Game 1: �Altoona Curve �3, �Harrisburg Senators �2 (box)

The Curve got the evening off to a good start in the first of two 7-inning games, as they made up for the rain-out on Wednesday. �C Kris Watts led the offense with 2 hits and SS Chase d'Arnaud drove in 2 of the Curve runs.

Harrisburg scored first, with a run in the 2nd inning on two singles, a wild pitch by Altoona starter Tim Alderson, and a sacrifice fly. �The Curve tried to respond in the bottom of the inning, when Watts and LF Anthony Norman both singled, and Alderson walked to load the bases. �All three were left on base when a line out ended the inning. �But the Curve got the job done in the 4th inning. �RF Alex Presley led off by beating out a bunt for a single. �Watts lined another single into left field. �3B Shelby Ford dropped down a sacrifice bunt, and when the Harrisburg third baseman threw wide of first base for an error, Presley raced around to score, leaving Watts on third and Ford on second. �An intentional walk to Norman brought up Alderson, who flied out for the first out of the inning. �Then d'Arnaud ripped a line drive into left field, scoring both Watts and Ford. �The Curve came close to getting another run, when CF Gorkys Hernandez flied out to right field, but instead of that being a sacrifice fly, Norman was thrown out at the plate after tagging up.

Alderson gave up another run in the top of the 5th, on a single, a stolen base, and another single. �He pitched a total of 6 innings and allowed those 2 runs on 7 hits and a walk, with 3 strikeouts. �Alderson earned his 5th win of the season, giving him a 5-2 record. �Danny Moskos earned his 14th save of the season by pitching a perfect 7th inning.

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Game 2: �Senators �1, �Curve 0 (box)

The second game was another story. �SS Chase d'Arnaud led off the bottom of the 1st with a walk. �He was immediately erased when CF Gorkys Hernandez bounced into a double play. �And that was it. �No more Curve base runners, no hits, no more walks, no one reaching on an error or being hit by a pitch. �Just another 19 outs, 21 all together (it was a 7-inning game, as part of the double-header). �Harrisburg starter Chuck James pitched 5 innings and struck out 7, including striking out 6 Curve batters in a row in the 3rd and 4th innings. �Reliever Cole Kimball pitched a perfect 6th including 2 more strikeouts. �Reliever Zech Zinicola pitched the 7th, another perfect inning with two strikeouts.

And, as if that weren't bad enough -- it was even worse for Curve starter Rudy Owens. He pitched 7 innings and allowed only one run on 7 hits, no walks, with one strikeout, and still suffered the loss (his 3rd of the season). �Owens worked around a single in the 2nd and a double in the 3rd to keep the game scoreless. �He gave up a double and hit a batter in the 4th, but still did not allow a run. �Harrisburg's only run came in the 5th, with 2 outs, on 3 consecutive singles. �Owens allowed one more single in the 6th, then removed that base runner with a double play. �Jimmy Barthmaier pitched a scoreless 7th inning, also allowing just one single and also eliminating that threat with a double play.

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The Bradenton Marauders began their All-Star break today. �The Florida State League All-Star Game will be played on Saturday at 7:35 pm. �It is not being broadcast on milb.tv this year.

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Altoona Curve �10, �New Britain Rock Cats �2 (box)

Like the Indy Indians, the Curve overpowered their opponents tonight. �Altoona recorded 17 hits on the way to 10 runs. �SS Chase d'Arnaud led the onslaught by going 4-for-5 at the plate, and both 3B Josh Harrison and 1B Matt Hague contributed 4 RBI.

Starter Bryan Morris won his 3rd game for the Curve, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits in 6 innings. �He walked 2 batters and struck out 6. �Morris gave up one run in the top of the 1st on a walk, a stolen base, a throwing error by C Hector Gimenez on the stolen base attempt, and an RBI double. �New Britain also scored a run on a walk and a double in the 5th.

