Pictured: Bradenton Marauders in their Friendly City Friday edition uniforms. Photo courtesy of Bradenton Marauders.

At LECOM Park, just north of Sarasota, the Bradenton Marauders–Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates– are continuing to grind out a strong season. Although Bradenton’s record is just 20-26 and the team has skidded as of late with just three wins in their last 10 contests, the Marauder’s have used the month of May to turn their young season around. Entering Tuesday’s game against the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, the Marauders held the second-best ERA in the Florida State League (FSL) at 3.20 in the month of May, good for fifth-best in all of Single-A. Bradenton also tallied the second most strikeouts in the FSL this month with 245 in just 213.1 innings. Much of Bradenton’s success has come from their bullpen arms, particularly Yoldin De La Paz, a 22-year-old reliever who was promoted to High-A Greensboro earlier this week. De La Paz left Bradenton in the midst of an scoreless innings streak of 8.1 and tied for the team lead in wins at five. For the season, De La Paz possessed a 5-0 record with a 1.19 ERA in 22.2 innings of work. With De La Paz gone, Bradenton’s bullpen will look to relievers like Magdiel Cotto, 3-3 with a 1.85 ERA and Garrett McMillan, 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA, to keep up the pressure on opposing hitters. The Marauders will need it to continue their success–Sunday’s loss to Dunedin marked the team’s 19th one-run game of the season, with the Marauder’s holding a 10-9 record in that span. Offensively, the Marauder’s have been leaning upon their top prospects to shoulder the load. Catcher Omar Alfonzo, the Pirates’ no. 28 ranked prospect, leads the team in batting average and is in the midst of a 13 game on-base streak, during which he’s slashed .310/.492/.381 with three doubles and five RBIs. Outfielder Shalin Polanco, the Pirates’ no. 15 prospect, has brought the power, tied for the team lead in home runs with five and leading the club in RBIs with 22. The Marauders return to Bradenton on June 4 to begin a six-game homestand against the Clearwater Threshers.

LECOM Park, 1611 9th St W, Bradenton.

Pictured: Bradenton Marauders in their Friendly City Friday edition uniforms. Photo courtesy of Bradenton Marauders.

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