Tag: Jeff Sues

Binghamton Mets �7, �Altoona Curve �6 (box)

The Curve thought they were in the drivers' seat going in to the bottom of the 9th. �They were leading the Mets, 6-1. �Their starter Bryan Morris had pitched 7 innings and allowed only that one run on two walks and a single in the 5th, and he had scattered 2 other hits. �Reliever Mike Dubee had retired the Mets in order in the 8th. �Curve batters had scored 3 runs in the 2nd inning, on singles by newcomer LF Brandon Jones and C Kris Watts, an RBI force out by RF Anthony Norman, Morris reaching base on a wild pitch for strike three, and a huge triple by SS Chase d'Arnaud. They scored again in the 3rd on 1B Matt Hague's 2-run homer after 3B Josh Harrison was hit by a pitch. �Harrison also doubled in the 7th and scored on Mercer's RBI single. �So, the Curve thought things were going just fine.

Then the bottom of the 9th. �Diego Moreno came on to relieve Dubee. �He gave up a walk, then a wild pitch put that runner on second base. �After a strikeout, a single and a 3-run homer brought the score to 6-4. �Another walk and a single, and Moreno was relieved by Jeff Sues. Sues struck out the first batter he faced, then gave up an RBI single and a walk. �Now the tying run was on first base, and the winning run was coming to the plate. �Mets' SS Luis Hernandez doubled into left field, scoring two runs to give the Mets the win.

Brandon Jones, who was removed from the Indianapolis Indians' roster when Aki Iwamura was assigned to Indianapolis, was sent to the Curve "on paper" last week. �Now he's there in body too. �Righty reliever Ramon Aguero, who has had an elbow injury, was promoted to the Curve from the Bradenton Marauders. �INF James Skelton was sent to Bradenton to make space on the roster.

Wednesday's action in the rest of the Pirates' minor league organization. �The West Virginia Power had the day off, wrapping up the South Atlantic League's All-Star break

Altoona Curve �8, �Portland Sea Dogs �1 (box)

Bryan Morris pitched into the 7th inning in his 4th win of the season, allowing only one run on 6 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 4 for the Curve. �The first batter Morris faced doubled to open the gam, and Portland's second batter lined a single into center field, complicated by a fielding error by CF Gorkys Hernandez, to score a run. �Morris gave up a walk, but ended the inning with 2 strikeouts, and put up zeros after that. �He retired the next 7 batters, before allowing two singles in the 4th, then getting out of that jam with a double play. �He breezed through the 5th and 6th innings, then gave up a single and a walk in the 7th, and was relieved by Jeff Sues. Sues finished the 7th inning, but loaded the bases in the 8th on a walk and two singles (one by former Curve Ray Chang). �He got out of that mess with two pop outs (all three of the outs that inning were pop outs). Diego Moreno, fresh off the Disabled List, pitched the 9th inning, allowing a walk amid three strikeouts.

The Curve batters provided Morris with plenty of run support, beginning with 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st. �With one out, the next 5 batters reached base on hits. �Singles by Gorkys Hernandez and 3B Josh Harrison were followed by a double by 1B Matt Hague, which brought in two runs. �2B Jordy Mercer singled, scoring Hague. �C Hector Gimenez doubled, moving Mercer to third base. �LF Alex Presley bounced to first base for a fielder's choice, as Hague was tagged out at the plate. �Gimenez scored the fourth run of the inning on a passed ball. �RF Miles Durham got in on the act in the 4th inning with a 2-run homer, after a walk by Presley. �Gimenez led off the 6th with a solo homer, then Presley scored on a double and a fielding error on DH Shelby Ford's ball to first.

Saturday's games for the Pirates' lower minor league affiliates

Williamsburg Crosscutters �5, �State College Spikes �3 (box)

A full house sell-out in State College went home disappointed tonight, as the Spikes lost their home opener. �The Crosscutters scored 2 runs off starter Zack Dodson in the 2nd inning, on a walk, a single, a double, and a sacrifice fly. �Dodson gave up only one other hit in 3 more innings of work, and erased that runner with a double play.

