Tag: Evan Meek

Indianapolis Indians  5,  Scranton /Wilkes-Barre Yankees  3
(box) 

The Indians' bullpen shut down the Yankees' bats in the second half of the game, as the Tribe took the first game of this 4-game series at PNC Field in Moosic, PA.  Starter Brian Burres earned his second win of the season, while RF John Bowker and C Jason Jaramillo contributed 2 RBI each.  

The Indians got right down to business in the top of the 1st, opening the game with back-to-back line drive singles into left field by SS Chase d'Arnaud and 2B Josh Harrison.  After a strikeout by LF Alex Presley, Bowker loaded the bases with a line drive single to right field.  1B Matt Hague (photo) made it four line drive singles (to left again), and his single drove in both d'Arnaud and Harrison to give the Indians a 2-0 lead.

The Yankees came right back with two runs off Tribe starter Brian Burres in the bottom of the 1st.  Burres got a ground out, then gave up a single to SS Romiro Pena, followed by a 2-run homer to C Jesus Montero.  LF Justin Maxwell struck out, then 1B Brandon Laird singled, and Burres walked 2B Kevin Russo.  A grounder to short by RF Dan Brewer forced Russo out at second base, to get Burres and the Indians out of the inning, with the score tied 2-2.
 
Burres settled in after that first inning.  Relying on his breaking ball and changeup, Burres retired the next 8 S/W-B batters in a row, before allowing a single in the 4th inning.  Brewer lifted a fly ball into right field, and advanced to second base on a fielding error by Bowker in right.  The error was made meaningless with a fly out to end the inning.  

Andy Marte (right) celebrates with Rudy Owens and Dusty Brown after his 2-run homer.  













Indianapolis Indians  3,  Buffalo Bison  2
(box) 

For the third year in a row, the Indianapolis Indians found that the pink breast cancer awareness jerseys brought them luck.  They beat the Buffalo Bison at Victory Field tonight, to win the 4-game series 3 games to 1.  Rudy Owens pitched 7 innings, allowing only one run on 7 hits for his third win of the season.  Former Pirate DJ Carrasco took the loss for the Bison.

This was Owens' (photo) first win in 5 weeks, and only the second game in which he pitched 7 innings (the other was on April 11th).  He did not walk any batters.  He had two strikeouts -- both on Carrasco, who also struck out Owens twice.  

Owens took advantage of three double plays in the first four innings.  His first two innings were twins.  The southpaw gave up a single (to 3B Luis Figueroa in the 1st and to 1B Valentino Pascucci in the 2nd), then got an out (pop up and fly out), then erased the base runner and ended the inning with a double play.  In the 1st, CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis bounced into a standard 4-6-3 (2B Josh Harrison to SS Chase d'Arnaud to 1B Matt Hague) double play.  In the 2nd, LF Jesus Feliciano grounded to first, where Hague stepped on first, then threw to second base where d'Arnaud tagged out Feliciano for the reverse force double play.  

Owens retired the Bison in order in the 3rd, but got into some trouble in the 4th.  Former Indy Indian Luis Figueroa zapped a grounder just inside the third base line and down into the left field corner, where LF John Bowker had to chase it down, as Figueroa raced to third base with a triple.  2B Michael Fisher lined a single up the middle, scoring Figueroa.  Then Owens returned to the first/second- inning form.  He got Nieuwenhuis to fly out, and got Pascucci to ground into an around the horn double play, started by 3B Andy Marte.

Alex Presley (7) had three hits and scored three times for the Indians tonight.  












Indianapolis Indians  10,  Buffalo Bison  1
(box) 

The Indianapolis Indians posted 16 hits and 10 runs as they stampeded the Buffalo Bison at Victory Field tonight.  Each position player in the Indians' lineup had at least one hit, and three players had 3 hits each:  CF Alex Presley, LF John Bowker, and C Dusty Brown.  Bowker contributed 4 RBI, while Brown and RF Andrew Lambo had 2 RBI each.  Justin Wilson earned the win with another very strong start, and rehabbing reliever Evan Meek pitched a scoreless 8th inning.  

