Tag: Diego Moreno

Another day with one afternoon game and two evening games in the lower part of the Pirates' minor league affiliates:

Altoona Curve �2, �Akron Aeros �1 (box)

The Curve and the Aeros could have skipped all the other innings and just played the 7th �-- that was the only one that turned out to matter. �After 6 scoreless innings from starter Rudy Owens, reliever Dustin Molleken took the mound for the 7th. � He got the first out, then gave up back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second bases. �One more out, then another single to drive in the run for Akron.

Altoona returned fire with a pair of one-out back-to-back singles in the 7th, by LF Alex Presley and RF Miles Durham. C Kris Watts loaded the bases with a walk. �SS Chase d'Arnaud drove in both Presley and Durham with a double into right field. �CF Gorkys Hernandez loaded the bases again by beating out an infield single to third base, but an inning-ending double play cut the rally short.

Owens worked around 4 hits and two batters reaching on errors over his 6 innings. �He struck out 3 Akron batters. �Molleken pitched only that 7th inning. �Danny Moskos pitched the final two innings to earn his 9th save of the season. �He had a batter reach on an error by 3B Jordy Mercer in the 8th, but promptly picked the runner off first base. �Moskos walked a batter in the 9th, but erased him in a double play.

The Curve posted 10 hits, including 2 each by Chase d'Arnaud, 1B Matt Hague, and Alex Presley, with both d'Arnaud and Presley collecting a double each. �DH Jim Negrych walked twice and stole second base in the 1st inning. �The Curve came close to scoring in the 2nd inning, when Hague led off with a single, and Presley doubled, but Hague was thrown out at the plate. �They also had the bases loaded with one out in the 3rd -- back-to-back singles by Watts and Presley, then a walk to Negrych. �That time a strikeout and a fly out ended the inning without a run scoring.

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Akron Aeros �2, �Altoona Curve �0 (box)

CF Gorkys Hernandez had the Curve's only hit on Tuesday night as three Akron pitchers combined for the one-hit shut out. �Aeros' Scott Barnes earned the win with 5.1 hitless and scoreless innings, then Steven Wright followed with 1.2 more hitless and scoreless innings. �Omar Aguilar pitched the final two innings, and he also kept the Curve scoreless, but Hernandez led off the 8th with his hit. �Hernandez got as far as third base on two ground outs, but he was left there 90 feet away from scoring. �The catch for the Aero pitchers was that they allowed a total of 8 walks. �The Curve had at least one base runner on in 6 of their 9 innings because of all the walks. �They even loaded the bases on three walks in the 6th, but could not push a run across the plate.

Curve starter Justin Wilson pitched 5.2 innings and allowed both of the Aeros' runs on 5 hits and a walk, while striking out 6 batters. �Wilson worked around two singles and a throwing error by C Hector Gimenez in the 1st inning, then got a strikeout to slide out of a jam with runners on the corners in the 2nd. �He retired the next 11 batters in order before giving up a walk and a 2-run homer in the 6th. �Tony Watson came on in relief of Wilson after the homer. �Watson finished the 6th with a fly out, then gave up a lone single in each of the next two innings. �Ronald Uviedo pitched the 9th inning and also gave up a lone single.

The big news on Sunday afternoon in the Pirates' minor league organization is that the team has promoted righty starter Bryan Morris from Bradenton to AA Altoona. �Morris won his 3rd victory for the Marauders yesterday, and has been mowing 'em down in the Florida State League. �In 44.2 innings, Morris has allowed 37 hits but just 8 runs, and only 3 of those runs are earned. �He has allowed just 7 walks, while striking out 40 batters. �He has also not allowed a home run. �He leads the FSL with an ERA of 0.60, and his WHIP is 0.99. �The Florida State League has hit .220 against him. �He is first in the FSL with those 44.2 innings pitched, and his WHIP is 4th highest in the league.

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West Virginia Power �8, �Delmarva Shorebirds �4 (box)

The Power turned on their power in the 4th inning, scoring 5 runs on their way to a 14-hit afternoon. �Righty starter Victor Black made his 2010 debut with a 4-inning start, and struck out 7 batters.

The Power got onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the 1st. �2B Jarek Cunningham got started with a solo home run. �DH Aaron Baker followed the homer with a walk, and LF Rogelios Noris and C Ramon Cabrera loaded the bases with back-to-back singles. �After a fly out, 1B Kyle Morgan brought in Baker with another single.