The Spikes tied the score with a run in the bottom of the 2nd and another run in the 3rd. �A walk to 1B Gerlis Rodriguez open the inning. �A single by DH Kelson Brown, and a fielding error on CF Justin Bencsko's ball to first base loaded the bases for the Spikes. �C Miguel Mendez drove in Rodriguez with an RBI ground out. �Another fielding error put SS Walker Gourley on second base to begin the 3rd. �He scored on 3B Chase Lyles' line drive single into left field.

Mitch Fienemann took over from Dodson to begin the 4th. �After getting two outs, He gave up a single, a stolen base, and an RBI single to take a 3-2 lead. �The Spikes tied it up again in the bottom of the inning, on a double by Mendez, a passed ball, and a single by LF Melvin De La Cruz.

But the Crosscutters kept hammering at Fienemann, scoring a run in the 7th on two singles and a double, and another run in the 8th on four singles. �Sandobal Septimo finished the 8th for Fienemann, then pitched a scoreless 9th, despite giving up a double and a single.

Chase Lyles had two singles for the Spikes, and Justin Bencsko also had a single. �The Spikes collected 6 hits, while the Crosscutters posted 14 hits.

Bradenton Marauders �13, �St. Lucie Mets �1 (box)

Brian Leach won his third game of the season with 7 shutout innings against St. Lucie. �Leach scattered 4 hits, no walks, and had one batter reach base on an error. �He never had more than one runner on base in any one inning. �He also struck out 8 Mets' batters.

The only run the Mets scored came in the 8th inning. �Ramon Aguero took over for Leach to begin the 8th. �He gave up a single, then a passed ball and a ground out put the runner on third base. �Another single drove in the run. �Noah Krol pitched a scoreless 9th, allowing one single.

While the Marauders' pitching staff was holding the Mets down, the Mets' pitching staff was having a lot more trouble with the Marauders' bats. �They were quiet for the first two innings, then exploded for 5 runs in the 3rd. �CF Austin McClune began the fun with a walk. �DH Andrew Walker dropped down a sacrifice bunt, but when the Mets' pitcher missed the pick-up, the Marauders had runners on first and second with no outs. �2B Adenson Chourio also bunted, and the bases were loaded. �SS Greg Picart cleared the bases with a triple into right field. �RF Robbie Grossman kept things going with a walk, and a wild pitch put him on second base, though it didn't let Picart score. �Picart did score on C Tony Sanchez's sacrifice fly, and a single by LF Quincy Latimore drove in Grossman.

McClune got the next inning started too, this time with a single. �Walker walked, and Chourio singled, scoring McClune. �A balk moved both runners into scoring position, and a wild pitch brought in Walker. �Grossman's sacrifice fly plated Chourio, and the Marauders were up, 8-0.

It was Grossman's turn to triple in the 6th, which brought in both Walker, who had reached base on a fielding error, and Picart, who had singled. �Picart drove in his 4th run of the game with a single in the 8th, after McClune walked and Chourio singled for the second time. �Another fielding error by the Mets put Latimore on base in the 9th, and 1B Calvin Anderson brought him in with his 6th home run of the season.

The Bradenton Marauders began their All-Star break today. �The Florida State League All-Star Game will be played on Saturday at 7:35 pm. �It is not being broadcast on milb.tv this year.

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Altoona Curve �10, �New Britain Rock Cats �2 (box)

Like the Indy Indians, the Curve overpowered their opponents tonight. �Altoona recorded 17 hits on the way to 10 runs. �SS Chase d'Arnaud led the onslaught by going 4-for-5 at the plate, and both 3B Josh Harrison and 1B Matt Hague contributed 4 RBI.

Starter Bryan Morris won his 3rd game for the Curve, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits in 6 innings. �He walked 2 batters and struck out 6. �Morris gave up one run in the top of the 1st on a walk, a stolen base, a throwing error by C Hector Gimenez on the stolen base attempt, and an RBI double. �New Britain also scored a run on a walk and a double in the 5th.

The Curve answered the run in the top of the 1st with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning. �CF Gorkys Hernandez tripled, and scored on Josh Harrison's sacrifice fly. �A double by Matt Hague, a ground out to move the runner over by 2B Jordy Mercer, and a sacrifice fly by Hector Gimenez gave the Curve a 2-1 lead in the 4th inning.

