 for 66) with 10 runs, five doubles, a triple, a homer and 15 RBI. So far in July, he’s batting .400 (6 for 155) in four games with two runs and five RBI.

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-1 as a pinch hitter in 4-2 win over Brewers
  • Alec Burleson, St. Louis Cardinals: See above
  • Shawn Armstrong, Texas Rangers: See above
  • Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians: Did not pitch in 1-0 loss to Tigers
  • Jeff Hoffman, Toronto Blue Jays: Didn’t pitch in 4-3 win in 11 innings over Angels
  • Clayton McCullough, Miami Marlins (manager): Beat the Brewers 4-2 to improve to 40-47
  • Zach Agnos, Colorado Rockies: Did not pitch in 10-3 loss to White Sox

Triple-A

  • Carson Whisenhunt, Sacramento RiverCats (Giants): See above

Double-A

  • Trey Yesavage, New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays): Did not pitch in 4-2 win over Portland. Scheduled to pitch Sunday
  • Carter Spivey, Akron Rubber Ducks (Guardians): Placed on 7-day injured list with right shoulder strain on June 12.
  • Trey Benton, Akron Rubber Ducks (Guardians): On season-ending disabled list

Single-A

  • Carter Cunningham, Vancouver Canadians (Blue Jays): 1-for-4 in 3-0 win over Everett
  • Josh Moylan, Hudson Valley Renegades (Yankees): Did not play in 7-0 win over Brooklyn
  • Josh Grosz, Hudson Valley Renegades (Yankees): Did not pitch in 7-0 win over Brooklyn
  • Tyler Bradt, Peoria Chiefs (Cardinals): Did not pitch in 5-2 win over South Bend
  • Jacob-Jenkins-Cowart, Beloit Sky Carp (Marlins): Rained out vs. Wisconsin. Will play doubleheader on Sunday.
  • 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 4-2 win over Tampa
  • Landon Ginn, Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Cubs): Postponed vs. Charleston due to rain. No makeup date announced.

Frontier League

  • Danny Beal, Down East Bird Dawgs (Independent): Pitched two innings in his first relief appearance of the season in a 5-4 loss to Trois-Rivieres. He gave up an unearned run on a hit with a walk and two strikeouts to lower his ERA to 6.85.

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