Tag: Brad Lincoln

Indianapolis Indians 6, �Louisville Bats 1 (box)

The Indianapolis Indians made good use of their bats at Louisville Slugger Field in Louisville, KY tonight, not too far from where some of those bats may have been made. �The Tribe posted 15 hits, as RF Steve Pearce (photo) led the way with 4 hits, 2B Neil Walker had 3, and CF Jose Tabata and LF Brandon Moss contributing 2 hits each. �Even starting pitcher Brad Lincoln had a hit -- a double in the 6th inning -- on his way to his second win of the season.

The game got off to a very late start -- almost 9 pm, as the game was delayed 1 hr 53 minutes by rain. �The Indians had only one hit over the first two innings -- a single in the 2nd inning by Pearce. �Pearce saw the ball skip off the hand of Bats' SS Zack Cozart, who was trying to do a bare-handed pick up, and when the ball went into short left field, Pearce tried for second base -- unsuccessfully.

The Indians got onto the scoreboard in the 3rd, courtesy of a bases-clearing double by 2B Neil Walker. �C Luke Carlin led off the inning by working a walk. � SS Argenis Diaz, in his first game back from Pittsburgh, grounded to the right side of the infield, where it was stopped by Bats' 3B Juan Francisco, but not in time to make a play. �Brad Lincoln bunted, but the ball was scooped up by pitcher Sam LeCure, who forced Carlin out at third base. �CF Jose Tabata walked next, loading the bases for Walker. �Walker doubled over the head of LF Todd Frazier, easily scoring Diaz and Lincoln. �Frazier took long enough tracking down the ball in left field that Tabata had time to race around from first base and score also. �Indians up 3-0.

The Bats got one of those runs back in the bottom of the 4th. �RF Chris Burke ripped a 1-2 pitch from Lincoln down the right field line, and when Steve Pearce had trouble picking up the ball, Burke cruised into third base with a triple. �The next batter, CF Chris Heisey, brought Burke in with a RBI grounder to short. �1B Danny Dorn followed with a double, but two fly outs to Neil Walker at second base ended the inning without further scoring.

The Tribe got that run back in the 5th. �With two outs, 1B Brian Myrow lined the first pitch he saw into right field, where Chris Burke couldn't quite make the diving catch. �3B Pedro Alvarez also swung at the first pitch he saw, grounding it up the middle. �2B Chris Valaika kept the ball from going into the outfield, but did not have time to make a play. �Steve Pearce, who had singled again in the 4th inning, lashed his third hit of the game down the left field line for an RBI double, scoring Myrow. �Indians 4, Bats 1.

The Indians threatened in the 6th inning, when Brad Lincoln (photo) picked up that double into left field, his first hit of the season. �Tabata followed with a single lined into center field, and Lincoln sped around third base and headed for the plate. �The throw in from Heisey in center to Bats' catcher Corky Miller was right on target. �Miller easily turned and tagged out Lincoln as he slid and tumbled across the plate. �It was not what most people want to see their starting pitcher doing.

"I thought I'd be held up because he (Tabata) hit the ball hard," related Lincoln after the game. �"When I got to third, Frank (Manager Frank Kremblas, coaching at third base) was already waving me home. �I see Corky (Miller) moving to his right, he catches it... �I thought 'I've got to do something here', and I decided to slide. �I've done it before."

(photo: �Jonathan Van Every slides across the plate with the Indians' only run)

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Toledo Mud Hens 10, �Indianapolis Indians 1 (box)

Indians' starting pitcher Brad Lincoln (photo) pitched 6 innings and gave the Indians a solid start, leaving the game behind, but only by two runs -- a game still within reach. �But the two relievers who came in from the bullpen, Vinnie Chulk and Anthony Claggett, completely fell apart in the last two innings of the game, as the Mud Hens overwhelmed the Indians at Victory Field on Monday night.