The Indians got right down to business in the bottom of the 1st inning, when five of their first six batters singled.  2B Chase d'Arnaud started with a bouncer right back to the mound. The ball hit the leaping Buffalo starter Josh Stinson's glove and ricocheted 90 degrees to the left, landing over near the third base line.  That was all the time the speedy d'Arnaud needed to reach first base safely.  D'Arnaud promptly stole second base, and after SS Pedro Ciriaco popped out, d'Arnaud moved up to third base on Presley's (photo) first hit of the night, a single lined into right field.  A wild pitch by Stinson got away from his catcher Mike Nickeas and skittered over towards the visitor's dugout, far enough away that d'Arnaud was able to score from third, while Presley advanced to second.  Presley scored on Bowker's line drive into center field.  1B Matt Hague and 3B Josh Harrison both singled, loading the bases for Lambo.  Lambo grounded sharply to short, for what should have been a double play to end the inning.  Buffalo SS Luis Hernandez made the scoop and the toss to former Indy Indian 2B Luis Figueroa, forcing out Harrison at second, but Figueroa's relay to first pulled 1B Valentino Pascucci off the bag.  Lambo was safe, so Bowker scored from third.  Then, Hague, who had been on second base, rounded third and dashed for the plate, taking advantage of the Bison infielders having to regroup after the poor throw, and also taking advantage of the fact that they were not really paying attention to him.  Hague scored easily, giving Lambo 2 RBI on his fielder's choice.  Another grounder for a force out at second base ended the inning, with the Indians ahead, 4-0.  

Chase d'Arnaud slid in safely at third with a stolen base.
















Columbus Clippers  5,  Indianapolis Indians  2 
(box) 

The Indians and Clippers finally got some sunshine to play under, but the change in weather also brought a change in fortune.  The Indians' 4-game winning streak and the Clippers 4-game losing streak both came to an end, as the Clippers avoided being swept in this 4-game series at Victory Field.  


The Indians were held to just 4 hits, and half of them came off the bat of SS Chase d'Arnaud.  The Tribe batters were not able to take advantage of 3 walks either.  D'Arnaud opened the bottom of the 1st with his first hit, a cracked-bat bloop that fell in behind second base where none of the Clippers' fielders could get to it.  D'Arnaud stole second, coming in easily under a very high throw from former Indy Indian, C Luke Carlin (photo).  2B Brian Friday popped up to second base, then LF Alex Presley walked.  With RF John Bowker at the plate, d'Arnaud and Presley pulled off a double steal, to put both runners into scoring position.  Bowker hit a dribbly little "oops" ball to the left and in front of the mound, but with d'Arnaud off and running on the pitch, by the time Columbus starter Corey Kluber got to the ball, he had no play on d'Arnaud at the plate.  Bowker was out at first, but with an RBI, and the Indians had a 1-0 lead.  1B Matt Hague walked, and the Indians again had runners on the corners, but 3B Josh Harrison struck out to end the inning.  





Tribe starter Brian Burres (photo) retired the Clippers in order in the top of the 1st, but got into a little jam in the 2nd.  With one out, Burres gave up a single to DH Jason Kipnis.  Kipnis's grounder glanced off the end of d'Arnaud's glove as he stretched to make the play, and the ball ended up in center field.  Burres struck out LF Jerad Head next.  Kipnis stole second base, then 1B Wes Hodges worked a walk, to put runners on first and second base.  C Jason Jaramillo ended the inning for Burres with a throw down to first base.  Hodges was so far off the base, that the throw from Jaramillo beat him by a mile (ok, by 6 feet), and Hodges didn't even bother to slide.  

The Clippers tied the score in the top of the 3rd.  Burres got one out, then worked the count full on SS Luis Valbuena before walking him.  CF Ezequiel Carrera grounded slowly to first base, where Hague was able to make the scoop and step on the bag, but Valbuena was already sliding in to second base.  Valbuena came around to score from second base on 2B Cord Phelps' grounder down the first base line, just out of reach of Hague, who tried a dive to his left but could only tick the ball as it zipped past.  

The throw from first bounced off the runner Ezequiel Carrera and skipped past 2B Pedro Ciriaco.













Indianapolis Indians  7,  Columbus Clippers  3
(box) 

Another rainy day, an another win for the Indians.