The Curve answered the run in the top of the 1st with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning. �CF Gorkys Hernandez tripled, and scored on Josh Harrison's sacrifice fly. �A double by Matt Hague, a ground out to move the runner over by 2B Jordy Mercer, and a sacrifice fly by Hector Gimenez gave the Curve a 2-1 lead in the 4th inning.

New Britain tied the game again with their run in the top of the 5th, but the Curve broke the game open in the bottom of the frame. �DH Shelby Ford and SS Chase d'Arnaud both singled and Hernandez was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. �Harrison's double plated both Ford and d'Arnaud, and a sacrifice fly by Hague brought in Hernandez. �A single by Mercer and a walk to Gimenez loaded the bases again, but all three were left on base when a fly out ended the inning.

The Curve put up another 3-spot in the next inning. �Four consecutive singles began the inning -- by RF Miles Durham, Ford, d'Arnaud, and Hernandez (RBI). �Harrison hit another sacrifice fly to score Ford. �D'Arnaud came in on an RBI ground out by Hague. �The final two Curve runs came in the 8th, on a 2-run homer by Hague, following a double by Harrison.

Derek Hankins pitched two perfect innings for the Curve, with two strikeouts. �Jeff Sues finished the game with a perfect 9th inning, with one strikeout.

The Nationals used three solo homers and a critical error to earn a sweep of the Pirates. It took a couple of months, but the Pirates are in last place.

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This is the huge shift the Indians use against lefty batters.... that's 3B Pedro Alvarez standing where the shortstop would usually stand, about half a mile from third base. �SS Argenis Diaz is standing almost behind second base.

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Indianapolis Indians �4, �Pawtucket Red Sox �2 (box)

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The Indians survived a scare in the 9th inning to win their 4th straight game tonight at Victory Field. �Starter Daniel McCutchen dominated the PawSox for 7 innings to earn his 4th win of the season with the Indians. �McCutchen allowed only one run on 3 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 7 batters. �LF Kevin Melillo, 3B Pedro Alvarez, and RF Brandon Moss had 2 hits each in the contest, and one of Melillo's hits was a solo home run. �The Tribe has now won 6 of the 7 games (so far, tomorrow is the last) on this homestand.

The Indians got busy in the 1st inning. �With one out, DH Brandon Jones worked a walk. �Pedro Alvarez sent him to third base with a single lined into right field. �Brandon Moss followed with a double driven down the right field line and into the corner, easily scoring Jones from third base to give the Indians a 1-0 lead.

McCutchen (photo) sailed through most of his ininngs, and only had serious trouble in one inning. �He began his outing by retiring 9 of the 10 batters he faced over the first three innings. �The only Pawtucket batter to reach base in the first third of the game was RF Daniel Nava, who was hit by a pitch (it barely grazed his uniform, but that counts) in the 1st inning.

(Photo: �Doug Bernier makes a play at second base)

The 4th inning was tougher for McCutchen, as the first three batters who came to the plate reached base safely. �SS Angel Sanchez opened the inning with a liner up the middle for a single, and Nava followed with a double into righ field, moving Sanchez to third base. �1B Lars Anderson walked on four straight pitches, and the bases were loaded. �C Luke Carlin had a brief chat with McCutchen, who then bore down and struck out C Dusty Brown on three pitches for the first out of the inning. �LF Ryan Kalish bounced a slow dribbler over toward first base. �1B Brian Myrow had to charge in onto the grass to field the ball, and by the time he had it in his glove, his only play was at first base. �Kalish was out at first, but he brought in Sanchez from third base to tie the score at 1-1. �McCutchen ended the inning by striking out DH Tug Hulett.

The only other hit McCutchen allowed came in the 5th inning, after two outs had already been recorded. �2B Niuman Romero lined a single into center field, then stole second base without even drawing a throw from Luke Carlin. �Sanchez worked the count full, then on ball four, Romero took off from second base, to steal third base. �This time Carlin made the throw to third. �Pedro Alvarez, who was playing wide of third, had to scramble back to the bag, and wasn't quite there yet as the throw was coming to him. �He made the catch on the run, then reached down to make the tag on Romero as he slid in. �Romero was called out, and Pawtucket manager Torey Lovullo argued the call. �Radio broadcasters Howard Kellman and Scott McCauley, who have replay capabilities in their booth, said that they thought the replay showed that Alvarez did not actually get the tag on Romero. �The ball reached the bag before Romero did, and on the replay, Alvarez seemed to tag the dirt next to Romero.