Lincoln began the game with two scoreless innings, though his command was a little off. �He hit one batter, and threw first-pitch walks to three of the four batters in the 1st inning. �The second inning was a little better -- he hit another batter, but struck out two. �The first Toledo run scored in the 3rd inning, when Lincoln gave up a one-out single to Mud Hens' 2B Will Rhymes. �The single was followed by a walk to SS Brent Dlugach, a single off either the side of the bound or the tip of Lincoln's glove by RF Brennan Boesch, which scored Rhymes, and another walk to 1B Jeff Larish. �That left the bases still loaded, with one out.

C Luke Carlin came to Lincoln's rescue. �He caught Larish napping a bit at first base �while Lincoln was pitching to CF Casper Wells, and Carlin's snap throw down to first base picked Larish off. �That turned out to be a big out. �Wells grounded to short for an easy out to end the inning, leaving two runners in scoring position.

The Indians had scored one run in the 2nd inning off Toledo starter and former Indian and Pirate, Phil Dumatrait. �3B Pedro Alvarez led off with a line drive into right field, and 1B Steve Pearce followed with another line drive, this one into center field. �Alvarez was off and running with the pitch, and easily reached third, sliding in before the throw (photo).

The runners-on-the-corners situation turned into just a runner on third, when Pearce tried to steal second base on a ball that Dumatrait threw into the dirt. �Toledo catcher Mike Rabelo recovered the ball quickly, though, and his throw down to second easily beat Pearce, who slid wide to the outfield side of the bag. �Alvarez was the next runner to be thrown out. �LF Jonathan Van Every tapped back to the mound, and Dumatrait quickly scooped up the ball and threw back to the plate, where Rabelo tagged out Alvarez as he tried to score from third.

That left Van Every on first base. �DH Brandon Moss worked a walk, and C Luke Carlin lined a single into right field, allowing Van Every to race around from second base and score.

Indianapolis Indians 3, �Louisville Bats 0 (box)

Brad Lincoln (photo) and Kevin Hart piggy-backed their starts and combined to shut out the Bats tonight at Louisville Slugger Field in Louisville, Kentucky. �Hart had missed his regularly-scheduled start yesterday because he was serving a suspension imposed by the International League after he'd thrown behind a batter. �The Indians (and Pirate management) wanted Hart to make the start today, but they also didn't want to shift Lincoln's start back a day. �Instead, they decided to have both men pitch today, and it was a decision that worked out very well.

Lincoln's start began in the first inning, and he scattered 4 hits over 6 innings, plus 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. �Lincoln worked around base runners in five of the six innings, but managed to keep the runs from scoring. �The Bats got a runner as far as third base in the bottom of the 1st, on a single, a wild pitch, and a ground out, but another ground out ended the inning. �He gave up a two-out double to C Wilkin Castillo in the 2nd, but left him on base. �Louisville pitcher Travis Wood singled in the 3rd inning, but was eliminated in a double play, and then doubled off Lincoln in the 5th, but that time he was left stranded. �Lincoln gave up the final walk in the 6th, but then struck out the next two batters to end that inning. �Lincoln threw 78 pitches (52 strikes) in his six innings. �This was the Indians' first game of the season in which the Designated Hitter was not used. �Lincoln could not match his mound opponent Wood though -- he dropped down a sacrifice bunt in the 3rd inning, and grounded out to short in the 5th.

Hart's "start" began in the 7th inning. �It took him just 37 pitches (22 strikes) to zoom through three innings of work. �He faced 10 batters, allowing a two-out walk in the 7th, and retiring the other 9 batters. �He struck out 3 of them.

Indianapolis Indians 14, �Columbus Clippers 12 (box)

It was another slugfest at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio, but at least tonight it was not one-sided. �The two teams combined for 31 hits and 26 runs, and the Indians held on for the win. �After having posted 4 home runs last night, the Clippers put up 5 more home runs tonight. �The Indians homered only once last night, but added 4 homers tonight including two home runs by 3B Pedro Alvarez.

After a "boring" top of the 1st, in which CF Jose Tabata led off with a double and RF Brian Myrow walked, but were both stranded on base, there was at least one run scored in each of the next 10 half innings.

