Pirates in baseball: Jeff Hoffman gets another save, Carter Cunningham homers in win

by | Jun 11, 2025

Round two of the Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals was even more dramatic than Monday’s contest.

East Carolina baseball alum Jeff Hoffman got his second save in as many nights as the Blue Jays won 10-9. Toronto won the series opener on Monday, 5-4 in 10 innings.

Tuesday’s game was also the second meeting that featured fellow ECU alum Alec Burleson. He was 2-for-5 at the plate, scoring two runs to push his batting average to .298. However, he grounded out with Hoffman pitching in the ninth inning to end the game.

Hoffman picked up his 17th save, but it wasn’t easy. He gave up a solo homer before getting Burleson to ground out to second. Hoffman’s ERA moved up to 5.70.

Hoffman has a win and four straight saves in his last five outings. However, he’s also given up eight homers.

Carter Cunningham

He hit his fifth homer of the season, a solo shot in the third inning, as Vancouver beat Spokane, 5-1.

Playing at first base, he finished 1-for-4.

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

Major League Baseball

  • Connor Norby, Miami Marlins: Did not play in 3-2 win over Pirates
  • Alec Burleson, St. Louis Cardinals: see above
  • Shawn Armstrong, Texas Rangers: Pitched 1.1 innings in 16-4 win over Twins. He struck out one and gave up a hit to lower ERA to 3.33.
  • Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians: Did not pitch in 1-0 loss to Reds
  • Jeff Hoffman, Toronto Blue Jays: see above
  • Zach Agnos, Colorado Rockies: Took the loss in 6-5 Giants win. He got his third hold of the season before falling to 0-3. He gave up four runs on one hit, a solo homer, and three walks. A force out and wild pitch ended his night.
  • Clayton McCullough, Miami Marlins (manager): Team won 3-2 to improve to 25-40

Triple-A

  • Carson Whisenhunt, Sacramento RiverCats (Giants): Did not pitch in 2-1 loss to Tacoma

Double-A

  • Trey Yesavage, New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays): Promoted from High-A Vancouver Canadians. Did not pitch in 4-3 win over Reading.
  • Carter Spivey, Akron Rubber Ducks (Guardians): Started but did not get the decision in 3-1 loss to Hartford. He pitched 2.2 innings, gave up no runs on three hits with a walk and two strikeouts to lower his ERA to 4.20. He gave up a walk and single in the third, then exited the game.
  • Trey Benton, Akron Rubber Ducks (Guardians): On season-ending disabled list

Single-A

  • Carter Cunningham, Vancouver Canadians (Blue Jays): see above
  • Josh Moylan, Hudson Valley Renegades (Yankees): 0-for-3 in 2-1 win over Greenville
  • Josh Grosz, Hudson Valley Renegades (Yankees): Did not pitch in 2-1 win over Greenville.
  • Tyler Bradt, Peoria Chiefs (Cardinals): Got his second hold of the season in 7-6 loss to Cedar Rapids. Pitched the seventh inning and gave up two runs on a homer and walk. His ERA rose to 3.71.
  • Jacob-Jenkins-Cowart, Beloit Sky Carp (Marlins): 0-for-3 with run scored in 6-1 win over Quad Cities
  • Ryan McCrystal, Daytona Tortugas (Reds): Played for first time in nine days at first base. Was 0-for-3 in 2-1 loss to St. Lucie
  • Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman, Modesto Nuts (Mariners): Placed on full-season disabled list on April 15.
  • Erik Ritchie, Florida Coast League Phillies (Phillies): Did not pitch in 1-0 win over the FCL Yankees
  • Landon Ginn, Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Cubs): Pitched in 9-4 loss to Hickory. Went 2.2 innings, gave up three runs on four hits with two strikeouts.

Frontier League

  • Danny Beal, Down East Bird Dawgs (Independent): Did not play vs. New Jersey Jackals due to rain. Game moved to Aug. 19.

Photo credit: Jeff Hoffman (Toronto Blue Jays photo)

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