Victor Black gave up only two walks over the first three innings, while striking out 5 batters. �He gave up his first single in the 4th, then hit the next batter with a pitch. �The third batter of the inning smacked a 3-run homer, giving Delmarva a 3-2 lead. �Black finished the inning with a ground out and two more strikeouts, to end his afternoon.

In the bottom of the frame, the Power sent 8 batters to the plate. �3B Elevys Gonzalez singled, and went to second on SS Adenson Chourio's sacrifice bunt. �Gonzalez stole third base, and after CF Evan Chambers walked, a wild pitch moved him to second base. �Another wild pitch on strike three to Jarek Cunningham loaded the bases. �Aaron Baker brought in Gonzalez and Chambers with a single into right field. �Then Rogelios Noris made it 7-3 with a 3-run homer over the left field wall.

Marc Baca pitched a scoreless 5th inning for the Power. �Jason Erickson took the mound for the next three innings. �He gave up a solo homer in the 6th, but the Power got the run back in the 7th. �RF David Rubinstein led off with a single, and went to second on a passed ball. �He scored on Kyle Morgan's second RBI single of the game.

Erickson retired the side in the 7th. �He gave up a lead-off single in the 8th, but erased that runner with a double play. �Duke Welker pitched the 9th and worked around a throwing error at second base by Cunningham, striking out the final two batters of the game for a scoreless inning.

Rogelios Noris went 3-for-5 with a 3-run homer, while Jarek Cunningham, David Rubinstein, and Kyle Morgan each had two hits.

Bradenton Marauders 1, �Fort Myers Miracle �0 (box)

The Marauders were out-hit 4 -2, but they needed only one hit to score the only run of the game and beat the Miracle on Friday night. �Bradenton starter Brian Leach pitched 4 innings and worked around at least one base runner in three of them -- a walk in the 1st, two singles in the 2nd, and one more single in the 3rd. �All four runners were left stranded. �After retiring the side in order in the 4th, Leach was relieved by Casey Erickson to begin the 5th. �Erickson pitched 3 innings and allowed only one single in the 6th, then had C Tony Sanchez throw that runner out trying to steal second base. �Diego Moreno pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 8th, and Noah Krol bounced back from his tough appearance last night to retire the side in order in the 9th, earning his 8th save.

At the same time, Miracle starter Bruce Pugh was busy mowing down the Marauders' hitters. �He struck out 10 batters in his 7 innings of work. �He gave up only one walk, to lead-off batter SS Brock Holt in the 1st inning, then picked Holt off and caught him stealing. �Pugh then retired the next 13 Bradenton batters, until 3B Jeremy Farrell reached base on an error in the 5th. �Farrell was left on base, as Pugh struck out two to end the inning, then two more to begin the 6th. �Holt singled with two outs in the 6th, but was also left on base. �Pugh also struck out two in the 7th. �He was relieved by Loek Van Mil to begin the 8th, and the Marauders found some luck. �Van Mil hit DH Eric Fryer with a pitch to begin his inning. �1B Erik Huber singled, moving Fryer to third base. �2B Greg Picart grounded to third base, and Fryer scored on a fielder's choice. �A double play ended the inning, but the Marauders had all the runs they needed.

Harrisburg Senators 3, �Altoona Curve 2 (box)

Rain cut short the late-morning/early afternoon game in Altoona on Tuesday, and didn't give the Curve a chance to catch up to the Senators for a second time. �Starter Derek Hankins gave up an unearned run in the top of the 2nd. �A lead-off double and Hankins' own throwing error on a pickoff attempt put a runner on third base with no outs. �After a walk, a grounder for a double play was enough to score the runner from third base.

The Curve batters went down in order for the first two innings. �Two Harrisburg errors put C Kris Watts on third base and SS Chase d'Arnaud on first with two outs in the 3rd inning, but a fly out ended that threat as the rain began to fall. �Altoona got onto the scoreboard in the 4th, tying the game on a single by 1B Matt Hague and an RBI double by RF Miles Durham. Durham went to third base on a ground out, but was left there when the inning ended.

Harrisburg didn't let the tie last long. �They scored 2 more runs in the top of the 5th, on a walk and a 2-run homer, taking a 3-1 lead. �The Curve came right back in the bottom of the inning. �Watts was hit by a pitch, and pinch-hitter Jim Negrych doubled into right field, moving Watts to third base. �A sacrifice fly by d'Arnaud plated Watts and moved Negrych to third base. �He could not advance further, though, as a ground out and a line out ended the inning. �At that point, the rain was much harder, and the umpires called for a rain delay. �After nearly two hours of waiting and hoping for another chance to score, it was clear that the rain was not going to stop. �Since 5 full innings had been played, it was an official game, and the Curve were on the losing end.

The rain also held Alex Presley to just 2 at-bats, both of which were outs. �That ended his 24-game on-base streak.

The Indianapolis Indians lost, but the rest of the Pirates' affiliates won on Saturday.

Altoona Curve �9, �Erie SeaWolves �7 (box)

A 6-run 2nd inning boosted the Curve to an early lead, and a late-inning rally kept them on top for a win at home on Saturday. �The Curve sent 11 batters to the plate in the 2nd, collecting 8 hits for their 6 runs. �DH Jim Negrych got the fun started with a single through the hole into right field. �2B Josh Harrison and LF Alex Presley both doubled, and RF Miles Durham added another single, and two runs were in before an out had been recorded. �After a fly out, SS Chase d'Arnaud singled, bringing in both Presley and Durham, and a fielding error accounted for the second run (so only one RBI for d'Arnaud) and moved d'Arnaud to third. �Three more consecutive singles, by CF Gorkys Hernandez, 3B Jordy Mercer, and 1B Matt Hague, and another run came in. �That brought it back to Negrych, who this time brought the 6th run in with a sacrifice fly, before a ground out by Harrison ended the inning.

Starter Tim Alderson elected to work entirely out of the stretch as he worked on mechanics. �He�kept the SeaWolves from scoring over the first three innings, but gave up one run in the 4th on a single and an RBI double. �He ran into more trouble in the 5th, giving up a single, a double, a sacrifice fly, and another double, and then another single, for 3 runs. �Alderson was relieved at that point, just one out away from qualifying for the win, having surrendered 4 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks over his 4.2 innings, with 6 strikeouts. �He was replaced by Dustin Molleken, who gave up another single, but the throw in from Durham in right field put the runner from first out at third base to end the inning. �Curve 6, SeaWolves 4.

Erie moved within one run of the Curve in the 7th, when Molleken gave up a double, a wild pitch to move the batter to third base, then a sacrifice fly. �The Curve responded in the bottom of the inning with 3 more runs to maintain a bigger lead. �Hernandez led off with a double, and Hague walked. �A grounder by Negrych forced Hague out at second, but left runners on the corners with two outs. �Harrison brought both Negrych and Hernandez in with a line drive double into left field, and he moved to third on the throw in to the plate. �That meant that he was able to score on a wild pitch, and the Curve had a 9-5 lead.

Jeff Sues came in fro Molleken to begin the 8th inning, and he was greeted by a solo home run by Erie 1B Michael Bertram. �Sues got two outs, then gave up a single, a wild pitch, and another single. �Danny Moskos finished the inning for Sues with a fly out. �Moskos had to work around a fielding error by SS d'Arnaud and 2B Harrison in the 9th, but still kept Erie from scoring, to earn his 7th save of the season. �Molleken was credited with the win, his first of the season.

Gorkys Hernandez had a 3-hit night for the Curve, with a double and one RBI. �Jim Negrych, Josh Harrison, and Alex Presley each had 2 hits for the Curve.

Some nice shutout pitching (at least for a few innings) on Saturday evening:

Altoona Curve �9, � Harrisburg Senators �2 (box)

Starter Derek Hankins pitched 5 shutout innings in his start in Harrisburg. �He scattered two doubles and two walks over those 5 innings, and struck out 2 batters. �Tony Watson relieved Hankins to begin the 6th inning, and he also kept the Senators scoreless for the next two innings. �Watson got into some trouble in the 8th, though, giving up a double, a walk, and a single to the first three batters of the inning, loading the bases. �Watson got the next batter to strike out, but then was replaced by Jeff Sues. Sues gave up a sacrifice fly, and then a single, both scoring one run. �Those runs were charged to Watson. �Sues finished the 8th inning with a ground out. �He got two ground outs in the 9th, allowed a walk, then struck out the last batter of the game.