New Britain tied the game again with their run in the top of the 5th, but the Curve broke the game open in the bottom of the frame. �DH Shelby Ford and SS Chase d'Arnaud both singled and Hernandez was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. �Harrison's double plated both Ford and d'Arnaud, and a sacrifice fly by Hague brought in Hernandez. �A single by Mercer and a walk to Gimenez loaded the bases again, but all three were left on base when a fly out ended the inning.

The Curve put up another 3-spot in the next inning. �Four consecutive singles began the inning -- by RF Miles Durham, Ford, d'Arnaud, and Hernandez (RBI). �Harrison hit another sacrifice fly to score Ford. �D'Arnaud came in on an RBI ground out by Hague. �The final two Curve runs came in the 8th, on a 2-run homer by Hague, following a double by Harrison.

Derek Hankins pitched two perfect innings for the Curve, with two strikeouts. �Jeff Sues finished the game with a perfect 9th inning, with one strikeout.

Curve pitcher Tim Alderson was named the Eastern League's Pitcher Of The Week, for the week of May 24 - 30. �Alderson won two starts during that week, on the 24th and the 29th. �In 13 innings of work, he gave up only one run on 8 hits and 3 walks, with a total of 10 strikeouts. �His ERA for the two games was 0.69. �Overall, Alderson has a 4-2 record and a 4.75 ERA in 10 starts for the Curve.

Reliever Ronald Uviedo, who has made 16 appearances for the Curve this season, was traded today to the Blue Jays in return for starter Dana Eveland, who will be joining the Pirates' rotation. �Uviedo was on the Pirates' 40-man roster, so trading him opens up a space on the 40-man roster for Eveland. �Uviedo has an 0-2 record with the Curve, no saves, and a 3.22 ERA in 22.1 innings. �He has allowed 13 hits, 8 runs (3 homers), and 12 walks, while striking out 28 batters.

Altoona Curve �4, �New Britain Rock Cats �1 (box)

Jared Hughes pitched 7 strong innings, allowing only one run on 5 hits and a walk, while striking out 6 batters, to earn his Eastern League-leading 8th win of the season. �Hughes gave up the run in the 1st inning. �A lead-off single, a stolen base, a sacrifice fly, and an RBI ground out gave the Rock Cats their only tally of the game. �Hughes gave up a double in each of the next two innings, and a single in the 4th, but each time worked around the base runner to keep the Rock Cats from scoring. �The last single plus the walk came in the 6th inning, but again Hughes bore down and ended the inning with the runners still standing there. �He finished off his night with two strikeouts in the 7th inning.

The Curve put runners on base in each of the first 4 innings, but could not push them around to score. �Two singles by CF Gorkys Hernandez, walks by 1B Matt Hague and RF Miles Durham, and a double by LF Alex Presley were not enough to bring in any runs. �Finally in the 3rd, the Curve tied the score at 1-1 when C Kris Watts led off with a double, moved to third on SS Chase d'Arnaud's single, and scored on Hernandez's sacrifice fly. �A walk to DH Jim Negrych and a single by Hague loaded the bases, but all three were left on base when the inning ended.

D'Arnaud got the go-ahead RBI in the 6th. �Presley and Durham led off with back-to-back singles. �A bunt by Watts went a little awry, and Durham was out at second, but Presley made it safely to third and Watts was safe on first. �That set up d'Arnaud, who lined a double into left field, scoring Presley, for the 2-1 lead.

The Curve tacked on two insurance runs in the top of the 9th. �Negrych reached second base on a throwing error by the Rock Cats' third baseman Juan Portes. �Hague walked, then 2B Jordy Mercer grounded to third base. �Portes made the force out of Negrych at third, but then made a throwing error, and Hague ended up on third, with Mercer safe on second. �A wild pitch allowed Hague to score, and a single by 3B Josh Harrison brought in Mercer.

Jeff Sues pitched a scoreless 8th inning for the Curve, retiring the side in order. �Danny Moskos finished things off by striking out the side in the 9th, earning his 12th save of the season.

The Curve have a school-day special in New Britain tomorrow, with the game beginning at 10:30 am.

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.

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.

Altoona Curve 9, �Richmond Flying Squirrels 1 (box)

Rudy Owens shot down the Flying Squirrels on Tuesday night with 6 no-hit innings and 11 strikeouts. �He was one walk away from a perfect game -- after mowing down 17 straight Squirrels, Owens walked Richmond relief pitcher Craig Whitaker. �Owens was clearly not pleased with himself with that walk, but he held on to strike out the next batter. �He was relieved after the 6 innings due to the pitch count. �He had thrown 97 pitches at that point, and his limit was 100. �Owens struck out the side in the 1st inning, one in the 2nd and 5th, and two in the 3rd, 4th, and 6th. �He got a little help from his friends, of course, with SS Chase d'Arnaud and 1B Matt Hague making two critical fielding plays in the 5th and 6th respectively.

Reliever Jeff Sues earned his 4th save of the season with three strong innings of work. �He gave up an unearned run in the 7th, when the lead-off batter reached on a fielding error by 3B Jordy Mercer, and two singles followed. �Mercer made another error in the 8th, but Sues worked around it, and kept that runner from scoring.

The Curve posted 13 hits on their way to 9 runs. �LF Shelby Ford, who has been struggling over the past month, led the way by going 3-for-3 at the plate. �That doubled his hit total for the season, and lifted his average to .188. �D'Arnaud and Ford started the scoring in the 1st inning, when d'Arnaud singled and Ford doubled, moving d'Arnaud to third. �Mercer's RBI ground out brought in the run.

D'Arnaud and Ford got another rally started in the 3rd inning, this time reversing the hits -- d'Arnaud doubled and Ford singled. �Mercer again brought a run in, this time with a sacrifice fly to score d'Arnaud. �Ford stole second, and he scored on 2B Jim Negrych's single up the middle.

The Curve sent 10 batters to the plate in the 4th inning, as they added on 5 runs. �CF Alex Presley led off with a walk, and stole second base. �C Hector Gimenez doubled Presley in, then moved to third base on Owens' sacrifice bunt. �D'Arnaud brought in Gimenez with a sacrifice fly. �That cleared the bases with two outs, but the Curve got going again. �Ford singled and Mercer reached base on a fielding error by the Richmond third baseman. �Hague doubled, scoring both Ford and Mercer. �Negrych walked, and then RF Miles Durham singled to bring in Hague. �Matt Hague doubled again in the 9th inning, and added one more run to the Curve total when Durham singled again.

Chase d'Arnaud, Matt Hague, Miles Durham, and Alex Presley each had two hits in the game. �Presley's hitting streak is now at 18 games. �The Altoona team record in 21. �Durham's hitting streak is now at 8 games.

Ross Ohlendorf will be making a rehab start with the Curve on Wednesday night.

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.

Two more games in the lower minors on Tuesday... The Power played this afternoon.

Altoona Curve 5, �Akron Aeros 4 (box)

The hot-hitting infielders Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison contributed two hits each, as the Curve held on to defeat the Aeros in Altoona. �The two got going in the bottom of the 1st inning. �With two teammates, SS Chase d'Arnaud and DH Jim Negrych both on base with walks, Mercer drove a single into center field, scoring d'Arnaud. �Moments later, Harrison's liner into left field brought Negrych home, and the Curve had a 2-0 lead.

With starter Tim Alderson on the bump, the Aeros had not done much in the first two innings. �They had a runner reach base on 2B Harrison's fielding error, but Harrison was able to start the double play that erased that runner. �In the top of the 3rd, Akron led off with back-to-back home runs off Alderson. �A single and another fielding error by Harrison put runners on first and second bases following the homers. �Another walk loaded the bases, and a sacrifice fly, the first out of the inning, plated the third run of the inning. �A double play ended the inning, but Akron had taken a 3-2 lead.

The Curve chugged right back in the bottom of the inning. �Negrych again walked, and Mercer singled again. �A wild pitch moved both runners up one base, and a walk to Harrison loaded the bases. �A second wild pitch gave Negrych the chance to come home, tying the score. �LF Alex Presley brought Mercer in from third with a sacrifice fly to take the 4-3 lead, and RF Miles Durham added an insurance run with another RBI single, plating Harrison.

Alderson had no problems with the Aeros in the 4th inning, but he let them creep a run closer in the 5th, when three singles loaded the bases with one out. �A grounder to 3B Mercer might have been an inning-ending double play --- the force out was made at second base, but they did not get the batter at first, so the runner from third scored. � Curve 5, Aeros 4.