The Pirates recalled top prospect Pedro Alvarez immediately following tonight's game. Alvarez is expected to make his major league debut tomorrow night at PNC Park.

I am not going to spend much time talking about Ron Cook’s article in this morning's Post-Gazette. There are plenty of misguided thoughts in the article, but I just wanted to make a single point.

As Neal Huntington tore down the Pirates’ major league roster over the past few years, I set my sights on 2011 as the year the team would “turn it around.” By 2012, I hoped we would be competing for the playoffs. Whether this team has a chance to accomplish any of that is debatable. In this upcoming series of articles, I will determine how close the Pirates are to achieving their goal.

The Altoona Curve have a scheduled day off today. �The State College Spikes are having a mini-camp this week, with the players in town and preparing to begin their season on Friday (June 18th). �Their tentative lineup is posted on the Rosters page.

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St. Lucie Mets �6, �Bradenton Marauders �5 (box)

A 7th-inning run by the Mets broke a 5-5 tie to give St. Lucie the win tonight. �With Mike Colla on the mound for Bradenton and one out, a single and a stolen base, then two more singles drove in the go-ahead run. �The Marauders put a runner on base in each of the 8th and 9th innings, with a single by SS Greg Picart and a walk to LF Quincy Latimore, but could not get either of them across to score.

The Marauders scored 3 runs in the 2nd inning to get things started. �Singles by Latimore and 1B Calvin Anderson plus a walk to CF Austin McClune loaded the bases with no outs. �All three had to stay put when DH Andrew Walker struck out and 2B Adenson Chourio flied out to short left field. �Then Picart grounded to short, and instead of ending the inning, a throwing error left Picart safe on first, and allowed Latimore and Anderson to score. �Picart and McClune pulled off a double steal, with McClune stealing home. �Picart reached third base when the Mets' catcher made a missed catch error, but he was left there.

St. Lucie took the lead with 2 runs in the 4th and 3 more in the 5th. �Aaron Pribanic worked around a missed catch error by 1B Anderson in the 1st, and singles in the 2nd and 3rd innings. �In the 4th, he gave up a double, a wild pitch, an RBI ground out, and another double and an RBI single to give the Mets 2 runs. �They went ahead in the 5th, when Pribanic gave up a double, two walks, and a single. �Mike Colla came on in relief and gave up another single, which brought in one more run (charged to Pribanic), though RF Robbie Grossman's throw in from right field to third base got the runner out to end the inning.

The Marauders came back to tie the game in the 6th. �Latimore worked a walk, and went to third on Anderson's single. �McClune's sacrifice fly brought in Latimore. �Walker also walked, and Chourio singled, driving in Anderson. �A fielding error put Picart on to load the bases, but a grounder force out ended the inning.

Tyler Cox struck out the side in the bottom of the 8th for the Marauders. �The Marauders posted 8 hits, all singles. �Latimore had 2 of the hits and Anderson had 3 hits.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre �8, � �Indianapolis Indians �6 (box)

Seven runs on 11 hits in the first four innings put the Indians in a big hole tonight at PNC Field in Scranton, PA, and though they tried mightily, they could not climb back out.

Starter Mike Crotta (photo) was hit hard by the Yankees, and did not make it out of the 4th inning. �The Yankees scored in each of the first four innings, as they piled up those 11 hits and took advantage of an Indians' error. �Crotta started the bottom of the 1st with a ground out, then gave up a single to LF Colin Curtis which slipped through the left side of the infield past the shifted-over SS Doug Bernier. Curtis was off and running on the next batter, SS Eduardo Nunez, as he took a double into left field, and Curtis was able to come around to score. �1B Juan Miranda struck out on three pitches, but Nunez stole third base, and then scored on 3B Jorge Vasquez's line drive single into left field. �C Jesus Montero doubled, bringing in Montero, before DH David Winfree struck out to end the rally. �Crotta had thrown 23 pitches to get through the inning, and the Yankees had a 3-0 lead.

They came right back at Crotta in the 2nd inning. �With one out, CF Greg Golson doubled into the left field corner, and moved to third on a ground out by RF Reid Gorecki. �Curtis grounded to 1B Jeff Clement, moving to his right to make the play. �But when Clement flipped the ball to Crotta covering first base, the throw was low and skipped past Crotta. �Instead of the inning being over, Golson scored on the hit and RBI, and Curtis advanced to second base on the throwing error. �A ground out ended the inning, with the Yankees adding the one run, 4-0. �The inning took Crotta another 23 pitches.