Columbus got started in the bottom of the 1st with back-to-back doubles by 2B Jason Donald and C Carlos Santana, then a 2-run homer by DH Shelley Duncan. �Santana, who homered twice yesterday, nearly had another homer here, but the ball bounced off the top of the wall in right-center field and fell back onto the playing field. �After Duncan's homer, Brad Lincoln gave up a walk, then an infield single to 3B Brian Buscher that bounced off either Lincoln's glove or the mound itself, and headed over toward second base, where it came to rest in the grass out of everyone's reach. �SS Anderson Hernandez followed with a line drive to left field. �Tribe LF Jon Van Every raced in and made a dive, but the ball hit his glove and popped out, making Van Every chase it down. �It was ruled a single, and the bases were loaded. �At that point, new Indians' batting coach Dean Traynor made a visit to Lincoln on the mound. �After a brief chat, Lincoln got RF Chris Gimenez to chop a high bounce to the first base side of the mound. �Lincoln made the quick hop to his left and the leap to snag the ball, then fired to C Erik Kratz, who turned and made the throw to first for a 1-2-3 double play. �Clippers ahead, 3-0.

It was Kratz who put the Indians right back into it in the top of the 2nd. �DH Neil Walker led off with a single slipped through the right side of the infield, and Kratz launched the first pitch he saw on a rising line drive over the left field wall to make the score 3-2. �Not to be outdone, the Clippers came right back in the bottom of the inning, with a lead-off home run by CF Jose Constanza. �Jason Donald doubled, and when he went to steal third base, Kratz's throw went sailing past 3B Pedro Alvarez, allowing Donald plenty of time to come home. �Clippers up 5-2.

Getting back to looking at some of the minor league players moving up in the Pirates' organization. �These are in no particular order, though we've generally been working our way from the lower levels to the upper levels. �Today we'll look at a couple of first-round draft pitchers.

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Brad Lincoln is the top pitching prospect in the Pirates' organization.

The nearly-25-year-old �was the Pirates' first round pick in the 2006 draft after an outstanding season at the University of Houston -- a 12-2 record and a 1.69 ERA in 17 starts. �After signing, Lincoln reported to the GCL Pirates for two starts, where he allowed only one unearned run in 7.2 innings. �Then he was bumped up to A level Hickory, where he made 4 more starts before being shut down with an oblique strain. �He'd already pitched a whopping 151.1 innings that year, so the Pirates were not disappointed to have him sit. �They were disappointed when a muscle strain in his right arm during spring training 2007 turned out to be a ligament problem �Lincoln had Tommy John surgery in April and missed the entire season.

Unlike many pitchers who have a rocky rehab course, Lincoln's rehab period went well. �He was able to return to the mound again at Hickory in May 2008, and made 11 starts for the Crawdads, earning a 5-5 record and a 4.65 ERA. �In 62 innings, he gave up a lot of hits (72) but only 6 walks, with 46 strikeouts. �He was promoted to A+ Lynchburg, where he made 8 more starts for another 41.2 innings. �He gave up proportionally fewer hits with the Hillcats (42) but more walks (11). �His strikeout rate was about the same: �29 K for a 6.3 K/9 Inning rate. �He won only one game while losing 5 for the Hillcats, and earned a 4.75 ERA.

Indy Indians 1, �Las Vegas 51's 1 �(tie)

The Indians and the 51's (Blue Jays) played to a 1-1 tie this afternoon in Dunedan, Florida. �The Indians' pitchers were the stars of the show, allowing the 51's only 6 hits in the game. �Starter Brad Lincoln pitched 3 shutout innings, and gave up 2 hits, while striking out 5 batters. �Reliever Ronald Uviedo pitched a perfect inning of relief, with 2 strikeouts. �Las Vegas's only run came in the 8th inning, on a single, a stolen base, a throwing error, and an RBI single.

The Tribe scored in the 4th inning. �DH Brandon Jones blasted a triple, then scored on SS Brian Friday's sacrifice fly.

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In big league camp:

Pirates 9, �Red Sox 7 �(box)

Neil Walker made his debut as an outfielder in this afternoon's Grapefruit League game, as the Pirates clubbed 3 homers to beat the Red Sox. �Walker was a late-inning defensive replacement for RF Delwyn Young. Walker had a single in two plate appearances, and is 5-for-11 at the plate in spring training.