PIRATES PROSPECTSPITTSBURGH PIRATES MINOR LEAGUE NEWS, TRANSACTIONS, AND ARTICLES

Three Curve batters, 3B Pedro Alvarez, CF Gorkys Hernandez, and C Steve Lerud, each had 3 hits and contributed to a 6-run 4th inning to lead the Curve to a win of the series opener. �The Curve got the scoring started with a run in the 1st inning, on singles by Hernandez and Alvarez, and a sacrifice fly by 1B Miles Durham. �Durham hit another sacrifice fly in the 3rd inning, after singles by 2B Shelby Ford and Alvarez, to give the Curve a 2-0 lead.

Then the Curve blasted the game wide open with a 6-run 4th, as the sent 11 batters to the plate. �Five straight singles, by DH Jason Delaney, Steve Lerud, LF Jeff Corsaletti, Hernandez, and Ford,�began the inning, bringing in 3 runs. �Alvarez walked, and Durham picked up his third RBI (without getting a hit) on a fielder's choice. �With the bases loaded, a wild pitch scored Ford. �SS �Brian Friday was hit by a pitch to load the bases again, still with no outs. �Delaney brought in Alvarez with a sacrifice fly, and two strikeouts ended the inning, and the Curve were ahead 8-0. They made it 10-0 in the 5th, when Corsaletti led off with a walk, Hernandez singled, and Pedro Alvarez hit a 2-RBI double.

The Curve had runners on base in each of the last 3 innings, including bases loaded in the 8th on singles by just-promoted pinch hitter Eddie Prasch and Steve Lerud, plus another walk to Corsaletti. �But a double play ended the inning without a run scoring.

Starter Mike Crotta earned his 6th win of the season with 5.2 innings of work. �He gave up a lone hit in each of the first 4 innings and a walk in the 5th, but left all those runners stranded. He gave up two unearned runs in the 6th, on two singles, two fielding errors, and a sacrifice fly. �Derek Hankins relieved Crotta to finish the 6th, then gave up a run in the 8th on a double and a single, but still earned his first Save of the season. �

Pedro Alvarez has 7 hits in 9 at-bats over his last 2 games. �He's hitting .429 for August and .331 overall for Altoona. �

For the second time in a week, Hillcats' starter Justin Wilson and Kinston starter Paolo Espino faced off in a pitching duel. �The two kept the other's batters scoreless for 5 innings. �Wilson scattered 3 singles and 2 walks over those innings. �Espino gave up singles to DH Jamie Romak, CF Alex Presley, 3B Josh Harrison, and SS Jordy Mercer, then doubles to 1B Matt Hague and 2B�Chase d'Arnaud. �The Hillcats loaded the bases in the 5th inning, with d'Arnaud's double, Harrison hit by a pitch, and a walk to Romak, but they were not able to score. �

Wilson began the 6th inning by walking the lead-off batter, and he was relieved by Moises Robles. �Then Kinston broke the tie with 4 runs, on a single, a walk, a 2-RBI single, and a 2-RBI double. �Tom Boleska pitched the last 3 innings for the Hillcats. �He gave up a single in each of the 7th and 8th, but a double play and a series of grounder force outs kept Kinston from scoring. �Kinston scored one more run in the 9th, with a single and a disputed stolen base, resulting in the ejection of Lynchburg pitching coach Wally Whitehurst. �A throwing error by Jordy Mercer let that runner score from second base. �

The Hillcats finally got onto the scoreboard in the 8th inning. �Matt Hague singled, advanced to second base on a fielding error, moved to third on a ground out, and scored on C Eric Fryer's RBI ground out. �They added one more run in the 9th, on singles by Chase d'Arnaud and Josh Harrison, then a sacrifice fly by Jordy Mercer. �

RF Erik Huber was hit in the head by a pitch in the 6th inning and had to leave the game. �No further word about his condition. �Jamie Romak returned to the lineup after being on the Disabled List with a broken finger. �Bryan Morris, who had been suspended by the Pirates for "unprofessional behavior", returns to action tonight. � He told Chris Lang of the Lynchburg News & Advance that he just wants to "get back out there and put this in the rearview mirror."

3B Bobby Spain led the Power offense with 3 hits and 2 RBI, as a 5-run 7th inning sealed the deal for the Power. �Hickory had scored first, with a solo homer in the 3rd inning, and 2 runs in the 4th on a walk, a single, a wild pitch by starter Brian Leach, and an RBI single. �Leach pitched 5.2 innings and allowed those 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks, with 6 strikeouts. �Noah Krol relieved Leach to finish the 6th inning, with a walk and a strikeout, but because of the way the Power scored their runs, Krol was the pitcher of record and was credited with the win. �Duke Welker earned his second Save with 3 scoreless innings (one hit, 2 strikeouts) to finish up.

The Power got one run back in the top of the 6th. �CF Starling Marte led off with a single, stole second and moved to third on a throwing error by the Hickory catcher. �He scored on Bobby Spain's RBI single. �The Power exploded for 5 runs in the 7th inning. �SS Greg Picart opened the frame with a single, but he was out at second on a force play from LF Robbie Grossman. �Another force attempt was disrupted by a fielding error, and DH Quincy Latimore reached base. �1B Kyle Morgan's double scored Grossman, and Marte's single and a throwing error scored Latimore and Morgan. �2B Danny Bomback tripled, bringing in Marte, and Spain's third single plated Bomback, giving the Power a 6-3 win. �

The Spikes scored in each of their last 4 at-bats to come from behind and beat the Oneonta Tigers. �Tyler Cox pitched 6 innings for the Spikes and had trouble with the Tigers in only one of them. �In the 4th, he gave up three doubles and a single to give the Tigers 4 runs. �Cox also struck out 8 batters. �Victor Black shut down the Tigers in the late innings, pitching 3 scoreless frames and allowing only one hit, while striking out 3 batters. �

Spikes' batters were quiet in the first 4 innings, collecting only a single and a walk. �They broke out in the 5th with 4 runs of their own to tie the game at 4-4. �1B Justin Byler, C Craig Parry, and SS Brock Holt all doubled, and LF Butch Biela and CF Evan Chambers singled, to drive in the runs. �Holt kept it going in the 6th inning with a 2-run homer after 3B Andy Vasquez's walk. �They got some unintentional help from the Tigers' pitcher to score again in the 7th inning. �DH Aaron Baker and RF�David Rubinstein both singled, and two wild pitches by the Tigers' pitcher let Baker score. �The Spikes added their last 2 runs in the 8th with more assistance from the Tigers' pitching staff. �Parry doubled, went to third on another wild pitch (different pitcher), and scored on Holt's sacrifice fly. �2B Ty Summerlin singled and moved to second and then to third on two balks. �He scored on another wild pitch. �

An ugly first inning gave the Clippers a 4-run lead, and that was all they would need to beat the Indians and rehabbing starter Phil Dumatrait (photo)�at Victory Field this evening. �Clippers' starter Carlos Carrasco earned his 9th win of the season, generally dominating the Indians' batters, striking out 10 along the way.

The top of the 1st inning began ominously. �Columbus lead-off batter CF Michael Brantley grounded to third, where 3B Neil Walker made an excellent fielding effort (photo below), came up throwing, and got the ball across the infield to first in plenty of time. �But 1B Jeff Clement dropped the ball for a missed catch error, and Brantley was safe at first. �

It went downhill from there. �SS Jesus Merchan ripped a triple into the right field corner, scoring Brantley with an unearned run. �DH Tony Graffanino's sacrifice fly brought in Merchan (that run was earned). �1B Matt LaPorta hit a long fly ball to the warning track in straight-away center field, not missing a home run by much. �It would have been an extra-base hit, except for CF Chris Barnwell and his leaping back-handed catch at the wall for the second out. �Three consecutive hits, a double by 3B Wes Hodges, a single by C Lou Marson, and a double by RF Stephen Head, plated two more unearned runs. �Head's double was initially called a triple. �He crushed it down the right field line, and RF Tagg Bozied had trouble picking the ball up, so it was ruled a double and a fielding error by Bozied. �Finally, Dumatrait struck out LF Mickey Hall to end the inning. �

That first inning took Dumatrait 30 pitches, nearly a third of the planned "95 pitches or 6 innings" limit for his second rehab start with the Indians. �After that inning, though, Dumatrait settled in and shut the Clippers down. �He faced only one batter over the minimum through the next three innings. �

That one batter, Wes Hodges slapped a sharp come-backer right at Dumatrait, which went off his leg and over toward third base. �Dumatrait chased down the ball right away, but he was off-balance and rushed as he tried to throw to first instead of just holding on to it. �Hodges stumbled as he reached the first base bag, and that kept him from advancing to second base on the wild throw, and prevented Dumatrait from being charged with an error. �

[Photo: �Starters Virgil Vasquez and Daniel McCutchen]

The Clippers managed to touch Dumatrait for only a walk and a single over the next two innings. �He did finish 6 innings, throwing 97 pitches (61 walks). �He was charged with the loss, allowing the 4 runs (one earned) on one walk and 6 hits, with 4 strikeouts. �

Jason Davis took over for Dumatrait for the last 3 innings, and he also kept the Clippers from scoring again. �Davis retired the first 4 batters he faced. �He gave up a one-out single to Matt LaPorta in the 8th, but LaPorta's base running blunder got Davis out of that situation. �With a 1-2 count on the next batter, Wes Hodges, LaPorta took off running when Hodges lifted a fly into left field. �LF Brian Myrow made a rather routine catch of the fly, but noticed that LaPorta had already rounded second and had started for third base. �Myrow's throw, relayed by 2B Brian Bixler, easily reached first base before LaPorta did, for the inning-ending double play. �

[Photo: �Neil Walker and Brian Bixler (on the bench) and Larry Broadway (in front)]

Another double play got Davis out of a jam in the 9th. �Lou Marson led off with his third single of the night, a grounder up the middle. �Stephen Head followed with a single into right field, and Marson's aggressive base running got him to third base on the play -- runners on the corners with no outs. �

Mickey Hall smashed a line drive, but right to SS Argenis Diaz, who alertly fired over to third base, hoping to double up Marson, who had started about a quarter of the way down the third base line toward home. �Neil Walker had to look toward Diaz to take the throw, and reach for the third base bag with his foot as Marson scrambled back to the bag. �Marson was called safe -- the throw was in time, but Walker's foot had just missed the bag, and the Indians missed the double play. �They got another chance at the twin-killing, though. �2B Niuman Romero grounded to Diaz at short, and he began the 6-4-3 (Diaz to Bixler to Clement) double play to end the inning without a run scoring. �

[Photo: �Larry Broadway and Erik Kratz]

Carlos Carrasco was having no trouble with the Indians' batters. �He allowed just one run o n 4 hits over his 8 innings of work, while sending 10 batters back to the dugout without hitting a thing. �Carrasco retired the first 6 Indians in order. �C Erik Kratz led off the 3rd inning with his 22nd double of the season, down to the left field corner. �He advanced to third base on a ground out by Argenis Diaz, but could go no further. �After Kratz, the next 9 Tribe batters also went down in order. �

Then Diaz singled with one out in the 6th, taking a line drive into right-center field. �A wild pitch moved him up to second base, and Brian Bixler's (photo) ground-rule double, which got lost in the Clippers' bullpen, brought Diaz home to break the shut-out. �

Neil Walker had the last hit against Carrasco. �With two outs in the 7th, Walker took a line drive into left field. �He did not hesitate or even think about slowing up as he approached first base, but rounded and headed for second base. �Unfortunately, Clippers' LF Mickey Hall saw what Walker was trying to do, and his throw in got to second just barely before Walker did, and he was tagged out. �

The Tribe made one last effort in the bottom of the 9th, though the rally fell short. �With one out, DH Hector Gimenez doubled into center field. �Brian Myrow grounded to deep behind second base. �SS Jesus Merchan made the dive and the spectacular stop of the ball, but the dive put him in an awkward position for the throw to first base. �Myrow beat it out, and the Tribe had runners on first and third. �A wild pitch by reliever Greg Aquino bounced all the way to the backstop, giving Gimenez plenty of time to score from third base, and moving Myrow to second. �Jeff Clement flied out, and Tagg Bozied walked, giving the Indians two on and two out, with the winning run at the plate in the person of Neil Walker. �Walker took a called strike, then fouled off the next pitch. �Then he took a pitch that looked a little high -- and was called out, ending the game, as the umpire thought it was just fine. �

�� � � � � � � � ��

The loss marked the 7th time this season that the Indians lost the game that would have potentially allowed them to reach the .500 mark. �

Brian Bixler's double in the 6th extended his hitting streak to 13 games, and his on-base streak to 21 games. �Erik Kratz lengthened his hitting streak to 6 games.

Indians' Hitting Gems of the Game: �Doubles by Brian Bixler, to bring in Argenis Diaz with the Indians' first run, ending the shut-out bid, and by Hector Gimenez (photo), to get the 9th inning rally started.

Indians' Defensive Gems of the Game: �Argenis Diaz was a vacuum at shortstop, scooping up any ball that came anywhere near him. �He went to his right, to his left, behind the second base bag, into the hole, forward onto the grass, and back into short left field. �He made 8 plays, making them look almost easy, and then he started the double play that ended the top of the 9th inning. �

Jeff Clement.............Daniel McCutchen gets some tips from Bill Gentry

NOTES:�

RHP Eric Hacker (photo) has been named the International League's Pitcher of the Week for August 3-9th. �Hacker made 2 starts for the Tribe last week, winning both. �On Monday in Durham, Hacker pitched 6 innings and allowed 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks, with 7 strikeouts. �On Saturday at home against Charlotte, he went 7 innings (tying his longest outing of the season), and allowed one run on 5 hits, with 2 walks and 7 strikeouts. �His ERA over those two games is 2.08. �Hacker has a 5-3 record in 15 starts for the Indians, with a 3.20 ERA. �In 84 innings, he's allowed 89 hits, 33 runs (30 earned), 31 walks, and struck out 56.

Jim Massie of the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch has an article about manager Frank Kremblas. �

Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette talked to Neil Walker about his future with the Pirates. �While Walker makes it clear that he "would do anything for the greater good of the Pirates' organization", he feels that he and Brian Bixler, both of the 2004 draft class, are not being treated the same way as more recent top draft picks.

Don't forget to check out the auction of the game-worn jerseys the Tribe players wore on July 25th. �They are Pirates'-style, black with a Pirate face on the front, and they players' name and number on the back.

And, if you are one of those who expressed interest in a t-shirt with Andrew McCutchen's photo on it, those are available at CafePress.

Go Tribe!

[Photos by Nancy Zinni -- MVN]

An ugly first inning gave the Clippers a 4-run lead, and that was all they would need to beat the Indians and rehabbing starter Phil Dumatrait (photo)�at Victory Field this evening. �Clippers' starter Carlos Carrasco earned his 9th win of the season, generally dominating the Indians' batters, striking out 10 along the way.

The top of the 1st inning began ominously. �Columbus lead-off batter CF Michael Brantley grounded to third, where 3B Neil Walker made an excellent fielding effort (photo below), came up throwing, and got the ball across the infield to first in plenty of time. �But 1B Jeff Clement dropped the ball for a missed catch error, and Brantley was safe at first. �

It went downhill from there. �SS Jesus Merchan ripped a triple into the right field corner, scoring Brantley with an unearned run. �DH Tony Graffanino's sacrifice fly brought in Merchan (that run was earned). �1B Matt LaPorta hit a long fly ball to the warning track in straight-away center field, not missing a home run by much. �It would have been an extra-base hit, except for CF Chris Barnwell and his leaping back-handed catch at the wall for the second out. �Three consecutive hits, a double by 3B Wes Hodges, a single by C Lou Marson, and a double by RF Stephen Head, plated two more unearned runs. �Head's double was initially called a triple. �He crushed it down the right field line, and RF Tagg Bozied had trouble picking the ball up, so it was ruled a double and a fielding error by Bozied. �Finally, Dumatrait struck out LF Mickey Hall to end the inning. �

That first inning took Dumatrait 30 pitches, nearly a third of the planned "95 pitches or 6 innings" limit for his second rehab start with the Indians. �After that inning, though, Dumatrait settled in and shut the Clippers down. �He faced only one batter over the minimum through the next three innings. �

That one batter, Wes Hodges slapped a sharp come-backer right at Dumatrait, which went off his leg and over toward third base. �Dumatrait chased down the ball right away, but he was off-balance and rushed as he tried to throw to first instead of just holding on to it. �Hodges stumbled as he reached the first base bag, and that kept him from advancing to second base on the wild throw, and prevented Dumatrait from being charged with an error. �

[Photo: �Starters Virgil Vasquez and Daniel McCutchen]

The Clippers managed to touch Dumatrait for only a walk and a single over the next two innings. �He did finish 6 innings, throwing 97 pitches (61 walks). �He was charged with the loss, allowing the 4 runs (one earned) on one walk and 6 hits, with 4 strikeouts. �

Jason Davis took over for Dumatrait for the last 3 innings, and he also kept the Clippers from scoring again. �Davis retired the first 4 batters he faced. �He gave up a one-out single to Matt LaPorta in the 8th, but LaPorta's base running blunder got Davis out of that situation. �With a 1-2 count on the next batter, Wes Hodges, LaPorta took off running when Hodges lifted a fly into left field. �LF Brian Myrow made a rather routine catch of the fly, but noticed that LaPorta had already rounded second and had started for third base. �Myrow's throw, relayed by 2B Brian Bixler, easily reached first base before LaPorta did, for the inning-ending double play. �

[Photo: �Neil Walker and Brian Bixler (on the bench) and Larry Broadway (in front)]

Another double play got Davis out of a jam in the 9th. �Lou Marson led off with his third single of the night, a grounder up the middle. �Stephen Head followed with a single into right field, and Marson's aggressive base running got him to third base on the play -- runners on the corners with no outs. �

Mickey Hall smashed a line drive, but right to SS Argenis Diaz, who alertly fired over to third base, hoping to double up Marson, who had started about a quarter of the way down the third base line toward home. �Neil Walker had to look toward Diaz to take the throw, and reach for the third base bag with his foot as Marson scrambled back to the bag. �Marson was called safe -- the throw was in time, but Walker's foot had just missed the bag, and the Indians missed the double play. �They got another chance at the twin-killing, though. �2B Niuman Romero grounded to Diaz at short, and he began the 6-4-3 (Diaz to Bixler to Clement) double play to end the inning without a run scoring. �

[Photo: �Larry Broadway and Erik Kratz]

Carlos Carrasco was having no trouble with the Indians' batt ers. �He allowed just one run o n 4 hits over his 8 innings of work, while sending 10 batters back to the dugout without hitting a thing. �Carrasco retired the first 6 Indians in order. �C Erik Kratz led off the 3rd inning with his 22nd double of the season, down to the left field corner. �He advanced to third base on a ground out by Argenis Diaz, but could go no further. �After Kratz, the next 9 Tribe batters also went down in order. �

Then Diaz singled with one out in the 6th, taking a line drive into right-center field. �A wild pitch moved him up to second base, and Brian Bixler's (photo) ground-rule double, which got lost in the Clippers' bullpen, brought Diaz home to break the shut-out. �

Neil Walker had the last hit against Carrasco. �With two outs in the 7th, Walker took a line drive into left field. �He did not hesitate or even think about slowing up as he approached first base, but rounded and headed for second base. �Unfortunately, Clippers' LF Mickey Hall saw what Walker was trying to do, and his throw in got to second just barely before Walker did, and he was tagged out. �

The Tribe made one last effort in the bottom of the 9th, though the rally fell short. �With one out, DH Hector Gimenez doubled into center field. �Brian Myrow grounded to deep behind second base. �SS Jesus Merchan made the dive and the spectacular stop of the ball, but the dive put him in an awkward position for the throw to first base. �Myrow beat it out, and the Tribe had runners on first and third. �A wild pitch by reliever Greg Aquino bounced all the way to the backstop, giving Gimenez plenty of time to score from third base, and moving Myrow to second. �Jeff Clement flied out, and Tagg Bozied walked, giving the Indians two on and two out, with the winning run at the plate in the person of Neil Walker. �Walker took a called strike, then fouled off the next pitch. �Then he took a pitch that looked a little high -- and was called out, ending the game, as the umpire thought it was just fine. �

�� � � � � � � � ��

The loss marked the 7th time this season that the Indians lost the game that would have potentially allowed them to reach the .500 mark. �

Brian Bixler's double in the 6th extended his hitting streak to 13 games, and his on-base streak to 21 games. �Erik Kratz lengthened his hitting streak to 6 games.

Indians' Hitting Gems of the Game: �Doubles by Brian Bixler, to bring in Argenis Diaz with the Indians' first run, ending the shut-out bid, and by Hector Gimenez (photo), to get the 9th inning rally started.

Indians' Defensive Gems of the Game: �Argenis Diaz was a vacuum at shortstop, scooping up any ball that came anywhere near him. �He went to his right, to his left, behind the second base bag, into the hole, forward onto the grass, and back into short left field. �He made 8 plays, making them look almost easy, and then he started the double play that ended the top of the 9th inning. �

Jeff Clement.............Daniel McCutchen gets some tips from Bill Gentry

NOTES:�

RHP Eric Hacker (photo) has been named the International League's Pitcher of the Week for August 3-9th. �Hacker made 2 starts for the Tribe last week, winning both. �On Monday in Durham, Hacker pitched 6 innings and allowed 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks, with 7 strikeouts. �On Saturday at home against Charlotte, he went 7 innings (tying his longest outing of the season), and allowed one run on 5 hits, with 2 walks and 7 strikeouts. �His ERA over those two games is 2.08. �Hacker has a 5-3 record in 15 starts for the Indians, with a 3.20 ERA. �In 84 innings, he's allowed 89 hits, 33 runs (30 earned), 31 walks, and struck out 56.

Jim Massie of the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch has an article about manager Frank Kremblas. �

Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette talked to Neil Walker about his future with the Pirates. �While Walker makes it clear that he "would do anything for the greater good of the Pirates' organization", he feels that he and Brian Bixler, both of the 2004 draft class, are not being treated the same way as more recent top draft picks.

Don't forget to check out the auction of the game-worn jerseys the Tribe players wore on July 25th. �They are Pirates'-style, black with a Pirate face on the front, and they players' name and number on the back.

And, if you are one of those who expressed interest in a t-shirt with Andrew McCutchen's photo on it, those are available at CafePress.

Go Tribe!