The Tribe waited out a 95 minute delay before the game even started, then hung on through a drizzly rainy game, to win their fourth game in a row -- their longest winning streak of the season.  They also handed the first-place Columbus Clippers their fourth loss in a row.  Justin Thomas earned his second win of the season, and 2B Pedro Ciriaco blasted a huge 3-run homer, while 3B Brian Friday went 3-for-4 at the plate.

Rudy Owens (photo) made the start for the Tribe, but ended up not being involved in the decision.  Owens pitched 6 innings and allowed only 2 runs, which came in the top of the 1st and involved a strange play.  Clippers' CF Ezequiel Carrera led off with a bunt single, which Owens could not get into his glove.   Owens made a pick-off throw to first as Carrera took off for second.  1B Matt Hague relayed the throw to second, but the ball bounced off the sliding Carrera and eluded 2B Ciriaco.  The ball skipped into left field, and Carrera advanced to third base, as Ciriaco was charged with a missed catch error.  RF Jerad Head tapped back to the mound.  Owens scooped up the ball, glared Carrera into staying put on third base, then threw to first for the out.  3B Lonnie Chisenhall was hit on the hip by a pitch to give the Clippers runners on the corners.  DH Chad Huffman slipped a grounder past a diving Hague, and Carrera scored from third base.  2B Jason Kipnis followed with a long fly ball to center field for a sacrifice fly, which scored Chisenhall for a 2-0 lead.  

The Indians came right back to score one run in the bottom of the 1st off Columbus starter Zach McAllister.  With one out, Ciriaco reached base when 3B Chisenhall made the scoop but dropped the ball on the transfer.  CF Alex Presley blooped a single into short left field, which fell in between two Columbus fielders.  Ciriaco rounded second base and got partway to third, then got hung up as the Columbus LF Josh Rodriguez had the ball and was about to throw it in.  Ciriaco got out of his poor base-running when he made a dash for third, and Rodriguez made a poor throw to third base, as Ciriaco slid in safely.  Presley moved up to second base on the throw to third.  LF John Bowker grounded to short, collecting an RBI as Ciriaco scored from third to cut the Clippers' lead to 2-1.

Chase d'Arnaud makes the play at shortstop









Indianapolis Indians  9,  Columbus Clippers  5
(box) 

It took 8 games, but the Indians finally got their first win of the season against the Columbus Clippers tonight at Victory Field.  Brad Lincoln made a solid start, going 7 innings to earn his 3rd win.  It was the second game in a row that the Tribe scored 9 runs, but also the second in a row when they allowed the opposition to rally in the late innings.  The Indians posted 16 hits (two more than last night), with 1B Matt Hague and SS Chase d'Arnaud each contributing 3 hits and 3 RBI.  Each member of the starting line up had at least one hit.

Lincoln (photo) allowed 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks, with 4 strikeouts in his 7 innings.  He had only one inning in which he retired the Clippers in order, but left 8 runners on base.  The righty got through the first inning with only one runner reaching base, when he hit Columbus' DH Lonnie Chisenhall with a pitch.  The two runs scored in the 2nd inning.  RF Travis Buck led off the inning with a single into right center field.  A fly out and a pop out followed, and it looked like Lincoln might get out of the inning unscathed.  Then former Indy Indian C Luke Carlin ran the count full and took a walk.  That brought up 3B Luis Valbuena, who ripped a grounder into right field so hard that it travelled all the way to the right field wall.  He drove in both Buck and Carlin, and by the time the ball got to the infield, Valbuena was on second base.  A spectacular catch by CF Alex Presley on a long fly ball off the bat of CF Ezequiel Carrera ended the inning.  

Lincoln went on to give up a single to Chisenhall in the 3rd inning, and also struck out 2 in the 3rd.  1B Chad Huffman singled and stole second base in the 5th.  That inning ended with a grounder toward second base.  2B Pedro Ciriaco charged in, made the scoop on the run, then threw across his body and a little behind him to first base, where Matt Hague had to pick the ball out of the dirt, but did it in time for the out.  Chisenhall doubled in the 7th inning, but was again left stranded.

