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Monthly Archives: May, 2009

Normally, I do a pre-season analysis, where I fill in my own depth chart and playing time estimates for the upcoming Pittsburgh Pirates season, along with ZiPS projected WAR totals. This year, I'm looking at the...
All of the articles on Pirates Prospects this year will be my voice, with the exception of one: Roundtable. I wanted to find a way to give the fans a voice, but in a more structured...

Power Lose Pitching Duel in Extras; Curve Waste Moskos’ Fine Start

Saturday evening's games:

Lake County Captains 2, West Virginia Power 1 �(11 innings)

The Power were not as fortunate as the Indy Indians in extras last night. �They took a 1-1 tie into the 10th, when reliever Brian Leach retired the Captains in order in the top of the inning. �In the Power's half of the frame, 2B Greg Picart singled and LF Quincy Latimore walked, but were left stranded. �Eddie Pena took over on the mound for Leach to begin the 11th inning, and gave up a single, and a sacrifice bunt and a ground out moved that base runner to third. �He scored on an RBI double. �The Power had one more chance in the bottom of the inning. �1B Erik Huber led off with a double, but couldn't move any further, as two pop ups and a strikeout ended the game. �

Rudy Owens made his longest start of the season, going 7 innings and allowing only one run on �5 hits, no walks, and 4 strikeouts. �That one run came on a solo homer in the 4th inning. �The other 4 hits were scattered over the rest of his innings. �Brian Leach pitch3d 3 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and striking out 4 batters.�

The Power's only run came in the 7th, on a home run by CF Marcus Davis. �They put up a small threat in the 4th, when 3B Jeremy Farrell and Erik Huber hit back-to-back singles, but a strikeout ended that inning without a run scoring. �Picart led off the single and DH Calvin Anderson doubled in the 6th, but again both were left on base. �Picart, Huber, and Davis each had 2 hits in the game.


Altoona Notes:
RHP�Moises Robles,�who appeared in last night's game,was moved from Lynchburg to Altoona yesterday, while RHP�Christian Castorri�was sent to Lynchburg. �
RHP�Jean Machi�was placed onto the Disabled List due to right shoulder soreness.

The Pirates signed RHP�Scott Nestor�to a minor league contract and assigned him to Altoona. �Nestor is a 24 year old reliever who was drafted by the Marlins in the 14th round of the 2003 draft. �He rose up through their system to �AAA Albuquerque, where he spent all of 2008. �He made 55 relief appearances for a total of 61.2 innings. �He allowed 54 hits for 51 runs, but he walked 49 batters and struck out 64. �His record was 1-1, no saves, and a 7.44 ERA. �The Phillies claimed Nestor off waivers from the Marlins in October 2008. �He was assigned to AAA Lehigh Valley, where he made 2 relief appearances for a total of 1 inning, but gave up 5 runs on 3 hits and 6 walks, with 4 strikeouts. �At�AA Reading, Nestor threw 4 innings and allowing 5 runs on 3 hits and 6 walks, with 4 strikeouts.�



Potomac Nationals 4, Lynchburg Hillcats 2

Hillcats' starter Ronald Uviedo has lost 3 games this season, and all have been to Potomac. �Last night he pitched 5.2 innings and allowed 3 runs on 7 hits and a walk, with 3 strikeouts. �

The Hillcats took the early lead in the bottom of the 1st, on a lead-off single by 2B Jose De Los Santos. �De Los Santos stole second base, and scored on 3B Pedro Alvarez's RBI single. �The 1-0 lead held into the 5th inning, as Uviedo allowed only a double and one hit batter scattered over the first 4 innings. �The 5th inning opened with back-to-back doubles for Potomac, to tie the game. �Then a homer following a lead-off single led off the 6th inning, and Potomac had the lead. �The 6th continued with two more singles and a walk to load the bases, and Uviedo was relieved by Chris Cullen. �Cullen struck out Stephen King to end the top of the 6th. �In the bottom of the�inning, Pedro Alvarez led off with a double, then moved to third base and scored on two infield ground outs, but the P-Nats still held a 3-2 lead. �

Dustin Molleken came on to begin the 7th, and he gave up another run on a walk, two singles, and a sacrifice fly. �He continued to pitch the last 2 innings, allowing only a walk and a single. �The Hillcats were held to 6 hits, with De Los Santos and Alvarez taking 2 each. �1B Matt Hague and RF Miles Durham each had a single. �



Trenton Thunder 5, Altoona Curve 3

Curve starter Danny Moskos matched his longest outing of the season with 6.1 innings of work, allowing only one run on 5 hits and 3 walks, with 1 strikeout. �Moskos worked around back-to-back walks to begin the 1st inning, and a lead-off single in the 2nd. �After 11 straight outs, he gave up a walk and two singles in the 5th, allowing the one run to score. �After a grounder and a single in the 7th, Moskos turned the ball over to reliever Jeff Sues, who ended the inning without allowing a run to score. �

The Curve managed only a single by SS Brian Friday and walks to CF James Boone and LF Jeff Corsaletti over the first 4 innings of the game. �Then they collected one run in each of the next three innings. �1B Hector Gimenez homered to lead off the 5th inning. �In the 6th, 2B Jim Negrych reached base on a fielding erro r, and advanced to second and third bases on tw o ground outs. �He scored on C Steve Lerud's RBI single. �Jason Delaney added a pinch-hit solo home run in the 7th inning, to give the Curve a 3-1 lead.

The Thunder tied it up in the bottom of the 8th. �With Jeff Sues still on the mound, a walk, a single, and a 2-RBI double brought in two runs. �Sues got one out in the bottom of the 9th, then walked a batter, and he was relieved by Shawn Nottingham. �But the first (and only) batter Nottingham faced, Justin Snyder, lifted a long fly ball over the right field wall for a 2-run walk-off homer, to get the win for Trenton. �

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Indianapolis Indians 4,

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Indians Trample PawSox

IMG_9601Pearce.JPGIndianapolis Indians 14,

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Ugly End to a Road Trip


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Gwinnett Braves 10,
Indianapolis Indians 6



The Indians will be glad to leave Georgia and head on back to Indianapolis.

Win For Herrera; Hillcats Explode for 12

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Today it's one afternoon game and two evening games....


Altoona Curve 3, Bowie BaySox 1

Yesterday’s strike zone

There were some complaints from Pirate hitters about the strike zone in yesterday's loss to the Cubs, specifically with called strikes away from left-handed...

McCutchen’s 3 Hits Not Enough

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Gwinnett Braves 9,

McCutchen’s 3 Hits Not Enough

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Gwinnett Braves 9,
�� Indianapolis Indians 4


Eight runs in the middle innings gave the Braves a lead that the Indianapolis Indians could not catch up to, as Gwinnett took a 2-1 lead in the series at Gwinnett Braves' Stadium in Lawrenceville, GA. �

CF Andrew McCutchen (photo)�provided the Indians with the firepower in the early innings. �He began the game with a double lined into left field, and moved on to third base when 2B Brian Bixler flied out. �When LF Jeff Salazar grounded out to first base, McCutchen scored. �When the second inning came around, SS Luis Cruz led off with a single, and he scored on McCutchen's home run -- a blast over the left field wall.

Ty Taubenheim's last two starts went very well. �He gave up only one run in 7 innings on May 16th, and one run in 6 innings on May 22nd, both times earning the win. �Tonight was a different story. �He gave up an unearned run in the 1st inning, when 2B JC Holt reached base on a throwing error by Brian Bixler, stole second base, and scored on 1B Barbaro Canizares' single into center field. �That tied the score at 1-1. �

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Taubenheim (photo) worked around a lead-off double in the 2nd inning, and then a 2-out single in the 3rd inning, both times keeping the Braves from crossing the plate. �The 4th inning began with the Indians ahead 3-1, but that was when they got to Taubenheim. �SS Brooks Conrad walked to lead off the inning, and he stole second base. �Taubenheim got a fly out and a pop out, then intentionally walked RF Brian Barton. �Then he unintentionally walked pinch-hitter Reid Gorecki to load the bases. �A single lined into center field by CF Gregor Blanco brought in Conrad and Barton to tie the score. �JC Holt also lined a single into center field, and Andrew McCutchen came up throwing. �Gorecki scored the go-ahead run, but Blanco, coming all the way from first base, ran right through his manager's stop sign at third base. �McCutchen's throw went to the cut-off man SS Luis Cruz, and Cruz made a perfect relay throw to C Adam Melhuse. �The throw was well ahead of Blanco, and Melhuse tagged him out at the plate to end the inning. �Braves 4, Indians 3.