It didn't get any better in the 3rd inning. �Miranda began the inning with a double off the center field wall, and Jorge Vasquez followed with a home run over the left field wall. �Montero singled through the hole at short, past Doug Bernier, for a single after the homer. �Then Crotta got some better breaks -- a strikeout by Winfree, a grounder off Crotta's glove that 2B Jim Negrych (photo) saved from going into center field. �Negrych made a dive behind second base, then recovered in time to flip the ball back over his shoulder to Bernier covering second for the force out. �Bernier's throw on to first base was high, but it was not in time to get Reegie Corona. �A ground out ended the inning, and that took Crotta 18 pitches -- the pitch count was climbing quickly, and the Yankees led 6-0.

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Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees �3, �Indianapolis Indians �1 (box)

Tribe pitcher Charlie Morton (photo) made his second rehab start with the Indianapolis Indians this afternoon at PNC Field in Scranton, PA, and despite being charged with the loss, Morton had a better outing than he had last week. �Morton pitched 6 innings and allowed 3 runs on 7 hits and a walk, while striking out 6 batters. �Back on Tuesday, Morton had not made it through the 4th inning and had given up 5 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits and 2 walks, with 3 strikeouts. �Opposing batters hit .353 against Morton last week, but hit .292 against him today. �Not wonderful, not great, but at least better.

What was even more telling, though, was that after Morton allowed 3 runs on 6 hits in the first three innings, Morton settled down. �Over the last three innings he pitched today, Morton gave up just one hit, a single to Yankees' SS Eduardo Nunez in the 5th. �Nunez stole second base, but was left there when Morton finished the inning with a ground out. �Morton retired the Yankees in order in the 4th and the 6th, and he struck out 4 batters in those last three innings.

That does mean that Morton had trouble in the first three innings. �In fact, the first four batters he faced in the bottom of the 1st, all singled, and all made good solid contact with Morton's pitches. �RF Reid Gorecki singled up the middle, and DH Colin Curtis slipped a grounder into right field, moving Gorecki to third base. �Gorecki scored on Nunez's single into left field, and 1B Juan Miranda's single loaded the bases. �After a quick visit by pitching coach Dean Treanor, Morton got 3B Jorge Vasquez to bounce into a 6-4-3 double play, started by SS Argenis Diaz, to 2B Jim Negrych, and on to 1B Jeff Clement, who was pulled a little to the infield side of the bag by Negrych's throw, but still was able to tag Vasquez as he ran past. �Curtis scored from third on the play. �Morton struck out C Jesus Montero to end the inning.

Morton had a little momentum from the double play and the strikeout, and he retired the Yankees in order in the 2nd, aided by an impressive catch by Jim Negrych on a short soft liner by CF Greg Golson. �Negrych had to go behind him and to his right to make the play.

The Indians had managed only one hit over the first two innings. �Jeff Clement smacked a double over the head of LF David Winfree, who did not judge the wind and the ball very well, and then couldn't readjust fast enough. �The top of the 3rd began with a single into center field by RF Brandon Jones. Argenis Diaz (photo) hit a fly ball into right field, which Yankees' RF Reid Gorecki let bounce just in front of him, making the catch on a very short hop, about at the level of his ankles. �Jones had had to hold up because he thought Gorecki might be able to catch the ball, and then when the catch was made after the bounce, Jones had to race to second. �Gorecki was expecting it, and was easily able to fire to second base to force out Jones. �Diaz was safe at first, and he moved to second base on a wild pitch from Yankees' starter Tim Redding. �LF Kevin Melillo first slugged a long ball down the right field line which curved foul at the last moment, missing a home run by only about 10 feet. �Melillo eventually�flied out, and Diaz tagged up and advanced to third base. �Then Jim Negrych collected his first AAA hit and his first AAA RBI with a double off the wall in left field, scoring Diaz, and cutting the Yankees' lead to 2-1.

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The Bradenton Marauders and the Florida State League had a scheduled day off today, after yesterday's All-Star Game. �The West Virginia Power also had a scheduled day off. � That leaves just the Curve...

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Altoona Curve �6, �New Britain Rock Cats �5 (box)

The Curve broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the 8th inning, then had to hold off a Rock Cats' rally in the 9th to preserve the win.

The Rock Cats' began the scoring with a run on a single, a ground out, a stolen base, and an RBI ground out in the 1st inning. �The Curve answered with 2 runs in the bottom of the inning. �RF Miles Durham led off with a walk, and LF Anthony Norman lined a single into right field. �SS Chase d'Arnaud dropped down what he thought would be a sacrifice bunt, but he beat the throw, claiming a hit to load the bases with no outs. �A wild pitch scored Durham from third base, and moved both Norman and d'Arnaud up a base. �Then a grounder to short allowed Norman to score, and the Curve were ahead, 2-1.

They repeated the same run pattern in the 4th inning. �The Rock Cats scored one run in the top of the inning, on a double, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly. �Then the Curve came back with 2 runs in the bottom of the frame. �This time it was 2B Jordy Mercer who led off with a walk, and he scored on C Kris Watts' double. �Watts moved to third base on a ground out, and he scored on Durham's single up the middle.

