Pirates in baseball roundup: Agnos, Hoffman get first saves, Armstrong first win

by | Mar 31, 2025

ECU alum Zach Agnos wasted no time getting adjusted to his new team.

Agnos picked up his first save with the Albuquerque Isotopes in a 2-1 win over the Sacramento RiverCats. The game also featured ECU alum Carson Whisenhunt starting for the RiverCats.

Agnos, who was promoted from Double-A Hartford after pitching for the Colorado Rockies in Spring Training, struck out two in the ninth to preserve the win.

Whisenhunt took the loss, pitching 4.2 innings. He gave up two earned runs on four hits with nine strikeouts. He was relieved after giving up a solo homer that gave the Isotopes the lead.

Hoffman picks up save for Blue Jays

ECU alum Jeff Hoffman got the first of what is likely to be many saves this season for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Hoffman struck out two in the ninth inning to nail down a 3-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles. He forced a groundout before striking out the next two batters to lock up the win.

Toronto and Baltimore split the opening-season series, 2-2.

As Gregor Chisholm with the Toronto Star wrote, Hoffman didn’t appear to have any shoulder setbacks. Click here to read more of his assessment of Hoffman.

Burleson drives in two in Cards’ win

ECU alum Alec Burleson had a two-run double and scored another run for the St. Louis Cardinals in a 9-2 win that completed a sweep of the Minnesota Twins.

Burleson, playing at first base, doubled in the third to score Brendan Donovan and Nolan Arenado for a 5-1 lead. Burleson later scored after Pedro Pages homered to extend the Cardinals’ lead to 8-1.

Armstrong picks up win after giving up two runs

ECU alum Shawn Armstrong got the good and bad of Sunday’s win for the Texas Rangers over the Boston Red Sox.

Armstrong came on in relief of starter Jacob deGrom in the sixth inning. He gave up two runs, one earned, on a hit and walk. He also struck out one. Texas led 1-0 before Armstrong came into the game.

Boston took a 2-1 lead after that frame before the Rangers got two of their own in the bottom of the sixth to retake the lead. The Texas bullpen held on from there to give Armstrong the win.

McCullough’s Marlins get third walk-off win over Pirates

ECU alum and Miami Marlins Manager Clayton McCullough saw his team win its third game over the Pittsburgh Pirates in walk-off fashion.

Stephen Strom scored the winning run on a wild pitch by the Pirates’ David Bednar in the bottom of the ninth.

“If every series is going to be like this, it’s going to be a very fun season,” McCullough said, according to FishOnFirst.com.

Click here to read more.

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