[Photos by Nancy Zinni -- MVN]

Daniel McCutchen (photo) added another tally to his bid to be added to the 40-man roster and brought up to the Pirates in another few weeks. �He pitched 7.2 scoreless innings tonight at Victory Field, earning his 11th win of the season with the Indians. �The 7.2 innings was his longest outing of the season, and it took him 105 pitches. �McCutchen admitted in an interview after the game that he had "made some mistakes-- I gave up seven hits." �But he carefully rationed out those hits, and he did many things right to balance out the "mistakes", including striking out 7 Clippers, and retiring the first batter he faced in 7 of the 8 innings he started. �He also credited his teammates for their work behind him. �

McCutchen retired the side in order in the 1st inning, including two strikeouts. �He escaped from a jam in the 2nd inning, with some help from LF Tagg Bozied and C Erik Kratz (photo sequence). �With one out, RF Stephen Head lifted a long fly to the base of the left field scoreboard for a double. �McCutchen got C Lou Marson to pop out to 1B Brian Myrow in foul territory for the second out. �SS Andy Cannizaro lined into left field, and Head raced around third base and headed for the plate. �Bozied made a quick pick-up of the ball and fired it in on a direct line to the plate. �The throw came right to Kratz, on the baseline just in front of the batters' box. �

Kratz was planted in front of the plate, forcing Head to try to circle around him and then try to reach back toward the plate. But Kratz had the ball and made the tag on Head's shoulder or arm, and Head never got near the plate. �The out ended the inning and the biggest threat the Clippers were able to make against McCutchen.

McCutchen worked around a hit in each of the next three innings. �In the 3rd inning, LF Michael Brantley lifted a two-out double into the right-center field gap, and stole third base. �That was as far as Brantley got, though, as McCutchen struck out 2B Josh Barfield to end the inning. �The Clippers put another runner on third base in the 7th inning, when Lou Marson doubled off the left-center field wall. �

He advanced to third base when Andy Cannizaro tapped a little grounder back to the mound. �CF Chris Barnwell saved McCutchen in that inning, as he came charging in to make a running catch of CF Mickey Hall's short fly ball. �If Barnwell had not been able to make that catch, Marson would have easily scored from second base. �

[Photo: Tagg Bozied makes the catch in left field.]

With a pitch count approaching 100, Daniel McCutchen came back out to take the mound in the top of the 8th. �The first batter, 1B Numan Romero put down a long bunt along the first-base side of the infield, that actually got past the mound. �1B Brian Myrow came into the infield grass to make the scoop, but it put him in an awkward position to throw back across his body and behind him to first base, where McCutchen had just reached to cover. �Rather than potentially throwing the ball away, Myrow just held on to the ball, and Romero was safe. But McCutchen got the next two batters to fly out, Michael Brantley to SS Argenis Diaz, who made a running over-the-shoulder catch in the Indians' bullpen, and Josh Barfield to Tagg Bozied in left field. �

That was all for McCutchen. �He was relieved by Jean Machi (photo),�who was making his second appearance with the Indians. �Machi needed only one pitch to finish the inning for McCutchen, getting DH Tony Graffanino to tap an easy grounder back to the mound.

While Tagg Bozied was doing a fine job in left field, he was also making the difference at the plate. �The Indians had at least one base runner reach safely in every inning but the 8th, but most of those runners were left on base. �Two base runners were caught trying to steal second base -- RF Jose Tabata after a single in the first, and Chris Barnwell after being hit by � a pitch in the 5th. �2B Brian Bixler extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a line drive single into left field in the 3rd inning. �Tabata also extended his hitting streak to 7 games, with that single in the 1st and another single in the 6th. �Tagg Bozied also extended his hitting streak, and he did it in the 2nd inning with a no-doubt-about-it solo home run over the left field wall, almost all the way to the sidewalk behind the grass berm. �That gave the Indians and Daniel McCutchen a 1-0 lead, which they clung to for the next 5 innings.

The 7th inning began with an other hit by Bozied (photo), an infield single that was nearly into the outfield. �He smacked it deep into the hole at shortstop, making Clippers' SS Andy Cannizaro go so far back to get the ball that his throw to first base was rushed, and came in wide to the infield side of first base. �Erik Kratz followed with another single, reaching out and swinging with only one hand on the bat at the end of his swing, and spurting the ball into right field. �RF Stephen Head threw across the diamond to third to try to catch Bozied, but the throw was off-target and Bozied slid in safely. �3B Robinzon Diaz hit a grounder to shortstop, which took a wild hop at the last second, up and over SS Andy Cannizaro's head and outstretched glove. �Bozied was off and running, and he scored on the play. �Kratz, who had been at second, had held up, not sure where the ball was going, but reached third base, giving the Indians runners on the corners. �After a strikeout by Chris Barnwell, Argenis Diaz worked a walk to load the bases. �But Brian Bixler bounced into an easy 6-4-3 double play to end the inning without another run scoring. �

The Tribe carried their 2-0 lead into the top of the 9th. �Jean Machi came back out to pitch the 9th, and he began the inning with a 4-pitch walk to 3B Wes Hodges. �Hodges stole second base, and moved on to third base on a grounder to first base by Stephen Head. �Lou Marson dropped a swinging bunt down the third base line as Hodges tore home. �Neil Walker (photo),�who had entered the game in the 9th as a defensive replacement for Robinzon Diaz, made the charging bare-handed scoop, then made the off-balance throw across his body for the out at first base. �It cut the lead to 2-1, but the Tribe was willing to trade the out for the run. Machi finished the game with a strikeout of Andy Cannizaro, to earn his first Save with the Tribe. �

The win again moves the Indians within one game of the .500 mark. �

Indians' Hitting Gem of the Game: �Tagg Bozied's solo home run in the 2nd inning (photo). �It was his 3rd homer since joining the Indians, and his 8th RBI. �

Indians' Defensive Gem of the Game: Bozied again, with his throw in from left field in the top of the 2nd inning. �He threw a perfect strike to Erik Kratz at home, and Kratz blocked the plate and tagged out Stephen Head to end the inning. �

Jeff Clement waits his turn....... � � Neil Walker, Larry Broadway, and Frank Kremblas

Robinzon Diaz (photo) played third base for the Indians tonight, for the first time this season. �He has played third occasionally in the past while he was in the Blue Jays' organization -- two games for AAA Syracuse in 2008, 8 games for AA New Hampshire in 2007, 9 games for A+ Dunedin in 2006, plus 2 more games at Rookie level in 2002. �Tonight, Diaz played 8 innings at third, then Neil Walker came in as a defensive replacement in the 9th inning. �Good thing, too, because it isn't reasonable to expect that Diaz would have been able to make the play that Walker did in the 9th. �

Go Tribe!