After scoring in the 2nd inning, the biggest threat the Clippers made against Lincoln came in the 4th.  With one out, LF Jerad Head slipped a grounder past the diving d'Arnaud and into left field.  Carlin again worked a full count and took a walk.  Valbuena flied out to short left field for the second out.  Carrera grounded to third for what should have been the final out, but the ball skipped off 3B Josh Harrison's glove and over his shoulder.  D'Arnaud was in the perfect position to back up Harrison, and made the catch behind him, but by then Carrera had reached first base safely, loading the bases.  D'Arnaud's back-up kept a run from scoring, though, and Lincoln got another grounder to Harrison, this one fielded cleanly, to end the inning and leave the bases full.  It took Lincoln 97 pitches (62 strikes) to get through his 7 innings.

Phillies  8,  Pirates  5

The Pirates' regular starters played the entire game on a chilly night in Philadelphia -- a big change from the weather they'd enjoyed in Florida for the past 6 weeks.  2B Neil Walker provided the offensive boost, reaching base in 4 of his 5 at-bats, with a walk, three singles, and one RBI.  Starter Ross Ohlendorf lasted 4 innings, and allowed 6 runs (4 earned) on 7 hits, one walk, and 3 hit batters.

LF Jose Tabata led off the game with a walk, and Walker followed with a single slipped into right field in the top of the 1st.  1B Lyle Overbay brought both runners in with a double, to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead.  The Phillies got one run back in the bottom of the frame, on a pair of singles and a throwing error by C Ryan Doumit.  Ohlendorf began the bottom of the 2nd by surrendering a solo homer to Phillies' Ben Francisco, then loaded the bases with a walk and two hit batters.  A fielding error by SS Ronny Cedeno and a sacrifice fly brought in two more runs for Philadelphia.  The Phillies made it 6-2 in the 4th, when Ohlendorf hit his third batter of the game, and allowed 3 more singles.  

Minor leaguer Mike Dubee, whose father Rich Dubee is the Phillies' pitching coach, pitched a perfect 5th inning for the Pirates.  Chris Leroux started the 6th inning and allowed a walk and a single, then an RBI ground out.  He was relieved by Garrett Olson, who finished the inning with a fly out and a ground out.  Jose Veras threw a 1-2-3 inning in the 7th.  Evan Meek took the bottom of the 8th, and began by giving up two singles, including one to former Pirate/Indy Indian C Erik Kratz.  A fielding error by Walker kept the inning going, and Kratz scored an unearned run on an RBI ground out.  

The Pirates scored again in the top of the 5th.  Pinch-hitter Josh Rodriguez and Tabata both walked to open the inning, and Walker lined into right field, where Francisco misplayed the ball.  Both runners scored and Walker ended up on third base, credited with a single.  CF Andrew McCutchen plated Walker with another single.  

The Indy Indians were scheduled to play the Las Vegas 51's in Dunedin this afternoon -- no word on the results. 

Orioles  11,  Pirates  7
The Orioles pounded out 15 hits, including 3 homers, to the Pirates' 8 hits (and 4 home runs) this evening, as the Pirates lost in Sarasota, Florida.  2B Neil Walker took care of half of the hits and half of the homers for the Pirates -- he homered in the 1st inning, singled in the 3rd, homered again in the 6th (both solo homers), and singled in the 8th.  
The Pirates got onto the scoreboard in the top of the 1st, with back-to-back homers by 1B Lyle Overbay (2 runs) and Walker.  Starter Ross Ohlendorf worked around a single in the bottom of the 1st, but gave up two solo homers in the bottom of the 2nd, then an unearned run in the 3rd on an error, a single, and a sacrifice fly.  
The 3-3 tie lasted until the bottom of the 5th, when the Orioles got to Ohlendorf with a 2-run homer, a double, and a walk.  Evan Meek relieved Ohlendorf with two outs and runners on first and second.  The first batter Meek faced, former Indy Indian JJ Hardy, singled in a run, to give the Orioles a 6-3 lead.   The Pirates got one run back with Walker's second homer in the top of the 6th, but the Orioles scored 2 more unearned runs off Meek in the bottom of the frame.  Garrett Olson came in to pitch the 7th inning and allowed 3 more Orioles' runs, with a walk, a double, a sacrifice fly, and an RBI single.  
The Pirates rallied for a run in the 8th, on a lead-off walk by Overbay, and singles by Walker and 3B Pedro Alvarez.   They added another 2 runs in the top of the 9th when SS Josh Rodriguez blasted a 2-run homer.  
Chris Leroux pitched a 1-2-3 8th inning for the Pirates.  Pedro Ciriaco got another two innings in at center field, where he made some outs.  Also in the game:  pinch-hitter Steve Pearce, pinch-hitter/LF John Bowker.


