PIRATES PROSPECTSPITTSBURGH PIRATES MINOR LEAGUE NEWS, TRANSACTIONS, AND ARTICLES

Pirates' Brad Lincoln picked up another win in tournament play as Team USA broke a 4-4 tie with a big 7th inning and won the championship game in the 2009 Baseball World Cup Tournament. �Team USA lost the first game they played in the tournament, and then went on to win their next 14 straight games.

It was C Lucas May who got things going for the USA in the championship game. �With one out in the 2nd inning, DH Terry Tiffee (Phillies) singled into left center field, and RF Josh Kroeger (White Sox) reached base on a fielding error by the Cuban second baseman. �That brought up May, who blasted the first pitch he saw over the center field fence to give the USA a 3-0 lead. �

USA starter Cory Luebke (Padres) gave up two singles to Cuba in the first inning, but did not let them score. �He retired the next 7 batters in order, and had 5 strikeouts over those first 3 innings. �He got into trouble in the 4th inning, though, as Cuba opened the frame with 3 straight singles to load the bases. �A sacrifice fly brought in one run, and another single plated a second run, and Cuba had cut the lead to 3-2. �

2B Tug Hulett (Royals) got one of the runs back for Team USA with a solo home run in the 5th inning. �Luebke came back out to the mound in the bottom of the 5th, but after striking out the first batter of the inning, he was replaced by Brad Lincoln. �Lincoln quickly finished that inning, but then gave up a 2-run homer in the 6th, to tie the game at 4-4. �

The tie did not last long. �Team USA sent 11 batters to the plate in the top of the 7th, scoring 6 runs, and it all happened after 2 outs had been recorded on ground outs by Lucas May and Pirates' Pedro Alvarez. �Tug Hulett walked, and CF Buck Coats (Blue Jays) doubled, moving Hulett to third base. �SS Trevor Plouffe (Twins) should have been the third out of the inning, but an error by the Cuban first baseman put Plouffe on base and allowed Hulett to score (1 run). �Then 5 consecutive RBI singles brought in the next 5 runs: �1B Justin Smoak's (Rangers) single scored Coats; Jon Weber's (Rays) single scored Plouffe; Tiffee's single scored Smoak; Josh Kroeger's single scored Weber; and Lucas May's single scored Tiffee. �The inning ended when Pedro Alvarez fouled out to the third baseman, but the USA had a 10-4 lead. �

Brad Lincoln retired the side in order in the 7th inning and gave up a solo home run in the 8th. In the 9th, Lincoln got two outs and allowed two singles and a walk, loading the bases. �He was relieved by Nate Field (Marlins), who ended the game and the tournament with a fly out. �

Pedro Alvarez went 0-for-4 at the plate, with 2 strikeouts in this final game. �Overall, Alvarez hit .259 (14-for-54) in the tournament, and played in all 15 of Team USA's games. �He had 2 doubles, 5 home runs, and 12 RBI, wit 7 walks. �He also led the team in strikeouts with 19. �He made 3 errors in the field. �

Brad Lincoln finished the tournament with a 2.70 ERA over 23.1 innings of work. �He gave up 23 hits and 6 walks, and allowed 7 runs (all earned). �Lincoln struck out 12 batters and opponents hit .261 against him. �

Justin Smoak was named the MVP of the tournament. �He hit a total of 9 home run and gave Team USA 22 RBI, appearing in 14 of the team's 15 games. �His slugging percentage in the tournament was .818. �Smoak, Terry Tiffee, and Jon Weber were all named to the All-Tournament Team. �Todd Redmond (Braves) was honored for best winning percentage. �

USA starter Todd Redmond pitched into the 9th inning and held Puerto Rico to just 4 hits and a walk, while striking out 4 batters. �CF Buck Coats (Blue Jays) went 3-for-3 for Team USA, and the three outfielders -- Coats, RF Ike Davis (Mets), and LF Jon Weber (Rays) -- all hit solo homers, accounting for the USA's 3 runs.

Two of the hits Redmond allowed, in the 1st and in the 4th, were quickly erased by double plays. �From the 4th through the 7th innings, Redmond retired 11 of Puerto Rico's batters in order. �Then in the 8th, Redmond got the first out, then allowed a fourth single. �That put him at 91 pitches (69 strikes), and that was the end of his night. �Former Indy Indian Jason Childers (Rays) relieved Redmond, and ended the inning with a strikeout and a fly out. �

The USA batters recorded a total of 8 hits, and worked 5 walks, but left 8 runners on base. �They got onto the scoreboard in the 2nd inning on Ike Davis's home run to right center. �Three walks followed the home run, but two strikeouts ended the inning. �The USA went down in order in the 3rd and 4th. �Then in the 5th with one out, Coats blasted his homer over the right field wall. �

Both Jon Weber and 3B Pedro Alvarez�singled in the 6th inning. �Weber had advanced to second on a ground out, and tried to score on Alvarez's 2-out single, but the throw in from right field was on-target and Weber was out at the plate, ending the inning. �Weber did score on his own home run in the 8th inning. �

Pirate farmhand RJ Rodriguez came on to pitch for Puerto Rico in the 9th inning. �Rodriguez gave up a 2-out walk to Buck Coats, then threw two wild pitches, allowing Coats to move to third base. �The inning ended with Coats still on third, when Rodriguez struck out SS Trevor Plouffe (Twins) to end the inning. �

Team USA remains on top in Pool 2 standings with a 5-0 record. �Canada is second in Pool 2 (3-2). �Cuba leads Pool 1 with a 4-1 record, and the Netherlands is second (3-2). �

In other games:

Team Canada scored 4 runs in the 2nd inning, sparked by 2B Brett Lawrie's triple. �Homers by LF Adam Loewen and 3B Shawn Bowman, and a triple by RF Rene Tosoni added to Canada's runs. � Venezuela's only scoring came in the 7th inning on a 2-run homer by RF Rene Reyes. �Pirates' farmhand Dustin Molleken�did not get to pitch for Canada in the game. �

The starting pitchers dominated for the first 5.5 innings. �Australia's Liam Hendriks scattered 2 hits, no walks, over 6 scoreless innings, while Netherlands' tom Stuifbergen held the Aussies to 2 hits over 5 innings. �

Australia broke through in the bottom of the 6th. �Former Indy Indian LF Chris Snelling�started the inning with a walk off reliever David Bergman, and 3B Luke Hughes homered, to give Australia a 2-0 lead. �

Another former Pirates' farmhand, Paul Mildren, took the mound for Australia to begin the 7th inning, but faced only one batter and gave up a single to another former Pirate, 1B Randall Simon. �Mildren was replaced by Brendan Wise, who gave up a walk, then got a strikeout, before he was in turn replaced by Adam Bright. �A fielder's choice and a throwing error allowed Simon to score, cutting Australia's lead in half. �

The Netherlands scored again in the 8th, on a walk and singles by former Pirate farmhand 3B Yurendell de Caster and Randall Simon (RBI), to tie the score at 2-2. �Australia broke the tie in the 8th. �Two throwing errors on one play allowed 2B Brad Harman to reach third base, and he scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. �Chris Snelling walked for the third time in the game, and a home run by Luke Hughes gave Australia two insurance runs. ���

I'll be away for a few days, but I'll catch up with the finals!