*Gorkys Hernandez led off the game batting .207. �Went 0-for-3 with a walk. �He looked like he had no plan of attack and was on the defensive at the plate.
*3B Josh Harrison went 0-for-4; extremely uninspiring, but smoked a few balls at people.
*Jim Negrych went 1-for-4 and made some nice defensive plays. � Looked like he belonged out there. �I have to wonder though if his ceiling isn’t AA ball?
*Matt Hague looked good, but went 0-for-3 reaching base in the 1st inning on the error by the Erie third baseman. �He was stranded when Durham struck out.
*Miles Durham went 1-for-4 with that strikeout.
*Hector Gimenez went 1-for-2 with two walks. �He scored on Shelby Ford’s homer. �He stole a base in the 2nd inning with a nice jump on what looked to be a broken hit & run. �Ran very well for a catcher. �He is a 27-year-old playing AA ball and his defense is below average. �(From Nancy: �Gimenez did not catch a lot while he was here in Indy in 2009 — played a lot of first and third base, and only caught 6 games. �In Altoona last year, he caught 17 games and played infield in 19 games. �His defense used to be stronger, I think, but he just hasn’t been catching a lot in the past two seasons. )
*Alex Presley, who I was fairly excited to see play, batting .370 coming into the game. �He looked good all game but went 0-for-4. �Played some nice defense as well in the outfield. �(From Nancy: �Presley going 0-fer is an unusual thing — this would be only the 5th game this season, out of 40 games. �Guess that’s why he’s hitting .370 — well, .365 now.)
*Shelby Ford had a solid game and a HUGE home run on a 2-2 change up. �He hit it off the facade of the Otters’ rink, about 370 feet on the fly.
*Jose De Los Santos looked overmatched all game long, and made me wish they didn’t use the DH in this game. �He struck out in the 5th looking, and tried to bunt for a base hit twice. �It made me think he was trying to work on something that management had directed him to work on.
*Not many highlights on the offensive side of the ball, mainly due to the standout performance of Andy Oliver. �His pedigree showed why the Tigers drafted him in the 2nd round. �His fastball was dominant, sitting effortlessly at 92 mph and topping out at 94 mph. �Didn’t see the 97 mph velocity that MLB draft page listed for him, but he won’t be with AA long. �His curve was ridiculous — he threw one at 72 mph that made one Curve batter, who shall remain nameless, look silly.
*Justin Wilson profiles as a Paul Maholm type from what I saw today. �Fastball touched 92 mph, but his control is best at 90 mph. �Crisp slider/curve. �Didn’t notice a changeup, but my seats were not optimal for seeing a left-hander. �I counted three times where his offspeed made the SeaWolves’ batters get upset with themselves. �His line was 6 IP, 10K, 3BB, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 H. �The one run was the result of an error when the CF Gorkys Hernandez booted a single u the middle and turned it into a double. �The runner later scored on a double steal of 2nd and home. �C Gimenez was responsible for that run, as a poor throw down to second base made a return throw to the plate harder than it should have been. �Very encouraging outing for Wilson, but I can’t help but wonder what good another Maholm-type pitcher will be in Pittsburgh.
*Dustin Molleken took over for the 7th and 8th innings and pitched very well. �Very nice fastball. �His line was 2 IP, 1 H, 4 K.
*Danny Moskos pitched the 9th. �I was hoping to see him pitch so I could see the “amazing slider” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has been talking about. �Bucs’ Dugout has wondered if it’s a real slider or a bad curve masquerading as a plus slider. �From what I saw, it’s a slider, and it is very lethal. �Moskos’ first 6 pitches were balls and his 8th got sent 345 feet to left field, but for some reason, the wind was blowing out on the lake, which meant that ball hung up in the wind and dropped into the CF’s glove about 2 feet short of the warning track. �As I mentioned, Moskos walked the lead-off hitter, which as a Pirates’ fan makes you think of Mike Williams. �Like Williams, Moskos danced through a passed ball by Gimenez (which was a terrible play by Gimenez), the 345-foot out, and a mile-high pop up to 1B Matt Hague, to get through the 9th inning with no damage, and a save for the Curve.
*Overall, the Curve owed the game to Wilson and Molleken. �Not sure how good a hitting team the SeaWolves are, but these two made them look weak with an ability to spot the fastball and use plus off-speed pitches.
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Thanks, Mike!
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