GLENDALE — The following are updates on local athletes competing in Major League Baseball.
The St. Francis High graduate yielded three runs — all in the first inning — on five hits over six innings, but received no run support.
The Rockies plated a pair of runs in the top of the seventh, during which Hirsh was removed for a pinch hitter. They added another run in the eighth to tie the game and take Hirsh off the hook for the loss.
Colorado went on to defeat the Giants, 5-3.
Nonetheless, the game ran Hirsh's streak of starts without a win to six, with his last victory coming April 22 against the Padres at Coors Field.
Following that decision, Hirsh had tallied a season record of 2-1 with an earned-run average of 3.16. Since then he has gone 0-3 and now has a season ERA of 4.30.
In his first year for Colorado after an offseason trade from the Houston Astros, Hirsh leads the team with 45 strikeouts.
Freddy Sanchez (Glendale Community College, 1998) second baseman, Pittsburgh Pirates: One year removed from winning the National League batting title, former Vaqueros standout Freddy Sanchez has continued to steadily raise his average in the month of May.
With Friday's one-for-five showing in a 10-4 win against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark, the Pittsburgh Pirates starting second baseman has hit safely in seven of his last eight games.
During that stretch, Sanchez has recorded four multi-hit games, including a three for five effort May 22 against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Batting just .224 at the end of April, the 2006 All-Star has improved that mark to .282 through Friday.
While the hits have come in bunches for Sanchez lately, his run production has remained modest.
Batting primarily in the third spot, while being shuffled between the leadoff and No. 2 roles occasionally, he has tallied 12 runs batted in with no home runs. A run-scoring ground-rule double in the 10th inning Friday broke a six-game RBI drought.
Mark Loretta (St. Francis, 1989) second baseman, Houston Astros: St. Francis High graduate Mark Loretta's versatility in the infield has allowed him to finally establish himself in the Houston Astros everyday lineup.
His consistency at the plate hasn't hurt either.
Over Houston's past eight contests, Loretta, a 2006 All-Star second baseman with the Boston Red Sox, has made three starts at third base, two at shortstop and one each at second and first base.