[Photos by Nancy Zinni -- MVN]

The Pirates have signed their 6th round draft pick, pitcher Zack Von Rosenberg, a high school player from Texas. �It took $1.2 million to lure him away from college baseball with current NCAA winner LSU. �Von Rosenberg will be reporting to Bradenton, where he might get into a few games at the end of the GCL Pirates' season, and then he will participate in the Fall Instructional League. �The Pirates have now signed their first 10 draft picks (#1-9, plus Comp round A).

An updated list of the Pirates' 2009 draftees is here.�

the Altoona Curve, Lynchburg Hillcats, and State College Spikes all have scheduled days off.

An old-fashioned pitching duel broke out in Bradenton, with the Yankees and the Pirates maintaining their scoreless tie into the bottom of the 12th inning. �The Pirates had collected only �4 hits, plus 5 walks over the first 11 innings of the game. �Then LF�Rogelio Noris led off the bottom of the 12th with a double into center field. �2B Elevys Gonzalez sacrifice bunted Noris over to third base, and RF Wesley Freeman was the hero, with a walk-off 2-run homer. �Noris had also singled in the 4th inning. �1B Gerlis Rodriguez had the Pirates' other 3 hits, a double and two singles. �The Pirates put two runners on base in the 4th, when Noris singled and C Andrew Walker was hit by a pitch, but a double play ended that inning. �They also had two on in the 9th, on a single by Rodriguez and a walk to Noris, but a strikeout ended that threat. �The Pirates didn't have a runner reach as far as third base until Noris did it in the 12th.

Five Pirates' pitchers combined for the 12 shut-out innings. �Seventh round draft pick Trent Stevenson made his professional debut with one perfect inning of work to begin the game (line out, strikeout, fly out). �Zachary Fuesser relieved Stevenson and pitched 3 innings, allowing only one hit in the 4th, and striking out 2. �Jhonatan Ramos was next, and he went 5 innings, allowing 2 hits and a walk, with 3 strikeouts. �All three of the base runners he allowed were eliminated in double plays. �Mitchell Fienemann pitched 2 innings, allowing only a walk. �Rafael Quintero came in to pitch the 12th, allowing a walk and a single. �He was the pitcher of record when Freeman homered, and so earned his first win. �There were only two innings, the 9th and the 12th when the Yankees had two runners on base at the same time, and no Yankee base runners reached third base. �

The Power scored early and often as they overpowered the Crawdads with 15 hits. �1B Kyle Morgan went 4-for-5 at the plate, and C Tony Sanchez and LF Quincy Latimore had 3 hits each, with Sanchez picking up 3 RBI. �The first run came in the 2nd inning, on singles by Latimore and 3B Jeremy Farrell, with an RBI grounder by DH Danny Bomback. �Two more runs scored in the 4th inning, when Sanchez led off with a walk, and both Morgan and Latimore (RBI) scored. �Bomback was intentionally walked, then Morgan scored on RF Austin McClune's sacrifice fly. �

Tony Sanchez homered after SS Greg Picart's single to add two more runs in the 5th inning. �The Crawdads also homered in the bottom of the 5th, but the Power still led 5-1. �Doubles by Sanchez and Morgan and a single by Latimore brought in two more runs in the 7th inning. �Hickory got those two runs back in the 8th, with a solo homer and a walk and a double. �The Power scored their final two runs in the top of the 9th. �Greg Picart tripled and scored on Sanchez's single. �Morgan also singled, and a grounder force out by Latimore put runners on the corners. �Jeremy Farrell's sacrifice fly scored Sanchez, to give the Power the 9-3 win. �

Aaron Pribanic got the start and pitched 5 innings, allowing only the home run in the 5th inning, and 3 other scattered hits, plus a walk. �He earned his first win in the Pirates' organization. �Gabriel Alvarado earned his first save of the season with 4 innings of work, allowing the 2 runs in the 8th inning, on 3 hits and 2 walks, with 5 strikeouts. �

The Pirates have signed their 6th round draft pick, pitcher Zack Von Rosenberg, a high school player from Texas. �It took $1.2 million to lure him away from college baseball with current NCAA winner LSU. �Von Rosenberg will be reporting to Bradenton, where he might get into a few games at the end of the GCL Pirates' season, and then he will participate in the Fall Instructional League. �The Pirates have now signed their first 10 draft picks (#1-9, plus Comp round A).

An updated list of the Pirates' 2009 draftees is here.�

the Altoona Curve, Lynchburg Hillcats, and State College Spikes all have scheduled days off.

An old-fashioned pitching duel broke out in Bradenton, with the Yankees and the Pirates maintaining their scoreless tie into the bottom of the 12th inning. �The Pirates had collected only �4 hits, plus 5 walks over the first 11 innings of the game. �Then LF�Rogelio Noris led off the bottom of the 12th with a double into center field. �2B Elevys Gonzalez sacrifice bunted Noris over to third base, and RF Wesley Freeman was the hero, with a walk-off 2-run homer. �Noris had also singled in the 4th inning. �1B Gerlis Rodriguez had the Pirates' other 3 hits, a double and two singles. �The Pirates put two runners on base in the 4th, when Noris singled and C Andrew Walker was hit by a pitch, but a double play ended that inning. �They also had two on in the 9th, on a single by Rodriguez and a walk to Noris, but a strikeout ended that threat. �The Pirates didn't have a runner reach as far as third base until Noris did it in the 12th.

