Sunshine, prospects and more to experience in SeaWolves' home-opening series at UPMC Park

Normally sunshine and warm weather are reserved for the middle of the season for SeaWolves fans, but they can enjoy that summertime feel this week at UPMC Park.

After opening the season with three games in Akron, the SeaWolves play their first home games of the season this week with a six-game series against Altoona.

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The forecast calls for clear skies and sunshine throughout the week with temperatures starting in the 60s on Tuesday and going up all week.

Erie, PA Daily Weather | AccuWeather

Since 2005, there have been just two home openers in the 70s. In 2006, the home opener was played in 72-degree weather and had an attendance of 4,087 and, in 2010, it was also 72 degrees with an attendance of 4,880.

Banner day to start home series

The home opener is set for Tuesday at 6:05 p.m. and will include a banner unveiling for the first time since 2007. The SeaWolves earned the Southwest Division championship in 2022 by winning the second-half title and beating Richmond in the Eastern League division playoffs.

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The SeaWolves also won the division title in 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2007 and had the best record in the division in 2019 but missed the playoffs because of the split-season format.

The homestand includes a 12:35 p.m. game on Wednesday, the first two-buck Thursday of the season and a schedule poster giveaway on Friday. The games on Saturday and Sunday will both be played at 1:35 p.m. with the entire league celebrating Jackie Robinson Day on Saturday, which includes a towel giveaway.

Several prospects in town for Pirates affiliate Altoona

In addition to the fans returning to UPMC Park for the first time this season, several prospects from the Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate will be in town. The Altoona Curve feature six of the top 30 prospects in the Pirates organization.

The big draw for baseball fans with the Curve is catcher Henry Davis. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2021 MLB Draft as the Pirates chose him after a big season at Louisville. Davis played just 59 games last year because of injuries, but 31 of his games were with the Curve, and he is projected to reach Pittsburgh by next year.

Davis, 23, is listed as the No. 3 prospect for the Pirates, while Altoona shortstop Liover Peguero is No. 7. Pegeuero, 22, is from the Dominican Republic and came to the Pirates in the Starling Marte trade. He was able to reach Pittsburgh last year for a few at-bats, which means next time Erie fans see him after this week it'll probably be in a Pirates uniform instead of Altoona.

The SeaWolves will see starting pitcher Jared Jones later in the week. Jones, 21, is the No. 11 prospect for Pittsburgh and was the Pirates' second-round pick in 2020. Because Pittsburgh went over slot to get him, Jones skipped his scholarship to Texas and started his pro career. He is consistently clocked in the high 90s and could be one of the hardest-throwing pitchers in the Eastern League.

The Curve have three more prospects, including outfielder Matt Gorski, the No. 17 prospect. Gorski, 25, has plenty of power and speed and put together a big career at Indiana.

Kyle Nicolas is set to duel Wilmer Flores Wednesday afternoon in a prospect showdown. Nicolas, 24, is the No. 24 prospect for the Pirates. He was the 61st overall pick in the 2020 draft by Miami out of Ball State and was traded to Pittsburgh in the Jacob Stallings deal.

The last prospect on the roster for the Curve is outfielder Matt Fraizer. He was the third-round pick by the Pirates in the 2019 draft out of Arizona.

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'Wolves open with series win in Akron

The SeaWolves led the division in home runs last year with 175. They trailed only Somerset in the Eastern League with 205.

The power was not on display over the weekend as the SeaWolves took two-of-three games in Akron. It is the first time Erie won a series without a home run since April 29-May 1, 2019, in Altoona. That series started with the Casey Mize no-hitter.

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Out of 14 hits against the RubberDucks, only three were for extra bases. The first double of the season was a big one on Opening Day. Colt Keith, a power-hitting third baseman and top 10 Detroit prospect, ripped a three-run double the other way to give Erie a 5-0 lead. The SeaWolves won the game 5-0 behind Keith's clutch hit and dominant pitching by Flores, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Adam Wolf and Angel De Jesus. The four combined on a four-hit shutout.

Gipson-Long is a starting pitcher by trade but knowing it might be a while until he started the season, manager Gabe Alvarez had him work two relief innings. Gipson-Long will start the home opener on Tuesday.

The SeaWolves had just three singles on Friday in a 6-4 loss and eight hits in a 3-2, 11-inning win Saturday, but just two of those hits were for extra bases as leadoff hitter Trei Cruz had two doubles.

Facts and figures

On Saturday, Ty Madden, one of the top pitching prospects for the Tigers, struck out 10 in the extra-inning win. He did it in just four innings for the 'Wolves. He matched his Double-A career high as he also struck out 10 for the SeaWolves late last season.

Since the franchise started in 1995, the SeaWolves now have 88 double-digit strikeout games. Madden has two of them, while Tarik Skubal and Joel Zumaya each have six to lead the way in organization history.

The SeaWolves also had one of the best defensive starts to the season in organization history. After shutting out the Ducks on Thursday, the 'Wolves didn't allow a run until a one-out single in the fifth inning on Friday. The shutout streak of 13⅓ innings to open the season ties the third-longest streak in SeaWolves history. The streak is tied with going 13⅓ innings last year at home against Akron. The longest streak is 14⅓ shutout innings to start the 1995 season at Elmira and the second-longest streak is 14 innings to open the 2007 season against Binghamton.

A big part of the shutout Thursday was the Erie defense turning four double plays. The last time the 'Wolves turned at least four double plays in a game was Aug. 23 at Harrisburg last season when Erie turned five double plays in a 9-1 win.

Contact Tom Reisenweber at treisenweber@timesnews.com and on Twitter @ETNReisenweber.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie SeaWolves' home opener against Altoona includes sunny forecast