Brooks Conrad added one more run off Ty Taubenheim in the 5th inning, with his 7th home run of the season. �Taubenheim exited after the 5th, having thrown 85 pitches (48 strikes). �He was responsible for 5 runs (4 earned), on 6 hits and 3 walks. �He struck out 2 batters.

Steven Jackson relieved Taubenheim as the 6th inning began, but he did not fare much better. �3B Van Pope greeted Taubenheim with a single, and a sacrifice bunt moved Pope to second base. �Jackson walked pinch-hitter Wes Timmons. �Gregor Blanco grounded to second base, and 2B Brian Bixler was charged with his second throwing error when there was a problem with fielding coverage at first base. �That scored Van Pope. �With runners on second and third bases after the error, JC Holt's little infield dribbler went right to 1B Steve Pearce. �Pearce had the ball and was ready to throw to the plate, where he would have had plenty of time to get Timmons out, but Steven Jackson cut in front of Pearce, and Pearce had to hold his throw. �Jackson dropped down into a slide to get out of Pearce's way, but by the time he was out of the way, Pearce's throw was not in time, and Timmons scored. �Two more runs came in when Barbaro Canizares' double off the wall in straight-away center field was just over Andrew McCutchen's leaping reach. �Those 4 runs gave the Braves a 9-3 lead.�

Jason Davis pitched the final two innings for the Indians, and allowed only a single in the 8th, which was easily negated by a double play.

Braves' pitchers James Parr and Boone Logan spent the middle innings keeping the Tribe batters under control. �They faced the minimum over the 4th, 5th, and 6th innings. �The only Indian to reach base was Adam Melhuse, who walked in the 5th inning, but then was erased when Luis Cruz bounced into a double play.

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The Indians added a run in the 7th inning. �Steve Pearce converted an 0-2 count to a walk, fouling off a few pitches in the process. �He advanced to second base on a ground out by Garrett Jones and a line drive single by 3B Neil Walker (photo)�put runners on the corners. �Adam Melhuse registered his second RBI of the season with a sacrifice fly to score Pearce. �

Andrew McCutchen collected his third hit of the game in the 8th inning, with a one-out single. he stole second base, for his 10th steal of the season. �Jeff Salazar walked, but the Braves ended the minor threat when Steve Pearce struck out. �Three quick outs in the top of the 9th inning ended the game. �

Taubenheim took the loss, which was his fifth of the season. �McCutchen accounted for half of the Indians' hits. �Pearce, Walker, and Cruz had the other three hits, all singles.


Indians' Hitting Gem of the Game: �Andrew McCutchen's 2-run home run in the 3rd inning. �It was his third homer of the season, and his 17th and 18th RBI. �This was also McCutchen's second 3-hit game in three days. �It boosted his batting average to .293.

Indians' Defensive Gem of the Game: �The combined efforts of Andrew McCutchen in center field, shortstop Luis Cruz, and catcher Adam Melhuse in the bottom of the 4th inning. �Braves' JC Holt hit an RBI single into center field, scoring the base runner who had been on third base. �When Gregor Blanco, who had been on fir st base, came racing around third base (and through a stop sign) and headed for the plate, McCutchen's throw in to the infield was relayed by Cruz to Melhuse -- an on-target throw and an on-target tag out to end the inning. �


NOTES:
Roster Move:
Chris Barnwell's sore wrist is better, and he was activated from the Disabled List. �
C Miguel Perez�was returned to Altoona, making room for Barnwell on the roster.�

Andrew McCutchen's double and home run kept alive the Tribe's streak of at least one extra-base hit in each game this season. �




Go Tribe!



[Photos by Nancy Zinni -- MVN]

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