McCutchen pitched two more innings, both 3-up-and-3-down, including one strikeout in each. �He finished his evening with 98 pitches, 65 for strikes.

Ryan Doumit is starting at first base tonight for the first time since May 14, 2007.

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A sight Pirates' fans have longed to see

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Indianapolis Indians �5, �Pawtucket Red Sox �3 (box)

Mike Crotta earned his 4th win with the Indians this afternoon at Victory Field, and he was boosted by a 3-hit performance by 3B Pedro Alvarez. Alvarez was a single short of hitting for the cycle, a feat that has never been accomplished by an Indians' player at Victory Field.

Alvarez had the first of the Indians' 6 hits in the game -- in fact, he had half of the team's hits. �In the bottom of the 2nd, Alvarez drove a long fly ball to the deepest part of Victory Field, to the 418' sign in the left-center field alley. �The Pawtucket LF Aaron Bates and CF Ryan Kalish were no where near to that area when the ball fell in, nearly at the warning track. �By the time they got there, Alvarez was easily on his way to third base with a triple. �After a strikeout, Tribe CF Brandon Moss plated Alvarez with an RBI ground out to the right side of the infield, and the Indians had the first run of the game.

1B Brian Myrow led off the Indians' half of the 4th inning with a double, which fell in almost at the feet of LF Aaron Bates (who usually plays first base, not outfield). �Alvarez followed the double by taking a 1-2 pitch just barely over the right field wall (probably by less than 10 inches) and into a crowd of summer-camp kids. �It was his 12th homer of the season.

Alvarez's third hit followed more Tribe scoring in the 5th. �SS Argenis Diaz led off the inning by working a walk. �LF Kevin Melillo, who has 5 hits in his last 3 games, doubled to the wall in the right-center alley. �Diaz was off and running on contact. �Aided a bit when RF Daniel Nava picked up the ball, dropped it, and picked it up again, Diaz raced around to score. �Doug Bernier dropped down a sacrifice bunt, moving Melillo to third base. �Myrow brought Melillo in from third with a sacrifice fly to right field. �The throw in to the plate was up the line, and Melillo scored easily. �Alvarez came to the plate with the bases clean, and he kept the rally going with a double to right-center field. �That was as far as he would get, though, as C Erik Kratz struck out to end the inning.

Was it a Strasburg hangover? I don't think so. The Pirates got some offense, but couldn't keep the Nats off home plate. Brad Lincoln's first ML start was a no decision. He and Jose Tabata each had two hits in their ML debuts. So, technically, Lincoln did something Straburg didn't do - get a hit.

Welcome to the PLC live blog of the major league debut for Brad Lincoln and Jose Tabata. I am using the Cover It Live software, but I will only be providing occasional updates. If you are looking for a full-blown chat, Raise the Jolly Roger is the place to go. I will kick things off around 6:45 PM.

As long-suffering Pirates fans, we are desperate for some sort of hope. With an awful major league team, that hope generally resides in the minor leagues. Brad Lincoln and Jose Tabata, the first of three prospects labeled by some as “The Big Three” before the season, are making their major league debuts tonight. With Pedro Alvarez knocking on the door, it is easy for us as fans to get caught up in the excitement of these potential tides of change. But it is important to keep our expectations reasonable.

Dejan Kovacevic reports that Dana Eveland will move to the bullpen with the addition of Brad Lincoln. Jeff Karstens will remain in the rotation.

The Altoona Curve and the Harrisburg Senators were rained out tonight. �They will play a double header on Thursday, beginning at 5:30 pm.

The West Virginia Power have a scheduled day off today.

