Monthly Archives: August, 2010

Jakubauskas on the mound

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Indianapolis Indians� 2,� Toledo Mud Hens� 1 ..���� (box)

A pitching duel erupted at Victory Field tonight, and it ended with the Indians and starter Chris Jakubauskas (photo above) on top.� The win gives the Indians an 11 - 9 game lead of the season series.

Chris Jakubauskas (photo) made his first start as an Indian since early April.� He was told in advance that he'd be limited to about 60 pitches.� It turned out that he threw 61, 41 of which were strikes.� He was clearly sailing, with his curve ball working well.� Jakubauskas said after the game that his sinker was also working well for him, and that was a bit unusual. He allowed only 3 hits and one walk, and struck out 5 batters.

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Jakubauskas gave up a single to Mud Hens' 2B Scott Sizemore with two outs in the 1st inning, but ended the inning with a grounder force out.� He worked around a walk to 1B Michael Bertram in the 2nd inning, finishing that inning with a strikeout.

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(Photo:� John Bowker and Brian Myrow)

The only inning in which Jakubauskas had any trouble was the 3rd.� Mud Hens' 3B Shawn Roof led off the inning with a triple into right-center field.� RF John Bowker went way to his right to try to catch up to the line drive, but it got just past him and rolled all the way to the wall, as Roof cruised into third base.� Toledo RF Justin Henry follwed with a twisting single into left field, bringing in Roof, to give Toledo a 1-0 lead.�

But that was all the scoring the Mud Hens would do.� In fact, it was all the anything they would do until the 9th inning.� After Henry's single, Jakubauskas retired the next three batters, finishing the 3rd inning with two strikeouts.� Then he retired the next six batters he faced, including a strikeout in each of the 4th and 5th innings.� With the pitch limit imposed on him, he knew that would be all, but he looked as if he could have gone at least another inning if needed.

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INDIANS TRUMP TOLEDO 2-1 Tribe Pitching Staff Retires 20 of 22 Batters To Close Out Win INDIANAPOLIS -- Starting pitcher Chris Jakubauskas held the Mud...

Probable Starters RHP James McDonald vs. LHP Chris Narveson LHP Zach Duke vs. LHP Manny Parra RHP Charlie Morton vs. RHP Dave Bush

John Russell has taken his fair share of criticism during his time as the Pirates' manager, some of which has been justified. Despite the historic losing and the anger heaped down from the fanbase, he is still standing unfazed in the Bucs' dugout. That, in itself, is a testament to why Neal Huntington chose him to lead this team.

Indianapolis Indians� 6,� Louisville Bats� 2 ..��� (box)

Both the Indianapolis Indians and the Louisville Bats slammed two home runs, but our big dingers were bigger than your big dingers.� The Bats' homers were both solo shots, while the Indians' had a 2-run homer and a 3-run homer.� The Indians home runs both came in the 1st inning, giving starter Jeremy Powell (photo) an early cushion, as he won his team-high 10th win of the season.� This is the first time since 2006 that Powell has had as many as 10 wins in a season.

The big 1st inning was just about all the Indians needed.� The inning began with LF Kevin Melillo rocketing a low liner right back at the mound, where it struck pitcher Matt Klinker on the leg.� Klinker was able to locate the ball and get it over to first base in time to get the out.� He convinced Bats' manager Rick Sweet and the training staff that he was ok.... but the rest of the inning did not bear that out.� He walked the next batter, 2B Akinori Iwamura. Then CF Alex Presley slammed a no-doubt-about-it homer over the right-center field wall.� The Louisville outfielders did not bother trying to chase it -- it was clearly already gone.� Klinker hit the next two Tribe batters -- RF Brandon Moss was plunked in the back, and 3B Mitch Jones was only grazed on the jersey.� That brought up 1B Brian Myrow, who was making his first start since coming off the Disabled List.� Myrow showed that the DL stint hasn't slowed him down, with the second home run of the inning, taking a 3-2 pitch over the right field wall for 3 runs.� Klinker began to right himself after that, striking out both C Jason Jaramillo and SS Doug Bernier to end the inning.

Klinker was fine after that, though the damage had already been done.� He allowed the Indians only one more hit over the next 5 innings, though he did walk 2 more batters.� Doug Bernier singled with one out in the 4th, and advanced to second base on Jeremy Powell's sacrifice bunt, but got no further.� Aki Iwamura walked in the 2nd inning, and he also reached on an error when 2B Wilkin Castillo dropped his ground ball in the 5th.� Alex Presley walked after Iwamura got on base, but Iwamura was doubled off second base when Brandon Moss lined out to first base, and Presley was out in a grounder force out to end the inning.

Jeff Karstens was supposed to start. He was skipped due to concerns with arm fatigue. Daniel McCutchen stepped in and pitched six scoreless innings.

Some action with the Pirates' lower minor league affiliates on Wednesday...� still can't get anything done in Bradenton this evening, though the GCL Pirates did get their game in this afternoon.

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Erie SeaWolves� 3,� Altoona Curve� 1 ...�� (box)

The Curve were held to just 2 hits as they lost to the SeaWolves at home.� The Curve got two walks, one of which resulted in their only run, and they also had a runner reach on a fielding error.� 1B Matt Hague had the first Curve hit, a two-out single in the 4th inning.� 2B Jordy Mercer walked in the 2nd inning, and RF Miles Durham reached on a fielding error to begin the 8th inning.� None of them got as far as second base.� Finally, in the bottom of the 9th, SS Chase d'Arnaud led off with the second walk, and then he stole second base (his 32nd steal of the season).� DH Andrew Lambo lined a double into left field, scoring d'Arnaud with the Curve's lone run.

