PIRATES PROSPECTSPITTSBURGH PIRATES MINOR LEAGUE NEWS, TRANSACTIONS, AND ARTICLES

Toledo Mud Hens  7,  Indianapolis Indians  1
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Former Indy Indians Argenis Diaz and Jeff Salazar gave the Mud Hens both offensive and defensive boosts to help defeat the Indians at Fifth-Third Field in Toledo, Ohio tonight.  

Brian Burres (photo) suffered his of the season, going 7 innings and allowing 3 runs on 7 hits, with no walks.  He began his evening with 4 scoreless innings, giving up just 2 hits -- a double to CF Salazar in the 2nd and a single to C Omir Santos in the 3rd.  

The Indians put runners on base in each of their first 5 at-bats, but could not get any of them around to score.  DH Corey Wimberly opened the game with a double into left field and stole third base.  LF John Bowker walked to put runners on the corners.  1B Matt Hague bounced into an around-the-horn double play, started by 3B Diaz, to end the inning without a run scoring.  SS Jordy Mercer reached base on Diaz's fielding error in the 2nd inning, but was immediately erased when 3B Andy Marte bounced into a double play, again started by Diaz.  RF Miles Durham also walked in that inning, and was left on base.  

2B Brian Friday doubled with two outs in the 3rd inning, then Mercer walked and Marte lined a single into left field in the 4th inning.  The first two Tribe batters reached base in the 5th, CF Gorkys Hernandez on a throwing error by Toledo SS Cale Iorg, and Wimberly on a fielder's choice by Toledo starter Fu-Te Ni.  Wimberly moved to second on the fielders' choice as Hernandez was out at third.  Wimberly stole third base and Friday walked, again giving the Tribe runners on the corners.  And again, a double play ended the inning without a run scoring.  

Sunday's action in the Pirates' minor league organization began with an afternoon game in Charleston.  The GCL Pirates have the day off.

Greensboro Grasshoppers  10,  West Virginia Power  2
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Three late-inning rallies gave the Grasshoppers the advantage over the Power this afternoon.   Power starter Colton Cain pitched 4 innings and allowed 3 runs on 4 hits and a walk.  The first 'Hoppers' run came in the 1st inning, on a double and an RBI single.  Cain allowed only one base runner over the next two innings (hit batter), then gave up a 2-run homer in the 4th, to give Greensboro a 3-0 lead. Cain and C Kawika Emsley-Pai had two bases stolen against them in the 1st inning (one runner, two bases), and a double steal in the 4th.  Kevin Decker replaced Cain to begin the 5th, and retired the side in order.  In the 6th, Decker gave up 2 runs on a single, a walk, a sacrifice fly, and an RBI single.  There were three stolen bases in that inning.  Decker was still pitching in the 7th, when 3 more runs scored.  Three more stolen bases contributed to the scoring, which also included two walks, a sacrifice fly, an RBI double and an RBI single.  The Grasshoppers had an 8-0 lead.   

The Power batters went down in order in the first two innings, and had only 3 base runners over the first 6 innings.  Emsley-Pai led off the 3rd with a single lined into left field, but he was thrown out trying to steal second base.   1B Chase Lyles singled in the 5th and was left on base.  SS Kevin Mort singled to open the 6th, and was erased in a double play.  2B Andy Vasquez singled to lead off the 7th, and he was also out in a double play, when CF Mel Rojas lined out to first and Vasquez was easily doubled off.  Finally, after that double play, three consecutive hits pushed the first Power run across the plate.  DH Cole White and Lyles hit back-to-back singles, and LF Rogelios Noris drove in White with a line drive double into left.  

Justin Ennis pitched the 8th inning, and gave the 'Hoppers another 2-run homer, following a single.  The Power got one of the runs back in the 8th.  With two outs, Vasquez was hit by a pitch, and Rojas walked.  White lined a single into center field, and Vasquez came around from second to score.  Jason Townsend pitched a scoreless top of the 9th, and the Power also went down in order in the bottom of the 9th.  

Indianapolis Indians  4,  Toledo Mud Hens  3
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After 5 scoreless innings with a tie score, the Indians pushed across a run in the top of the 12th, then held on for the win over the Mud Hens at Fifth-Third Field in Toledo, Ohio.    

With two outs in the top of the 12th, 2B/3B Brian Friday worked a walk.  LF John Bowker (photo) lashed a double into the right-center field alley, over the head of Toledo RF Ben Guez, and off the wall.  Friday was off and running with the pitch, and he rounded third and headed for the plate as Guez chased down the ball.  He crossed the plate well ahead of the throw, scoring the go-ahead run for the Indians.  

The Mud Hens jumped right on Tribe starter Justin Wilson in the bottom of the 1st inning.  Lead-off batter DH Will Rhymes with a single, and LF Timo Perez doubled, putting runners on the corners.  Rhymes scored on an RBI single into right field by rehabbing 2B Carlos Guillen, and Perez came in on an RBI single by 1B Ryan Strieby, for a 2-0 lead.  Strieby stole second base and 3B Danny Worth walked.  Wilson got out of the inning when he struck out RF Scott Thorman, and C Kris Watts fired down to third base, throwing out Strieby trying to steal third.  SS Cale Iorg added a run in the 2nd inning on a solo homer, giving the Mud Hens a 3-0 lead.  

Wilson went on to pitch 4 more innings, scattering 3 more singles (by Rhymes, Iorg, and Strieby) and two walks (Guillen and Strieby), but he did not allow another run.  He threw 91 pitches, with 52 strikes.