Curve starter Justin Wilson kept the Rock Cats from scoring in the 5th, but gave up another 2 runs in the 6th. �A lead-off single, plus back-to-back doubles brought in the 2 runs, tying the score at 4-4. �Wilson exited after that inning, allowing the 4 runs on 10 hits, no walks, with 2 strikeouts. �He left the game with the score tied, so was not going to factor into the decision.

Mike Dubee pitched a perfect 7th inning, preserving the tie. �He gave up a single in the 8th, and after a bunt and a throwing error by SS d'Arnaud, the Rock Cats had runners on the corners with two outs. �Dubee was relieved by Danny Moskos, who finished the inning with a ground out, preserving the tie.

The Curve couldn't get much going in the 6th or 7th inning, but they broke the tie in the 8th. �CF Gorkys Hernandez opened the inning with a single, and 3B Josh Harrison beat out a bunt for another single. �1B Matt Hague bounced into a 6-4-3 double play, which erased Harrison, but let Hernandez move to third base. �Mercer's double easily brought Hernandez in from third to take the lead. �After a pitching change, Watts lined a single into center field, and Mercer also scored, to give the Curve an insurance run they would need.

Moskos came back out to pitch the 9th inning. �He began the inning by giving up a single and a walk. �A double play put the lead runner on third with two outs, and a single drove that runner across the plate. �But Moskos held on to get a ground out, ending the game and giving the Curve the win. �Moskos earned his second win of the season. �Hernandez, Mercer, Watts, and Norman all had 2 hits in the game (the Curve had a total of 11 hits), and Watts also contributed 2 RBI.

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Mr. Perfecto Armando Galarraga was sharp and so was Jeff Karstens. It came down to the bullpens in the end and the Pirates relief corp faltered.

Seven straight losses. Last place. Help!

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees �3, �Indianapolis Indians �2 (box)

The Yankees held the Indians to just 3 hits tonight at PNC Field in Scranton, PA, �snapping the Indians' 5-game winning streak. �Pitchers ruled the game, as six hurlers combined for a total of 26 strikeouts.

After the Indians went down in order in the top of the 1st (two strikeouts), Scranton got the scoring started in the bottom of the frame. �With two outs, Tribe starter Brian Burres (photo) gave up back-to-back singles to SS Eduardo Nunez and DH Jesus Montero. �He hit 1B David Winfree with a pitch to load the bases. �C Rene Rivera drove a liner into left field, scoring both Nunez and Montero, before Burres ended the inning with a strikeout.

The Indians got the runs right back in the top of the 2nd inning. �3B Pedro Alvarez worked the count full, then smashed a solo home run over the right-center field wall. �1B Jeff Clement made it back-to-back homers with a blast over the center field wall on a 0-1 pitch, to tie the score. �Yankees' starter Dustin Moseley responded by striking out the next three batters, CF Jonathan Van Every, C Erik Kratz, and 2B Doug Bernier, to end the inning.

Keeping in the home run theme, Yankees' CF Greg Golson added his own solo homer, with one out in the 2nd inning, giving the lead back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

And that was the end of the scoring.

Brian Burres struck out two batters in the 2nd, around that home run. �He gave up singles in the 3rd and 5th, and hit a batter (Nunez) in the 3rd. �He also struck out four batters over the 3rd - 5th innings, plus one more to begin the 6th inning. �With two outs in the 6th, Burres gave up a double to 2B Reegie Corona. �That ended his evening, and he was relieved by Anthony Claggett. Burres had thrown 105 pitches, 70 of them strikes, and gave up 3 runs on 7 hits, no walks, with 8 strikeouts.

New Britain Rock Cats �8, � �Altoona Curve �7 (box)

A 9th inning rally by the Curve came up short, as the Curve fell to the Rock Cats on Saturday. �The final inning was a wild one, and by the time it was done, the two teams had combined for 30 hits -- 18 by the Rock Cats and 12 by the Curve.

Curve starter Jared Hughes gave up 6 runs on 12 hits over 4.2 innings and suffered the loss, giving him an 8-3 record for the season. �The Rock Cats scored their first run in the top of the 1st, on a lead-off double, a sacrifice bunt, and an RBI single. �The Curve came right back at them, tying the game in the bottom of the frame. �SS Chase d'Arnaud tripled, then scored on 3B Josh Harrison's sacrifice fly.