The Indy Indians were scheduled to play a game against the Las Vegas 51's in Bradenton this afternoon.  No results available at this point.  
Last season's 2nd round draft pick Stetson Allie pitched in an intrasquad game at Pirate City this afternoon.  In two innings, he allowed 3 runs on 2 hits and 3 walks.   

Other notes:
The Pirates released, then immediately re-signed OF Austin McClune.  Not sure what that was about.  

Former Pirate pitcher Oliver Perez, who was released by the Mets on Monday, signed a minor league contract with the Nationals yesterday.   

Pirates  3,  Astros  1
Starter Charlie Morton continued to show the Pirates' management that he belongs in the starting rotation with a 6-inning shutout performance today in Kissimmee, Florida.  Morton scattered 4 hits over his 6 innings and did not walk a batter.  He struck out 5 Astros.  C Humberto Quintero had two of those hits -- a single in the 3rd, when he reached as far as third base before being stranded, and a two-out single in the 5th.  Astros' starter Jordan Lyles followed that second single with a line drive into left field, and Quintero raced around the bases.  Pirates' LF Josh Fields got the ball back into the infield quickly, and Quintero was caught in a run-down and tagged out by C Ryan Doumit.  Evan Meek and Chris Leroux each pitched a scoreless inning of relief.  Neither gave up a hit, but both worked around base runners who got on due to fielding errors.   SS Benji Gonzalez had a tough afternoon, with a fielding error in the 7th, back-to-back fielding errors in the 8th, then another fielding error in the 9th that lead to an unearned run.  With Mike Crotta on the mound in the 9th, the error, a single, and a walk loaded the bases, and a sacrifice fly drove in the Astros' only run.  Crotta has not allowed an earned run in his previous 6 appearances (8.1 innings).  

SS Ronny Cedeno provided the Pirates with their first 2 runs, on a 2nd-inning home run that followed Josh Fields' double.  Ryan Doumit picked up the RBI in the 3rd inning with a triple into left field, driving in 1B Andy Marte, who had singled.  Steve Pearce, who started at third base today, singled twice in the game.  CF Pedro Ciriaco, 2B Corey Wimberly, RF Cole White, 1B Garrett Atkins, and pinch-hitter Josh Rodriguez also got into the game.  

More roster moves are expected on Monday, as the Pirates head into the final full week of spring training.

Catching up after being away for a few days...

On Saturday, the Pirates sent four pitchers to minor league camp:
RHP Bryan Morris and RHP Kyle McPherson, both on the 40-man roster, were optioned down, with Morris going to AAA Indianapolis and McPherson going to A+ Bradenton.   
Two lefties, Rudy Owens and Justin Wilson, were also sent to the minor league camp, and though their exact level is still not official, both should begin the season with the Indy Indians.  

More moves were made today:
From the 40-man roster--
LHP Jeff Locke, LHP Aaron Thompson, and RHP Ramon Aguero were optioned to AA Altoona 
LHP Daniel Moskos and LHP Tony Watson were optioned to Indianapolis
Outfielders Gorkys Hernandez and Alex Presley were optioned to Indianapolis
Moskos and Presley both spent part of 2010 with Indianapolis, while Watson and Hernandez will make their debut at the AAA level.  Locke, Aguero, and Thompson all spent part of 2010 with Altoona.

Not on the 40-man yet --
Infielders Chase d'Arnaud and Brian Friday and outfielder Andrew Lambo were reassigned to minor league camp.  Friday played in Indianapolis for most of 2010 and should return there.  D'Arnaud and Lambo were in Altoona for 2010;  Lambo is ready for AAA, though d'Arnaud may be asked to go back to Altoona for part of 2011.