Indianapolis and Altoona put up double-digits in runs, but the Curve’s bullpen almost blew a huge lead. Greensboro played Shelton ball, bunting its way out of scoring chances. Termarr Johnson showed increasing signs of life with the bat.
YESTERDAY’S RESULTS
Prospect Watch: Solid Pitching Around the System; Altoona Breaks Out the Bats
TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
INDIANAPOLIS VS IOWA
Final Score: Indianapolis (20-21) 10, Iowa 5
Indianapolis Starter: Kent Emanuel
Pitching Line: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 K
Box Score
Top Performers:
- Nick Gonzales 1-4, BB
- Endy Rodriguez 2-5, 2B, 3B
- Cal Mitchell 1-4, BB
- Malcom Nunez 3-4, 2B, 3 RBI
- Eli Villalobos 2 IP, 2 K
- Carmen Mlodzinski IP, H, 2 K
Game Recap:
Indianapolis got offense throughout the lineup and beat Iowa, 10-5.
The Indians had ten hits and nine walks. The only players who didn’t get hits were Mark Mathias and Aaron Shackelford, and they drew three walks between them. They broke the game open with a six-run fifth inning that featured two-run singles by Malcom Nunez and Chavez Young.
Nunez, who’s been struggling all year, led the offense with a double, two singles and three RBIs. Endy Rodriguez had a double and a triple.
Kent Emanuel started and went five, giving up six hits and three runs. He didn’t walk anybody. Eli Villalobos threw two scoreless innings and Carmen Mlodzinski one. Colin Selby, who’d been on a roll in May, had a control meltdown in the ninth. He threw only eight of 23 pitches for strikes while giving up a hit, two walks and a hit batsman. He retired only one batter and was charged with two runs. Cam Alldred got the last two outs.
DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA CURVE
ALTOONA @ BOWIE
Final Score: Altoona (17-17) 13, Bowie 11
Altoona Starter: Aaron Shortridge
Pitching Line: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Box Score
Top Performers:
- Liover Peguero 3-6, 2B, 3 RBI, SB
- Henry Davis 1-4
- Matt Gorski 2-5
- Mason Martin 1-4, HR (6), 3 K, 4 RBI
- Claudio Finol 3-4, HR (1), BB, SB, 4 runs
- Connor Scott 3-5
Game Recap:
Altoona took a 13-2 lead, then barely staggered to a 13-11 win over a bad Bowie team. The Curve are now back at .500.
Altoona appeared headed for a blowout win when they got four in the third and five in the fourth. The big lead was capped off by a 452-foot grand slam by Mason Martin, his sixth home run of the year. Prior to the longball, Martin was 3-for-33 in the month of May.
The 8-9-1 hitters provided most of the rest of the offense. Claudio Finol got three hits, including his first home run of the year, and scored four times. Connor Scott, who came in with a dismal .388 OPS, also had three hits. So did Liover Peguero, who drove in three. His included a double, giving him eight of those in his last six games. After a very bad April, Peguero is hitting 292/361/508 in May, with ten extra base hits in 15 games. He also stole a base, giving him 11 in 13 tries. Henry Davis went 1-for-4, then left for a pinch hitter with the Curve up by ten.
Aaron Shortridge continued turning things around, giving up two runs over six innings on just five hits and two walks. After that, things slid rapidly downhill. The worst of it came in a seven-run eighth. Tyler Samaniego, who’s having a very disappointing season, failed to retire any of the five batters he faced. He left with two on and Braeden Ogle let them score along with two of his own, all on a grand slam. He at least managed to get three outs. Oliver Garcia let another run score in the ninth and had the tying runs on base before finally picking up a shaky save.
HIGH-A: GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS
GREENSBORO @ ASHEVILLE
Final Score: Asheville 2, Greensboro (20-16) 1
Greensboro Starter: Anthony Solometo
Pitching Line: 7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 6 K
Box Score
Top Performers:
- Tsung-Che Cheng 2-4
- Jackson Glenn 2-5
- Tres Gonzalez 1-3, BB
- Sammy Siani 1-2, 2 BB
- Maikol Escotto 2-4
Game Recap:
Greensboro outhit Asheville, 10-3, but undermined itself with Sheltonesque offensive strategery and managed to lose, 2-1.
The Hoppers got off to an ominous start after their first two hitters in the game reached base. Tres Gonzalez, batting .333 at the time, bunted the runners over for Mike Jarvis, who was batting .208. Jarvis whiffed and Hudson Head grounded out to end the threat.
Later the Hoppers, trailing by two, got the leadoff man on and Tsung-Che Cheng, who was leading the team in both OPS and SLG, bunted the non-potential-tying run to second. And that’s where the runner stayed.
The empty-headed buntmania helped waste a strong start from Anthony Solometo, who went seven innings. He gave up just three hits and, importantly, walked nobody while striking out six. Unfortunately, two of the hits were back-to-back doubles, with the second runner scoring on a grounder and wild pitch.
The Hoppers’ only run scored after an error and two singles. Cheng, Maikol Escotto and Jackson Glenn each had two hits, but Greensboro went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
LOW-A: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
BRADENTON @ CLEARWATER
Final Score: Clearwater 10, Bradenton (20-16) 3
Bradenton Starter: Alessandro Ercolani
Pitching Line: 3 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
Box Score
Top Performers:
- Jesus Castillo 1-3, 2 BB
- Termarr Johnson 2-3, HR (1), 2 BB
- Javier Rivas 2-5
Game Recap:
Bradenton got pummeled by the FSL’s best team, losing 10-3 to Clearwater.
Starter Alessandro Ercolani never really had it. He gave up two in the first and three in the third, and that ended his night. He struggled to throw strikes, getting 41 in 72 pitches. Yoldin De La Paz and Ryan Harbin followed with two innings each, De La Paz allowing one run and Harbin none.
Elijah Birdsong got victimized by the Marauders’ defense, which had four errors on the day. Two came in the eighth, costing Birdsong four unearned runs.
The offensive highlight was Termarr Johnson’s first home run of the year. He had two hits and two walks on the day, and got his OPS up to .779, although he also committed his sixth error in just 15 games in the field. Jesus Castillo reached three times on a single and two walks. Javier Rivas had two singles. Jack Brannigan returned to action and went 0-for-4. Nick Cimillo had a triple; his OPS now stands at 1.017. The Marauders fanned 16 times and went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
