PIRATES PROSPECTSPITTSBURGH PIRATES MINOR LEAGUE NEWS, TRANSACTIONS, AND ARTICLES

First an afternoon game:

The Pirates' 9th inning rally produced 2 runs, but still fell 2 runs short of catching up, as pitcher Rinku Singh also became the first Indian native to lose a professional baseball game. �The Pirates scored one run in the 3rd on doubles by CF�Wesley Freeman and LF Rogelio Noris. �The Blue Jays came back with one run in the 4th on a double and a single, after starter Brent Klinger had pitched three scoreless innings. �

Singh took over for Klinger to begin the 5th inning, and with one out, he gave up 4 consecutive singles, for 2 runs. �Two doubles in the 6th brought in another run. �Dinesh Patel pitched the 7th inning, and he gave up an unearned run on a throwing error, two stolen bases, a single, and an RBI ground out. �Papiro Juan struck out the side in the 8th inning for the Pirates. �

In the top of the 9th, the Pirates made one last effort, beginning with a single by 3B Henry Henry, two singles by pinch hitter Edwin Roman and SS Benjamin Gonzalez, and a 2-RBI double by 1B Gerlis Rodriguez. �That left base runners on second and third with no outs. �A new reliever from the Blue Jays' bullpen struck out the next two batters, then ended the game with a ground out.�

The Aeros scored off Curve starter Kyle Bloom on a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 1st inning, but it was all Curve after that. �CF Jose Tabata went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, and SS Brian Friday added 2 hits and 3 RBI, and 3B Pedro Alvarez homered and singled.

The Curve scored two run in the 3rd when C Milver Reyes led off with a double, went to third on a fielding error, and scored on 2B Jim Negrych's ground out. �Jose Tabata's single, scored Friday. �Pedro Alvarez added 2 runs in the 5th with a home run after Brian Friday's single, to give the Curve a 4-3 lead.�

The Curve blasted the game open with a 5-run 8th inning. �Jose Tabata led off with a double, and Pedro Alvarez walked. �A wild pitch moved both of them up 90 feet, and DH Jason Delaney walked to load the bases. �A pitching change didn't help the Aeros for long. �RF Jeff Corsaletti grounded into a force out, with Tabata out at the plate, but the bases still loaded. �LF Jonel Pacheco walked, forcing in Alvarez with the first run. �1B Miles Durham brought in Delaney with a sacrifice fly. �Pacheco stole second base, and Milver Reyes walked to again load the bases. �Brian Friday doubled, clearing the bases to bring in three more runs and give the Curve plenty of insurance. �

C Steve Lerud has been placed on the disabled list, due to a concussion he suffered when he was hit by a bat on a backswing in a game earlier this week. �

The Hillcats scored one run in the first inning, when CF Alex Presley reached on a throwing error, went to third on SS Jordy Mercer's single, and scored on 1B Matt Hague's sacrifice fly. �LF Jared Keel added another run in the 2nd inning on a solo homer. �The Keys scored their runs in the bottom of the 1st, on a 3-run homer, following a single and a walk. �

The pitching took over after that. �Starter Jeff Locke was relieved after the homer and another single in the 1st inning. �Moises Robles pitched a scoreless 2nd inning. �Tom Boleska gave up one hit over the next 3 innings, and Paul Mildren retired the side in order in the 6th. �

The Hillcats put at least one runner on base in each inning, including another single by Jordy Mercer, singles by C Eric Fryer and Alex Presley,�2 walks, and a fielding error. �But a double play and timely strikeouts kept Lynchburg from scoring again.

The Hillcats and the Keys took a 3-3 tie into the 8th inning (extras for a double header). �The Hillcats took the lead in the top of the 8th, beginning with a singles by 3B Eddie Prasch and CF Alex Presley. �With Prasch on third, SS Jordy Mercer grounded to third, for a fielder's choice, as Prasch was tagged out at the plate. �Matt Hague came through with a single, scoring Presley from second base, to give Lynchburg a 4-3 lead. �RJ Rodriguez came on to pitch the botto m of the inning. �He got two strike outs, then gave up a single, before getting a ground out to end the game and earn his league-leading 19th save. �

Brian Morris got the start for the Hillcats, and pitched 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits. �The runs came in the 5th, on two doubles and two singles. �Harvey Garcia pitched a scoreless 7th inning, allowing a single amid 3 strikeouts. �He was the pitcher of record when the Hillcats scored in the 8th, so was credited with his first win.

The Hillcats also scored in the 5th inning. �C Kris Watts' hit into right field was misplayed for a 3-base error, and he scored on DH Kent Sakamoto's double. �Jared Keel walked, and a sacrifice bunt by RF Erik Huber moved the runners up one base each. �Eddie Prasch's second of three hits in the game was a double that scored both Sakamoto and Keel. �

LF Quincy Latimore was the hero for the Power, picking up an RBI in each of the last 2 innings, as the Power came from behind for the win. �Latimore went 3-for-3 in the game, with two triples and a double.

Starter Quincy Miller pitched into the 5th inning, and allowed 3 runs on 5 hits and a walk, while striking out 6 batters. �The first two runs came on a 2-run homer in the top of the 1st. �He allowed another run in the 4th on a double and an RBI single. �

The Power scored one run in the 2nd when Latimore led off with a triple and scored on 3B Jeremy Farrell's RBI ground out. �They continued to trail 3-1 until the bottom of the 7th, when three singles, by DH Bobby Spain, 2B Danny Bomback, and SS Greg Picart, loaded the bases. �RF Starling Marte brought in Spain with a sacrifice fly, but the inning ended when Bomback was thrown out at third base. �

Yoffri Martinez finished the 5th inning for Miller, and then pitched a scoreless 6th inning. �Ryan Kelly came on for the 7th, which was also scoreless. �In the 8th, the SandGnats added to their total with a 2-run homer, to take a 5-2 lead. �The Power surged right back in the bottom of the inning, as they batted around to tie the game at 5-5. �C Tony Sanchez walked, and scored on Quincy Latimore's second triple of the game. �Walks to Jeremy Farrell and Bobby Spain loaded the bases. �Latimore was forced in when Danny Bomback was hit by a pitch, and Farrell was forced in when Greg Picart walked. �That set up Latimore for the 9th inning and a Power victory. �

Three Spikes pitchers combined to shutout the Muckdogs -- 7 scoreless innings by starter Maurice Bankston, who earned his second win, allowing 3 hits and one walk, with 3 strikeouts; then one inning each by relievers Brandon Holden and Teddy Fallon. �Fallon allowed a lead-off single, then retired the next 3 batters. �Bankston retired 11 batters in order over the 3rd - 6th innings. �

Meanwhile, the Spikes' batters were having a fine day. �They scored their first 2 runs in the 2nd inning, on a double by RF Edward Garcia, a fielder's choice that didn't work so well, an RBI ground out by C Craig Parry, and a single by 2B Ty Summerlin. �A double by DH Aaron Baker and a single by Garcia added another run in the 3rd inning. �A walk and a triple by Summerlin made the score 4-0 in the 4th. �

Three more runs came in during the 6th inning. �Three consecutive walks, to SS Brock Holt, Summerlin, and CF Evan Chambers, loaded the bases. �Baker swept the bases clean with a triple for 3 RBI. �LF Pat Irvine got in the final blow with a solo home run in the 7th inning. �