That leaves just the Marauders:

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Fort Myers Miracle �3, �Bradenton Marauders �2 (box)

A late-inning rally by the Miracle broke the 2-2 tie, and the Marauders could not answer back. �Starter Brian Leach pitched 6 innings and allowed 2 runs on 3 hits. �The Miracle got onto the scoreboard first, scoring both of their runs in the 2nd inning. �The frame opened with three consecutive singles, loading the bases. �A grounder to 3B Jeremy Farrell produced a force out at second base, but one run scored, and the Marauders could not complete a double play. �Another grounder to third drove in a second run, and gave the Marauders another out at second base. �Leach hit the next batter with a pitch, and then got a strikeout to end the inning.

Those were the only hits Leach allowed. �He retired the side in order in the 1st and 3rd innings. �He hit another batter in the 4th, but then erased him with a double play. �He gave up a walk in each of the 5th and 6th innings, but had one get caught stealing second, and then just left the other on base.

The Marauders' bats were not scoring runs over the first four innings. �SS Greg Picart opened the game with a single, but was left on base. �Both LF Quincy Latimore and 2B James Skelton walked in the 2nd, but a double play ended that inning. ��Both DH Tony Sanchez and 1B Calvin Anderson singled in the 4th, but were also left in scoring position. �This was Sanchez's first game back in the lineup after being hit in the head by a pitch last week.

C Andrew Walker put Bradenton onto the scoreboard in the 5th inning with a solo home run over the left field wall. �Picart followed the homer with a walk, then stole second base. �He scored on 3B Jeremy Farrell's RBI double, tying the score at 2-2.

Tom Boleska relieved Leach to begin the 7th inning. �He gave up back-to-back singles with one out, then threw a wild pitch that allowed the runners to move up to second and third bases. �A walk loaded the bases, and another single drove in the go-ahead run. �CF Austin McClune and Walker kept another run from scoring with an on-target throw in from center field and a tag at the plate.

The Marauders were not able to answer that run. �After their run-scoring 5th inning, the next 12 Bradenton batters were retired in order. �Ramon Aguero pitched the 9th inning for the Marauders and he also put them down in order.

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Indianapolis Indians �6, �Pawtucket Red Sox �5 �(11 innings) (box)

It took 11 innings and a throw into the dugout, but the Tribe opened a 4-game series against the Pawtucket Red Sox with a win at Victory Field tonight.

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And the best part, at least for Pirates' fans, is the news that came down after the game: �pitcher Brad Lincoln will be traveling to Washington, D.C. to make his major league debut with a start against the Nationals on Wednesday. �In addition, Lincoln will be going with a buddy -- outfielder Jose Tabata has also earned a promotion to the Pirates.

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Charlie Morton (photo here and above) was making his first rehab start with the Indians, and in fact his second start ever for the Tribe. �He had made one start in 2009, shortly after being traded from the Atlanta Braves to the Pirates' organization, but has been with the Pirates' club ever since.

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This start was not exactly all he could have hoped it would be. �Morton pitched a 1-2-3 top of the 1st, sandwiching a ground out between two strikeouts. �He went deep into counts, though, and it took him 16 pitches to get through the inning.

The Indians scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the 1st. �LF Jose Tabata worked a walk, and stole second (his 24th steal of the season) (photo). �After two fly outs, 3B Pedro Alvarez drove a double into the right-center gap, which rolled all the way to the wall and easily scored Tabata from second base.

Morton took the mound with a 1-0 lead to begin the second inning. � PawSox' 1B Lars Anderson dribbled a slow roller toward third base, then beat out 3B Pedro Alvarez's throw to first base. �DH Aaron Bates singled into right field, sending Anderson to third base. �RF Kevin Melillo's throw in from right field was off-target, and Bates was able to advance to second base on the error. �A strikeout and a fly out to short right field had the runners holding, but 3B Jorge Jimenez drove both of them in with a line drive into right field. �This time, Melillo's throw back in was on-target, and Jimenez was out as he tried to make it to second base, but the PawSox had taken a 2-1 lead.