Five Pirates' pitchers combined for the 12 shut-out innings. �Seventh round draft pick Trent Stevenson made his professional debut with one perfect inning of work to begin the game (line out, strikeout, fly out). �Zachary Fuesser relieved Stevenson and pitched 3 innings, allowing only one hit in the 4th, and striking out 2. �Jhonatan Ramos was next, and he went 5 innings, allowing 2 hits and a walk, with 3 strikeouts. �All three of the base runners he allowed were eliminated in double plays. �Mitchell Fienemann pitched 2 innings, allowing only a walk. �Rafael Quintero came in to pitch the 12th, allowing a walk and a single. �He was the pitcher of record when Freeman homered, and so earned his first win. �There were only two innings, the 9th and the 12th when the Yankees had two runners on base at the same time, and no Yankee base runners reached third base. �

The Power scored early and often as they overpowered the Crawdads with 15 hits. �1B Kyle Morgan went 4-for-5 at the plate, and C Tony Sanchez and LF Quincy Latimore had 3 hits each, with Sanchez picking up 3 RBI. �The first run came in the 2nd inning, on singles by Latimore and 3B Jeremy Farrell, with an RBI grounder by DH Danny Bomback. �Two more runs scored in the 4th inning, when Sanchez led off with a walk, and both Morgan and Latimore (RBI) scored. �Bomback was intentionally walked, then Morgan scored on RF Austin McClune's sacrifice fly. �

Tony Sanchez homered after SS Greg Picart's single to add two more runs in the 5th inning. �The Crawdads also homered in the bottom of the 5th, but the Power still led 5-1. �Doubles by Sanchez and Morgan and a single by Latimore brought in two more runs in the 7th inning. �Hickory got those two runs back in the 8th, with a solo homer and a walk and a double. �The Power scored their final two runs in the top of the 9th. �Greg Picart tripled and scored on Sanchez's single. �Morgan also singled, and a grounder force out by Latimore put runners on the corners. �Jeremy Farrell's sacrifice fly scored Sanchez, to give the Power the 9-3 win. �

Aaron Pribanic got the start and pitched 5 innings, allowing only the home run in the 5th inning, and 3 other scattered hits, plus a walk. �He earned his first win in the Pirates' organization. �Gabriel Alvarado earned his first save of the season with 4 innings of work, allowing the 2 runs in the 8th inning, on 3 hits and 2 walks, with 5 strikeouts. �

A two-out 9th inning rally fell short for the Indianapolis Indians at Victory Field this afternoon, allowing the Charlotte Knights to avoid being swept by the Tribe in the 4-game series. �The Knights scored 6 runs in the 2nd inning and the Indians spent the rest of the game trying to catch up. �Brad Lincoln (photo) suffered the loss, his 2nd of the season with the Tribe, and was only able to pitch 3 innings -- the shortest of his 8 starts with the Tribe. �

Brad Lincoln began the game with a walk to Knight's lead-off batter SS Brent Lillibridge. �There was a scary moment when Lincoln made a pick-off throw to first, and the ball hit Lillibridge, possibly on the back of his head. �The ball ricocheted to just in front of the Knights' dugout, but Lillibridge was still prone on the ground at first and was not able to advance. �Both Indians' trainer Jose Ministral (who knows Lillibridge from his time in the Pirates' organization)�

and the Knights' trainer came out to check on him. �Lillibridge was able to stand, and take a test-jog down the right field line, and so he stayed in the game, and stole second base a few minutes later. �But Lincoln retired the next three batters on fly outs and a pop out to end the inning. �(Photo: �Brian Myrow makes the catch on a fly ball.)

The Indians scored two runs in the bottom of the frame. �Knights' Daniel Hudson was making his AAA debut, and it didn't begin in the best manner. �Lead-off man 2B Brian Bixler surprised Hudson by dropping down a perfect bunt on the first pitch he saw, and beat out Hudson's throw to first for a hit. �Hudson was a little rattled, and he hit RF Jose Tabata on the 3-2 pitch, then walked LF Brian Myrow, also on a 3-2 pitch. �Hudson struck out DH Jeff Clement, but then 1B Tagg Bozied smacked what would be the first of 3 hits into right field, for an RBI single, scoring Bixler. �3B Neil Walker followed with a sacrifice fly into left field, scoring Tabata. �C Robinzon Diaz flied out to end the inning, with the Indians ahead 2-0.

[Photo: Pitching coach Ray Searage confers with Robinzon Diaz and Brad Lincoln]

Unfortunately that was the last time the Indians had the lead. �Disaster struck in the top of the 2nd inning, and Brad Lincoln was the victim. �He began the inning well, getting C Cole Armstrong to ground out to Brian Bixler at second base, with an excellent backhanded stop by Bixler. �1B Wilson Betemit and 3B Josh Fields hit back-to-back singles. �Lincoln struck out LF Stefan Gartrell for the second out, and things were not looking too bad. �But 5 straight RBI hits brought in 6 runs: �2B Keith Ginter's single scored Betemit; Brent Lillibridge's double scored Fields; CF Miguel Negron's double scored Ginter and Lillibridge; RF Josh Kroeger's single scored Negron; and DH Michael Restovich's single scored Kroeger, who had stolen second base (photo below).

