The World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 tournament started this weekend, with round-robin group play that has Team USA in action down in Mexico.
Representing Team...
The DSL Pirates teams ended their seasons this week, which brings the rookie-level affiliates to an end.
I've been reviewing the best performing hitting and...
The Power were not as fortunate as the Indy Indians in extras last night. �They took a 1-1 tie into the 10th, when reliever Brian Leach retired the Captains in order in the top of the inning. �In the Power's half of the frame, 2B Greg Picart singled and LF Quincy Latimore walked, but were left stranded. �Eddie Pena took over on the mound for Leach to begin the 11th inning, and gave up a single, and a sacrifice bunt and a ground out moved that base runner to third. �He scored on an RBI double. �The Power had one more chance in the bottom of the inning. �1B Erik Huber led off with a double, but couldn't move any further, as two pop ups and a strikeout ended the game. �
Rudy Owens made his longest start of the season, going 7 innings and allowing only one run on �5 hits, no walks, and 4 strikeouts. �That one run came on a solo homer in the 4th inning. �The other 4 hits were scattered over the rest of his innings. �Brian Leach pitch3d 3 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and striking out 4 batters.�
The Power's only run came in the 7th, on a home run by CF Marcus Davis. �They put up a small threat in the 4th, when 3B Jeremy Farrell and Erik Huber hit back-to-back singles, but a strikeout ended that inning without a run scoring. �Picart led off the single and DH Calvin Anderson doubled in the 6th, but again both were left on base. �Picart, Huber, and Davis each had 2 hits in the game.
Altoona Notes:
RHP�Moises Robles,�who appeared in last night's game,�was moved from Lynchburg to Altoona yesterday, while RHP�Christian Castorri�was sent to Lynchburg. �
RHP�Jean Machi�was placed onto the Disabled List due to right shoulder soreness.
The Pirates signed RHP�Scott Nestor�to a minor league contract and assigned him to Altoona. �Nestor is a 24 year old reliever who was drafted by the Marlins in the 14th round of the 2003 draft. �He rose up through their system to �AAA Albuquerque, where he spent all of 2008. �He made 55 relief appearances for a total of 61.2 innings. �He allowed 54 hits for 51 runs, but he walked 49 batters and struck out 64. �His record was 1-1, no saves, and a 7.44 ERA. �The Phillies claimed Nestor off waivers from the Marlins in October 2008. �He was assigned to AAA Lehigh Valley, where he made 2 relief appearances for a total of 1 inning, but gave up 5 runs on 3 hits and 6 walks, with 4 strikeouts. �At�AA Reading, Nestor threw 4 innings and allowing 5 runs on 3 hits and 6 walks, with 4 strikeouts.�
Hillcats' starter Ronald Uviedo has lost 3 games this season, and all have been to Potomac. �Last night he pitched 5.2 innings and allowed 3 runs on 7 hits and a walk, with 3 strikeouts. �
The Hillcats took the early lead in the bottom of the 1st, on a lead-off single by 2B Jose De Los Santos. �De Los Santos stole second base, and scored on 3B Pedro Alvarez's RBI single. �The 1-0 lead held into the 5th inning, as Uviedo allowed only a double and one hit batter scattered over the first 4 innings. �The 5th inning opened with back-to-back doubles for Potomac, to tie the game. �Then a homer following a lead-off single led off the 6th inning, and Potomac had the lead. �The 6th continued with two more singles and a walk to load the bases, and Uviedo was relieved by Chris Cullen. �Cullen struck out Stephen King to end the top of the 6th. �In the bottom of the�inning, Pedro Alvarez led off with a double, then moved to third base and scored on two infield ground outs, but the P-Nats still held a 3-2 lead. �
Dustin Molleken came on to begin the 7th, and he gave up another run on a walk, two singles, and a sacrifice fly. �He continued to pitch the last 2 innings, allowing only a walk and a single. �The Hillcats were held to 6 hits, with De Los Santos and Alvarez taking 2 each. �1B Matt Hague and RF Miles Durham each had a single. �
Curve starter Danny Moskos matched his longest outing of the season with 6.1 innings of work, allowing only one run on 5 hits and 3 walks, with 1 strikeout. �Moskos worked around back-to-back walks to begin the 1st inning, and a lead-off single in the 2nd. �After 11 straight outs, he gave up a walk and two singles in the 5th, allowing the one run to score. �After a grounder and a single in the 7th, Moskos turned the ball over to reliever Jeff Sues, who ended the inning without allowing a run to score. �
The Curve managed only a single by SS Brian Friday and walks to CF James Boone and LF Jeff Corsaletti over the first 4 innings of the game. �Then they collected one run in each of the next three innings. �1B Hector Gimenez homered to lead off the 5th inning. �In the 6th, 2B Jim Negrych reached base on a fielding erro
r, and advanced to second and third bases on tw
o ground outs. �He scored on C Steve Lerud's RBI single. �Jason Delaney added a pinch-hit solo home run in the 7th inning, to give the Curve a 3-1 lead.
The Thunder tied it up in the bottom of the 8th. �With Jeff Sues still on the mound, a walk, a single, and a 2-RBI double brought in two runs. �Sues got one out in the bottom of the 9th, then walked a batter, and he was relieved by Shawn Nottingham. �But the first (and only) batter Nottingham faced, Justin Snyder, lifted a long fly ball over the right field wall for a 2-run walk-off homer, to get the win for Trenton. �
There were some complaints from Pirate hitters about the strike zone in yesterday's loss to the Cubs, specifically with called strikes away from left-handed...