New Britain kept going against Hughes. �Two singles and two grounders brought in a run in the 2nd inning, to give New Britain a 2-1 lead. �Hughes gave up a lead-off single in both the 3rd and 4th innings, and both times a double play erased the runner. �He was not so lucky in the 5th inning. �A double and a single complicated by a throwing error by 2B Jordy Mercer brought in a run. �A wild pitch moved the second runner to third base, and he scored on a sacrifice fly. �A single and two doubles, plus a fielding error by LF Alex Presley brought in two more runs, and the score was 6-1. �Hughes was done for the evening, with Tony Watson coming on to finish the inning. �Watson went on to pitch 3 more scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits while striking out 3 batters.

After their run in the 1st inning, the Curve batters found the going tough. �They went down in order in three of the next four innings, though they did get back-to-back singles by 1B Matt Hague and Mercer with two outs in the 4th. �Both were left on base. �D'Arnaud doubled in the 6th inning, and reached as far as third base, but after CF Gorkys Hernandez walked, a double play and another ground out ended the inning. �Presley also had a single in the 7th and was also left on base.

Dustin Molleken took the mound for the Curve in the top of the 9th. �He gave up two singles, then a double, which brought in both of the base runners, to give New Britain an 8-1 lead. �The bottom of the 9th began with a pinch-hit appearance by James Skelton, who was just promoted from A+ Bradenton to fill the roster spot vacated by Jim Negrych when he was moved up to Indianapolis. �Skelton led off with a single. �He scored when another pinch-hitter, Anthony Norman, tripled on a liner into right field. �Norman scored on Mercer's double, and Mercer scored on C Hector Gimenez's single. �With the score bumped to 8-4, the Rock Cats brought on a new pitcher, who started by getting Presley to bounce into a double play. �But the Curve were not down yet. �RF Miles Durham doubled, and he came around to score on DH Shelby Ford's single. �A fielding error put d'Arnaud on first and Ford on second base. �Hernandez brought both of them in with the second triple of the inning, and the Curve were within one run of tying the game, at 8-7. �That was as far as they got, though, as Skelton struck out in his second at-bat in the inning.

Eight members of the Bradenton Marauders were initially named to the 2010 Florida State League South Division All-Star squad:

Pitchers Bryan Morris, Jeff Locke, Nate Adcock, and Noah Krol

Catcher Tony Sanchez

Infielders Brock Holt and Jeremy Farrell

Outfielder Quincy Latimore

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Morris has been promoted to AA Altoona, so he wasn't going to be able to play. �Sanchez and Holt are injured, so they are unavailable. �Nate Adcock was also unavailable and was replaced. �That leaves Locke, Krol, Farrell, and Latimore.

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South All-Stars 5, �North All-Stars 4 (box)

Quincy Latimore was the starting centerfielder for the visiting South team. �He got the game started with a single up the middle. �2B Josh Satin (St. Lucie) also singled, moving Latimore to second base. �A ground out by C Tony Cruz (Palm Beach) advanced both runners one base, and another ground out by 3B Henry Wrigley (Charlotte) brought in Latimore with the game's first run.

Jeff Locke pitched the bottom of the 2nd for the South. �He retired the North batters in order, on a pop out, a called strikeout, and a ground out.

The North took the lead in the 3rd, when they began the inning with three straight hits: �a double, and two singles, driving in one run. �A grounder force out by C Travis d'Arnaud (Altoona's Chase d'Arnaud's brother) brought in the second run of the inning, to give the North a 2-1 lead. �The South tied the game again in the 5th inning, when DH Xavier Scruggs (Palm Beach) led off with a solo home run over the right field wall.

Noah Krol pitched the bottom of the 6th inning. �He started with a ground out, then walked a batter. �That runner was quickly eliminated with a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

The North broke the tie in the 7th. �Two singles, a fielding error, a stolen base, and an intentional walk loaded the bases with one out. �A grounder to third looked like it was going to be an inning-ending double play, but a throwing error by the second baseman Satin allowed two runs to score, and the North led 4-2.

The South got the 2 runs right back in the top of the 8th, as Josh Satin redeemed himself with a 2-run homer following a lead-off single by LF Richard Racobaldo (Palm Beach). �With the score tied again, the South managed only a walk in the top of the 9th. �The North had a batter reach base in the bottom of the inning on a passed ball on strike three. �That batter was caught stealing moments later, and the game headed into extra innings.

Quincy Latimore led off the 10th by beating out an infield single to short. �Latimore stole second base, and scored on a single into right by Satin. �Two more singles loaded the bases with one out, but Scruggs bounced into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. �They had the slim lead, though, and all that remained was for reliever Zachary Quate (Charlotte) to zip through the bottom of the 10th, with two strikeouts and the game-ending ground out. �Quate earned a save, and 9th inning pitcher Josh Satow (Charlotte) was credited with the win.

Latimore had two of the South's 14 hits and scored two of the team's runs. �He also struck out twice, in the 3rd and the 6th innings. �C Stephen Vogt also had 2 hits, while both Josh Satin and Xavier Scruggs had 3 hits each for the South squad.

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