The inning took Lincoln 34 pitches, which is just over the Pirates' organizational limit for number of pitches any pitcher can throw in one inning. �Pirates' Director of Player Development Kyle Stark was in the stadium, so maybe the Indians got his permission, because Lincoln came back out to pitch the 3rd inning, which is not usually what the Pirates do. �Lincoln needed only 8 pitches to get through the 3rd inning, but with those pitches, he gave up a lead-off double to Wilson Betemit and an RBI double to Stefan Gartrell, to give the Knights' a 7-2 lead. �The inning ended when Gartrell was thrown out trying to steal third. �

The Indians kept battling. �They managed only a lone single by Brian Bixler in the 2nd inning and another single by Tagg Bozied in the 3rd. �They did get to Daniel Hudson in the 4th inning, when they began the inning with three consecutive hits: �a double down the line and into the left field corner by Robinzon Diaz, an RBI single into left field by CF Chris Barnwell (and he advanced to second base on a high throw in from the outfield),�and a twisting loopy single into right field by SS Argenis Diaz (photo),�which moved Barnwell to third base. �Brian Bixler hit a fly to right field, too short for Barnwell to score from third, but Argenis Diaz was able to move to second base on the throw in from right field. �Jose Tabata smashed a grounder up the middle, which SS Brent Lillibridge was able to stop with an outstretched dive. �He had no throw, though, and Barnwell scored. �Brian Myrow's sacrifice fly brought in Argenis Diaz, and the Indians were making progress: �Knights 7, Indians 5.

Daniel Hudson was relieved after 4 innings, and Jhonny Nunez came on in relief. �Nunez allowed only one hit over his two innings. �T hat hit was a blast off the bat of Brian Bixler, which cleared the left field wall and hit the light pole in the left field berm for his 9th homer of the season (photo). �The Indians were within one run of the Knights, 7-6.

Ty Taubenheim relieved Brad Lincoln to begin the 4th inning, and he kept the Knights scoreless for three innings. �He allowed a single to Miguel Negron and walked Michael Restovich in the 4th inning, but left them stranded. �Stefan Gartrell reached base safely in the 5th inning on a throwing error by SS Argenis Diaz. �1B Tagg Bozied made a great stretch, nearly flat on the ground toward the outfield side of the bag, to reach the ball and make the catch in time, but when he landed on the ground, the ball popped out of Bozied's glove and Gartrell was ruled safe. �Taubenheim was aided by two excellent fielding plays behind him. �LF Brian Myrow ended the 5th inning with a running backhanded catch of Keith Ginter's fly ball, slamming up against the left field wall to make the catch. �

3B Neil Walker (photo) made a charging bare-handed scoop of a dribbly little grounder off the bat of Miguel Negron in the 6th inning, then fired across his body while still moving to throw Negron out in plenty of time at first base. �

Steven Jackson came on to pitch the 7th inning, and he gave up one more run, which the Knights would turn out to need. �Michael Restovich led off with a 4-pitch walk. �Cole Armstrong grounded a single through the hole and into right field. �Stefan Gartrell's double into the left field corner brought in Restovich, to give the Knights an 8-6 lead. �

Denny Bautista handled the last two innings on the mound for the Tribe. �He kept the Knights scoreless despite a single by Josh Kroeger in the 8th, and an unusual play in the 9th. �Cole Armstrong led off with a single into right field. Wilson Betemit also grounded to the right side of the infield, and it was just out of Tagg Bozied's reach, heading for the hole and into right field -- until it hit Armstrong as he was running past. �Armstrong was out, hit by a batted ball, with Bozied getting credit for the put out (the rules say the put out goes to the nearest fielder, even though he didn't really have to do anything). �Betemit was safe on first, credited with a hit. �Bautista was not fazed -- he struck out the next two batters, on a total of 7 pitches. �

The Tribe had only two base runners reach in the 7th and 8th innings, both on walks. �Brian Myrow worked the count full and then looked at ball four in the 7th, for the second time in the game. �Chris Barnwell took a 4-pitch walk in the 8th. �Both were left stranded on base. �

That set up the Indians for a last-ditch effort 9th inning rally. �With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, Jeff Clement (photo) lifted a long fly ball to right-center field. �It was caught perfectly -- but not by someone in a Knights' uniform. �The catch was made by a small outfielder on the grass berm who was wearing an Indians' Knot Hole Club t-shirt. �Clement's 5th home run in 9 days again brought the Indians within one run of the Knights. �Tagg Bozied followed the homer with a double into the left-center field alley. �Neil Walker was next, and he was patient enough to work a walk (in the past, he might have swung at some of those outside pitches). �That brought up Robinzon Diaz. �Diaz hit the first pitch he saw, but it went more up than out, and settled into RF Josh Kroeger's glove to end the game. �

The loss kept the Indians from the sweep. �The season series against the Knights still went to the Indians, 5 games to 3. �The loss drops the Indians to two games below .500 again.

[Photo: Neil Walker congratulates Jeff Clement on his home run.]

This was the Indians' last game of the season against a team that is not in the West Division. �All the rest of the Tribe's games are going to be against the Louisville Bats, the Columbus Clippers, and the Toledo MudHens. �(And they will all be heartily sick of one another by the end of the next 4 weeks.) �

Indians' Hitting Gems of the Game: �Home runs by Brian Bixler (photo) and Jeff Clement. �Both brought the Indians within one run of the Knights. �

Indians' Defensive Gems of the Game: �Brian Myrow's running backhanded catch of Keith Ginter's fly in the 5th inning, bouncing off the left field scoreboard as soon as he made the catch.

Honorable Mention: �The diving catch of Jeff Clement's home run by the small outfielder on the berm, who had wisely brought a mitt to the game, and who appeared to be about 12 years old or so. �You can see the catch on the video clips on the official Indians website. ��

NOTES:�

Brian Bixler's 3 hits (a homer and two singles) extended his hitting streak to 11 games. �

Tagg Bozied's 3 hits (a double and two singles) extended his hitting streak to 6 games.

Neil Walker went 0-for-3 with a sacrifice fly and a walk, and that ended his hitting streak at 8 games. �He has 17 RBI over his last 9 games. �

Bullpen catcher Ryan Lewis likes to do this, but doesn't get to very often: