Tag: Dustin Molleken

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.

Richmond Flying Squirrels 4, �Altoona Curve 2 (box)

Curve starter Tim Alderson had little trouble with the Squirrels for the first four innings on Thursday evening, using two double plays to erase two of the three base runners he'd allowed (two singles and a hit batter). �But he had problems in the 5th, when Richmond scored 5 runs on two walks, four singles, and a sacrifice fly, and Alderson could not get out of the inning. �One of the walks forced in a run, and it didn't get any better from there. �Alderson threw 89 pitches in his 4.2 innings, and allowed a total of 4 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks, with 4 strikeouts, while working entirely out of the stretch.

The Curve scored their first run in the top of the 1st. �SS Chase d'Arnaud opened the game in Richmond with a line drive single into right field. �A ground out moved him to second base, and he stole third base, then scored on 1B Matt Hague's RBI single. �The Curve managed only a couple of walks over the next three innings, until LF Alex Presley led off the 5th by beating out an infield single. �Alderson sacrifice bunted him to second base, and Presley scored on d'Arnaud's second single of the game, also an infield hit. �The Curve had one last chance in the 9th, when 2B Josh Harrison and RF Miles Durham hit back-to-back singles with two outs. �But a fly out by Presley ended the threat and the game.

Dustin Molleken relieved Alderson to finish up the 5th inning with a ground out. �He also pitched the next two innings, allowing only a walk. �Ronald Uviedo pitched the 9th inning, and he also gave up a walk, then struck out two batters.

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.

Three hits were the common theme in these minor league games on Monday:

Palm Beach Cardinals �1, �Bradenton Marauders �0 (box)

The Marauders were held to just 3 hits in this shut-out on Monday night in Palm Beach. �CF Robbie Grossman, DH Starling Marte, and C Tony Sanchez were the only batters to get a hit, and all three hits were singles. �Grossman and Sanchez also walked in the game, and Marte was hit by a pitch.

Two of those base runners came in the top of the first. �With two outs, Marte was hit by a pitch, and stole second base, then Sanchez walked. �A wild pitch put the runners on second and third bases, but they were left there when LF Quincy Latimore struck out to end the inning. �The next 14 Bradenton batters were retired in order, until Grossman singled in the 6th. �Grossman was thrown out trying to steal second base.

Marte and Sanchez led off the 7th inning with back-to-back singles, but Marte was picked off and caught stealing, and Sanchez was left on base after two ground outs. �Grossman also walked in the 9th inning, and went to second base on a balk, but was again left stranded.

In a sad twist, Bradenton starter Nate Adcock also gave up only 3 hits in his 7 innings of work. �It was his longest start of the season -- his first four starts were all 5 innings in length. �Adcock struck out a season-high 8 batters (he's struck out 7 batters twice) and did not allow any walks. �Unfortunately, one of the hits was a solo home run by Palm Beach's RF Alex Castellanos to lead off the 3rd inning. �That was the only run of the game, making Adcock the hard-luck loser. �Adcock gave up a single to begin the 2nd inning, but got a pop-out double play to erase the runner. �Castellanos also singled with two outs in the 5th, and he was Palm Beach's only runner left on base.

Casey Erickson relieved Adcock to pitch the 8th. �He also gave up a two-out single, but that runner was caught stealing second base to end the inning.

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The West Virginia Power and the Kannapolis Intimidators were rained out in Kannapolis on Saturday. �It appears that they will play a double header on Sunday in the afternoon.

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Erie SeaWolves �4, �Altoona Curve �3 (box)

A late-inning home run by the SeaWolves gave them the win over the Curve for the second night in a row. �This time it was Erie's C Max St. Pierre who sank the Curve, with his 3-run blast in the 7th inning. �Curve reliever Dustin Molleken was St. Pierre's victim. �Molleken had taken the mound to begin the 7th inning with the Curve ahead 3-1. �He gave up a single to the first batter he faced. �A grounder to short forced that runner out at second, but left the batter safe at first. � After a walk put a second runner on base, St. Pierre homered over the left field wall, to give the SeaWolves the go-ahead run and the win.

Mike Crotta made the start for the Curve, and pitched well. �He went 6 innings and allowed one run on 3 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 6 batters. �Crotta retired the first 6 batters he faced, but gave up the first Erie run -- to St. Pierre -- in the 3rd inning. �St. Pierre led off the frame with a walk, went to third on a single, then scored on an RBI ground out. �Crotta had a runner on base in each of the 4th and 5th innings, but eliminated both of those runners with double plays. �He also worked around a lone single in the 6th.

1B Matt Hague tied the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the 4th inning with a solo home run -- his second homer of the season. �In the 5th, the Curve loaded the bases with back-to-back singles by LF Alex Presley and SS Jose De Los Santos, followed by CF Gorkys Hernandez being hit by a pitch. �DH Jim Negrych plated Presley and De Los Santos with an RBI single, giving the Curve a 3-1 lead.