Meanwhile, the Curve batters were busy piling up 15 hits and 9 runs. �LF Alex Presley, who is hitting .471 over his last 10 games and is 8-for-15 in his last 3 games, led the charge by going 4-for-5 tonight, all singles, for 3 RBI. �C Hector Gimenez had 2 doubles and a single, and both 1B Matt Hague and 2B Josh Harrison had two singles each. �Each position player in the starting lineup had at least one hit. �The scoring started slowly, with one run in the 2nd inning. �RF Miles Durham tripled with two outs, then scored on Presley's first single. �They added two more runs in the 4th, when singles by Hague and Harrison, along with a missed catch error on a pick-off attempt, put runners on the corners. �A balk scored Hague, and Presley's second single scored Harrison. �Presley was out at second as he tried to stretch it into a double.

The Senators tried changing pitchers to begin the 6th inning, but it didn't help them. �3B Jordy Mercer led off with a single and moved to second base on a wild pitch. �Matt Hague's single scored Mercer. �A walk to Durham and Presley's third single scored Hague with another run. �Gimenez's double brought in Durham and Presley, and gave the Curve a 7-0 lead. �Walks to pinch-hitter Jim Negrych and CF Gorkys Hernandez loaded the bases, but a fly out ended the inning and left the three runners stranded.

A double by SS Chase d'Arnaud and an RBI single by Hernandez made it 8-0 in the top of the 8th. �The Senators scored twice in the bottom of the frame, but by then it was too little too late. �The Curve added one more for good measure in the top of the 9th. �With two outs, Durham walked, and Presley beat out a grounder to short for his fourth hit. �Gimenez's second double brought in Durham with the Curve's 9th run.

The Altoona Curve had a scheduled day off on Thursday.

Palm Beach Cardinals 6, �Bradenton Marauders 2 (box)

The Cardinals held the Marauders to just 5 hits and 2 runs in Bradenton on Thursday. �Two of those hits were by CF Robbie Grossman, and SS Brock Holt, RF Austin McClune, and 2B Greg Picart had one hit apiece. �The Marauders did pick up 4 walks too.

The Marauders had runners on base in 4 of the first 6 innings, but didn't get a runner past second base in any of those innings. �In the 7th, with two outs, Austin McClune and Greg Picart hit back-to-back singles. �The Cardinals changed pitchers, and Brock Holt greeted the new reliever with a double into right field, scoring both runners, including Picart all the way around from first base. �That was all Bradenton could get though, as they went down in order in the 8th, and had three batters strike out around a walk in the 9th.

Starter Brian Leach had trouble right away in the top of the 1st. �He gave up a lead-off single, a walk, and a 3-run homer, to give the Cardinals an early 3-run lead. �Leach gave up walks in each of the innings he pitched, for a total of 7 walks in 4.1 innings. �He worked around the walks in the 2nd and 3rd, and worked around two walks in the 4th. �The 5th inning began with 2 walks, then a single to load the bases. �The next Cardinal batter grounded to third, and 3B Jeremy Farrell fired back to C Tony Sanchez to force out the lead runner, but Sanchez made a throwing error on the relay to first base, and that allowed a run to score. �A double into center field brought in two more runs, to give Palm Beach a 6-0 lead.

Mike Felix relieved Leach and finished the 5th inning. �He pitched the next two innings and gave up 3 walks, but two timely double plays kept the Cardinals from scoring again. �Mike Colla retired the side in order in the 8th, and Diego Moreno pitched a scoreless 9th, allowing a double.

Looking at the pitchers can be a little more difficult... �Who's pitching well in the early weeks of the 2010 minor league season? �(* is the team high)

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INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS

Team ERA 5.37 (last in the International League), 23 homers (most in IL), 137 strikeouts, 66 walks, 1.46 WHIP

Wil Ledezma - 0.00 ERA in 3.1 innings/4 appearances, one hit, one walk, 3 strikeouts, 0.60 WHIP

Corey Hamman - 1.50 ERA in 6 innings/4 appearances, one run, 6 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts, 1.50 WHIP

Jean Machi - 2.00 ERA in 9 innings/7 appearances, 2 saves*, �2 runs, 4 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts, 1.11 WHIP

Both Brad Lincoln and Chris Jakubauskas have 2 wins. �Jeremy Powell leads with 28 hits allowed, 19 runs allowed, and 5 homers allowed. �Kevin Hart leads with 11 walks and 19 strikeouts.

Continuing with the rest of the affiliates... click on "read more"