Justin Wilson pitched 4 innings in his start, and gave up all three of the SeaWolves' runs, on 6 hits and 3 walks, with 6 strikeouts.� He surrendered a run in the 2nd inning on three singles.� Another single and a double brought in one run in the 4th.� Wilson walked the next batter, then got a grounder to short for what looked like it would be an inning-ending double play.� The out was made at second, but Mercer's throw to first was not on target, and the batter was safe, which allowed the runner who had doubled to score from second base.

Mike Colla relieved Wilson to begin the 5th inning.� He gave up a walk to former teammate Brandon Jones to lead off the 5th, then erased him in a double play.� Colla allowed only one base runner in the rest of his four innings, a double to lead off the 7th inning.� Ramon Aguero pitched a perfect top of the 9th, with one strikeout.

Pittsburgh has won two out of three. Surprisingly tonight's victim was NL victory leader Adam Wainwright.

Less action than planned on Tuesday for the Pirates' lower minor league affiliates, mostly due to rain in the Bradenton area.� The Marauders' game against the St. Lucie Mets was postponed.� They will try for two tomorrow.� Yesterday's game between the Fort Myer Miracle and the Marauders was also rained out, as well as the game that they tried to start on Sunday (but only got into the second inning).� Those games will not be made up.� The GCL Braves at GCL Pirates games were washed out yesterday.� They tried to play two today, but only got one of the games in.

GCL Braves� 5,� GCL Pirates� 1 ..� (box)

Each team had 6 hits this afternoon, but the one that counted was the Braves' walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 7th.� The Pirates began the scoring with a run in the 3rd inning.� SS Kevin Mort led off with a double, then advanced to third base on DH Justin Howard's single into right field.� The two pulled off a double steal, with Mort scoring on the steal of home.� The Braves tied the score in the bottom of the 4th with a solo home run.

The Pirates loaded the bases in the 5th, on singles by Howard and CF Junior Sosa, and a walk by 2B Jorge Bishop. A strikeout ended that threat.� Sosa also singled in the 1st inning and stole second base.� LF Exicardo Cayonez also singled in the 4th, but was thrown out trying to steal second.� 1B Jared Lakind made his pro debut, but went 0-for-3 at the plate.

Joely Rodriguez pitched 5 innings in his start, and scattered 3 hits, no walks.� One of those hits was the solo homer in the 4th.� Ryan Hafner also made his pro debut, pitching the 6th inning.� He gave up a lead-off single in the 6th, then got a grounder force out and struck out the next two batters to end the inning and continue the tie.� Hafner began the 7th inning with a single and a walk.� Fraylin Campos relieved Hafner, but he hit the first batter he faced to load the bases.� That set up Braves' 3B Brandon Drury for the game-winning grand slam.

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Louisville Bats� 5,� Indianapolis Indians� 1 ..�� (box)

Two home runs by Bats' RF Wladimir Balentien plus an RBI single drove in a total of 4 runs, as the Bats made quick work of the Indians at Louisville Slugger Field in Louisville, Kentucky tonight.� 3B Mitch Jones scored the Indians' only run of the game, and starter Mike Crotta (photo) suffered the loss.

The Bats' first two runs of the game were sparked by two triples.� Mike Crotta had worked around a base runner in each of the first two innings -- CF Dave Sappelt reached on a fielding error in the 1st but was erased with a double play, and LF Danny Dorn walked in the 2nd but was left on base.� With two outs in teh 3rd inning, Sappelt drove a low liner into the right center field alley.� CF Alex Presley chased after the ball and made a diving attempt to catch it, but the ball went off his glove, and he had to hop up and track it down before he could throw the ball back to the infield.� By then, Sappelt had cruised into third base with a triple.� Crotta's first pitch to 2B Wilkin Castillo hit the dirt and bounced away from C Erik Kratz to the left of the home plate area.� Kratz scrambled over to pick up the ball and throw to Crotta covering the plate, but Kratz was throwing from a sprawled position on the ground, and his throw was high and wide, and the run scored.

The 4th inning began with the second triple, this one by 1B Yonder Alonso.� The ball bounced just inside the first base line but past the diving 1B John Bowker, down past the rolled up tarp and into the right field corner.� RF Brandon Moss hoped the ball would carom off the wall and toward him as he raced over in right field, but there was no carom and Moss ahd to chase it down.� Alonso was easily in with a triple.� Wladimir Balantien followed with a single through the hole and past SS Doug Bernier and into left field, plating Alonso, to give the Bats a 2-0 lead.

DSL Season Wrap-up Part One: The Pitchers Continuing with the DSL Pirates season wrap-up, on the hitting side of things the DSL Pirates they had...

Some things don't surprise you: Albert Pujols homered and had three hits against Pittsburgh. Some things add salt to a very open wound: Ross Ohlendorf's miserable 2010 was compounded by a shoulder injury that forced him to leave the game after pitching to two batters. Any way you look at it, St. Louis won easily. And that was another thing that wasn't surprising.