Tag: Jhonatan Ramos

News and action for the Pirates' lower minor league affiliates on Sunday.� The GCL Pirates and the Bradenton Marauders had scheduled days off today.

Three members of the State College Spikes have been named to the National League squad for the New York-Penn League All-Star Game, which will be played on August 17th at the home of the Staten Island Yankees.� IF Matt Curry, the Pirates' 16th round pick in the 2010 draft, has a .331 batting average, with 3 homers and 19 RBI.�� OF Adalberto Santos was the Pirates' 22nd round pick in this year's draft.� He is hitting .313 with 2 homers and 29 RBI, and is tied for second in the league with 37 runs scored.� Reliever Jhonathan Ramos has a 3-1 record and one save, with a 1.54 ERA.� He leads the league in lowest number of baserunners allowed at 6.56/9 innings.� Opposing batters are hitting just .169 against him.

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Tri-City Valley Cats� 4,� State College Spikes� 1 (box)

Tri-City took the early lead and never gave it up in this evening's game.� CF Mel Rojas and 2B Gift Ngoepe led the Spikes with 2 hits each, but the team managed only one run.� Starter Zach Fuesser got into trouble right away in his 5th start for the Spikes.� Two singles, a stolen base, and a 2-RBI single gave Tri-City 2 runs in the top of the 1st.� They added another run in the 2nd on a double, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly.� After a single, a wild pitch, a balk, and a walk in the 4th, Fuesser was relieved by Ryan Beckman, who finished the inning.� Beckman also gave up a walk and a wild pitch in the 5th, but kept Tri-City from scoring in that inning, but he surrendered a run on a single and a double in the 6th.

The Spikes had only one base runner over the first 3 innings, when Rojas walked to lead off the bottom of the 1st.� RF Adalberto Santos singled and stole second base in the 4th, and both C Miguel Mendez and DH Cole White singled with two outs in the 5th, but they were all left on base.� Ngoepe bounced a ground-rule double over the center field wall to begin the 6th, and Santos walked, but three strikeouts left both of them stranded also.� The Spikes scored their only run in the 7th.� 3B Kelson Brown led off with a double, and he scored on Rojas' single.� Ngoepe also singled, and Santos walked, loading the bases with two outs.� A grounder ended the inning, though, and the Spikes were held to just that one run.� They threatened again in the 9th, when White walked and Rojas singled, but could not push the runner across the plate.

Mitch Fienemann pitched the last 3 innings for the Spikes, and allowed only one hit, while striking out 3 batters.

Sunday afternoon and evening with the Pirates' minor league affiliates.....as usual, the GCL Pirates are off today.� The West Virginia Power and the Hagerstown Suns apparently did not have any sun, and their game was postponed.� They will try for two on Monday.

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Altoona Curve 6,� Trenton Thunder� 4 (box)

The Thunder thundered early, but the Curve stormed back with 6 runs in the 5th inning for the win.� C Kris Watts and LF/CF Anthony Norman each went 2-for-3, and Norman picked up 2 RBI.�� Starter Tony Watson lasted only 3 innings, and he gave up runs in each of those innings.� A hit batter and an RBI single gave Trenton one run in the 1st inning.� A lead off� home run began the 2nd inning, then a single, a ground-rule double, and a sacrifice fly added 2 more runs in the 2nd.� Another lead-off home run in the 3rd gave the Thunder a 4-0 lead.� Jared Hughes relieved Watson and pitched 5 scoreless innings, scattering 3 hits and 2 walks.� He was credited with the win, since he was the pitcher of record when the Curve took the lead.� Derek Hankins gave up a triple in the 9th, but left that runner stranded to earn his 5th save.

The Curve had posted only 2 hits over the first four innings.� Then came the fireworks in the 5th, when the Curve sent 10 batters to the plate.� DH Brandon Jones opened the inning with a walk, then singles by RF Miles Durham and Watts loaded the bases.� Norman bounced a ground-rule double over the wall in right field, scoring Jones and Durham.� 3B Josh Harrison singled, bringing in Watts.� Norman scored on a throwing error when the Thunder tried to pick-off Harrison.� The Thunder got two outs at that point, 1B Matt Hague singled, plating Harrison.� Hague stole second base, and scored on 2B Jordy Mercer's RBI single.� The Curve had only one hit in the rest of the game, a single by Norman, who was then caught stealing second base.

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Saturday with the Pirates' lower minor league teams...

Altoona Curve� 18,� Harrisburg Senators� 15 (box)

The booming you might have heard was thunder, and it came from the ballpark in Harrisburg.� These two teams combined for 34 hits and 33 runs, and 20 of the hits belonged to the Curve.� Every non-pitcher in the starting line-up had at least two hits, except LF Yung Chi Chen, who had only one hit and one RBI and walked once. Five different Curve batters homered in the game.

It was not a good night for ERA's.� Starter Bryan Morris gave up 2 runs in the 1st (walk, walk, 2-RBI double) and 2 more in the 3rd (2-run homer).� He gave up a run on a double and a single in the 5th, then loaded the bases with two walks.� Morris was relieved by Dustin Molleken, who immediately threw a wild pitch to bring in the runner from third base (charged to Morris).� Morris was responsible for 6 runs on 5 hits and 4 walks, in 4.2 innings.

Molleken retired the side in order in the 6th.� Mike Dubee came out to pitch the 7th, and he got into trouble quickly.� A single, a stolen base, a double, a walk, a single, another double -- 4 runs in, and Molleken out.� Anthony Claggett relieved Dubee, but gave up a single, and the 5th run of the inning scored (charged to Dubee).� Claggett began the 8th with two singles and a double, then an RBI ground out, bringing in two more runs.� After a walk, Ramon Aguero replaced Claggett, but a sacrifice fly brought in the runner from third base (charged to Claggett).� That made 14 runs for the Senators,� and a 14 - 8 lead.

The Curve batters had been scoring, just not as prolifically as the Senators.� They threatened in the 2nd inning, loading the baes on a single to C Hector Gimenez and walks to RF Miles Durham and Chen, but Morris struck out to end the inning.� Gimenez doubled in the 4th, and scored on Chen's single, putting the Curve on the scoreboard with a 4-1 score.

In the 5th, the Curve tied the score.� SS Chase d'Arnaud was hit by a pitch, and CF Gorkys Hernandez reached base on a throwing error.� 3B Jordy Mercer brought both d'Arnaud and Hernandez in with a double into right field, and Mercer scored on Gimenez's RBI single.� The 4-4 tie did not last long, as the Senators scored two more runs in the bottom of the 5th.� Then the Curve took the lead in the top of the 7th.� 3B Josh Harrison led off with a single, but was forced out at second when 1B Matt Hague grounded into a force play.� Mercer bounced back to the mound, and the Senators tried to turn a double play, but missed something at second, since Hague was safe but Mercer was out at first.� Gimenez walked, then Durham greeted the new Senators' reliever with a booming 3-run homer, to give the Curve a 7-6 lead.� That lead didn't last any longer than the tie did.� Harrisburg scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 7th, to take an 11-7 lead.

LF Anthony Norman, who had entered the game in a double-switch, homered to lead off the 8th inning, but the Senators scored another 3 runs in the bottom of the frame, to push their lead to 14-8.

Then the top of the 9th, and the Curve exploded.� Fifteen batters came to the plate, as the Curve piled on 10 runs.� Mercer walked, and Gimenez homered (runs #1, 2).� Durham walked and pinch-hitter Brandon Jones homered (3, 4).� Norman reached on a fielding error, and d'Arnaud, Hernandez, and Harrison all singled, plating Norman and d'Arnaud (5,6).� Hague homered for 3 runs (7, 8, 9).� It was a controversial call by the umpires, as Hague's blast down the left field line was ruled fair -- even the Curve radio broadcaster, Dan Zangrilli, said that the ball was foul.� Both the Harrisburg pitcher and manager were ejected arguing the call.� Once things settled down, Mercer singled.� Oh, and did I mention that no outs had been recorded yet?� Gimenez made the first out of the inning at that point, on a strikeout.� Durham doubled in Mercer (10), then Jones also struck out.� Norman walked, and then d'Arnaud flied out to (finally) end the inning.

The Senators did score one more run in the bottom of the 9th, as Derek Hankins gave up a double, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly, but it was way too little, too late.

The Curve set some records -- highest scoring game (33 runs) in Curve history, most runs given up in a game (15), longest 9-inning game (4 hours, 33 minutes), most number of runs in one inning (10).� Their 20 hits in the game was one hit short of the team record.

The Bradenton Marauders and the GCL Pirates were both rained out on Monday.

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Altoona �Curve �6, �Binghampton Mets �1 (box)

Things went well for�Zach Duke as he made a rehab start with the Curve. �He needed only 29 pitches to get through his scheduled 3 innings, allowing one run on 3 hits, no walks, with one strikeout. �The game began with a double, a ground out to move the runner to third, then an RBI single. �Duke ended that first inning with a double play. �He gave up a single in the 2nd, but another double play erased that runner, and Duke retired the side in order in the 3rd.

That was the only run the Mets had in the game. �Justin Wilson took over when Duke was done, and he pitched 4 shutout innigs, scattering 4 hits and a walk, to record his 7th win of the season. �Ramon Aguero pitched the 9th inning, also scoreless, with a walk and 2 strikeouts.

The Mets' pitching staff was not so fortunate. �The Curve batters posted 15 hits, with each position player except LF Brandon Jones collecting at least one hit. �1B Matt Hague had his third 3-hit game in 5 days, and RF Miles Durham also had 3 hits. �The Curve responded to the Mets' 1st inning run with 2 of their own, on a single by SS Chase d'Arnaud, a double by CF Gorkys Hernandez, a sacrifice fly by Hague to bring in d'Arnaud, and a double by C Hector Gimenez which scored Hernandez.

The Curve put at least one runner on base in each of the next four innings, though did not get any of them around to score. �In the 6th, they added one run when 2B Shelby Ford smacked a ground-rule double, and scored on Durham's RBI single. �Another double-single combination, from Hague and Gimenez respectively, added a run in the 7th inning. �They picked up two more runs in the 8th, on a rally started by Durham when he singled and stole second base. �Pinch-hitter Anthony Norman and Hernandez also singled, driving in Durham. �After a pitching change, 3B Josh Harrison's RBI single brought in Norman to give the Curve their 6th run.

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Sunday action in the Pirates' minor league organization.... the GCL Pirates had the day off, and all of the rest of the affiliates won their games.

Bradenton Marauders �7, �Fort Myers Miracle �6 (box)

Chris Jakubauskas (photo) made the start for the Marauders, going into the 5th inning and allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks, with 3 strikeouts. �Jakubauskas worked his way out of trouble in each of the first three innings. �He gave up back-to-back hits to begin the game, but got out of the 1st inning with a line out and a double play. �Two more runners got on in the 2nd, on a single and a fielding error, but Jakubauskas worked around them to keep the Miracle from scoring. �Two more singles and another error in the 3rd again had Jakubauskas in a jam, but a runner caught stealing and a fielder's choice out got him out of it again. �Finally, in the 4th, Jakubauskas could not escape -- a double and a single drove in Fort Myers' first run. �Jakubauskas began the 5th with an out, then two walks, and that was the end of his afternoon. �Tom Boleska relieved him, but threw a wild pitch, then gave up a single and a sacrifice fly to bring in those two runners, both runs charged to Jakubauskas.

Nate Adcock pitched the next 3 innings for the Marauders. �Adcock surrendered another 2 runs, on a walk, a double, an RBI single, and an RBI ground out in the 6th inning. �Adcock kept the Miracle from scoring in the 7th and the 8th, but the Marauders entered the bottom of the 8th behind by a score of 5-0.

The Marauders had gone down in order in the first three innings of the game. �They had one runner on base in each of the next two innings -- a single by 2B Jose De Los Santos in the 4th, a single by 3B Adam Davis in the 5th. �Two batters reached base in the 6th, when De Los Santos got to first on an error and C Eric Fryer walked. �None of them could come around to score.

Then, in the bottom of the 8th, it was the Marauders who found the miracle. �With one out, De Los Santos doiubled, RF Robbie Grossman singled, and Fryer also doubled, and the score was 5-2. �After a pitching change, LF Quincy Latimore walked, and DH Calvin Anderson singled, to load the bases. �CF Austin McClune doubled, driving in both Grossman and Latimore, and a passed ball allowed Anderson to score, tying the game at 5-5.

Noah Krol took the mound in relief of Adcock to begin the 9th inning. �He was greeted by a solo home run, which gave Fort Myers a 6-5 lead. �Krol gave up a triple also, but left that runner stranded.

SS Adenson Chourio led off the bottom of the 9th with a single to second base. �De Los Santos sacrifice bunted him to second base, and Grossman walked. �Fryer tied the game again with a single into right field, as Chourio raced around from second base. �Then Calvin Anderson won the game with a walk-off single, scoring Grossman for a 7-6 win.

Sunday's action in the Pirates' minor league organization. �The Gulf Coast League season begins on Monday. �The GCL Pirates open against the GCL Yankees at noon.

The Bradenton Marauders have a scheduled day off today.

Altoona Curve �6, �Richmond Flying Squirrels �2 (box)

A 4-run 6th inning boosted the Curve to a sweep of their 3-game series with the Flying Squirrels. �Starter Tim Alderson pitched 7 innings and allowed 2 runs on 9 hits and a walk, with 4 strikeouts for his 6th win of the season. �Alderson gave up a run in the 5th, on a single, a sacrifice bunt, and another single. �A single, a double, and a ground out brought in another run for the Squirrels in the 6th. �Alderson worked around runners on base in each of the rest of his innings, and took advantage of two double plays turned behind him.

The Curve also put runners on base in each of the first 5 innings but were unable to bring any of them around to score. �They loaded the bases in the 5th, on a double by C Hector Gimenez and walks to LF�Alex Presley and RF Miles Durham, but a double play ended their inning.

Presley sparked the rally in the 6th. �With one out, CF Gorkys Hernandez and 3B Josh Harrison hit back-to-back singles, and a fielding error put 1B Matt Hague on base to load the bases. �2B Jordy Mercer's sacrifice fly brought in Hernandez, to tie the score. �Gimenez was intentionally walked, again loading the bases. �Then Presley cleared the bases with a triple into center field, and the Curve had a 4-1 lead.

Richmond got one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning, but the Curve added two more in the 7th. �SS Chase d'Arnaud walked, and after a pitching change, Hernandez also walked. �Harrison's double drove in both of them, to bring the lead to 6-2.

Derek Hankins took over for Alderson in the 8th. �He retired the side in that inning. �The bottom of the 9th began with Hankins hitting a batter. �He got two outs, then gave up another single. �Danny Moskos came on to relieve Hankins, and he got the only batter he faced to ground out, earning the save. �Moskos now leads the Eastern League with 16 saves.

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.

New Britain Rock Cats �8, � �Altoona Curve �7 (box)

A 9th inning rally by the Curve came up short, as the Curve fell to the Rock Cats on Saturday. �The final inning was a wild one, and by the time it was done, the two teams had combined for 30 hits -- 18 by the Rock Cats and 12 by the Curve.

Curve starter Jared Hughes gave up 6 runs on 12 hits over 4.2 innings and suffered the loss, giving him an 8-3 record for the season. �The Rock Cats scored their first run in the top of the 1st, on a lead-off double, a sacrifice bunt, and an RBI single. �The Curve came right back at them, tying the game in the bottom of the frame. �SS Chase d'Arnaud tripled, then scored on 3B Josh Harrison's sacrifice fly.

New Britain kept going against Hughes. �Two singles and two grounders brought in a run in the 2nd inning, to give New Britain a 2-1 lead. �Hughes gave up a lead-off single in both the 3rd and 4th innings, and both times a double play erased the runner. �He was not so lucky in the 5th inning. �A double and a single complicated by a throwing error by 2B Jordy Mercer brought in a run. �A wild pitch moved the second runner to third base, and he scored on a sacrifice fly. �A single and two doubles, plus a fielding error by LF Alex Presley brought in two more runs, and the score was 6-1. �Hughes was done for the evening, with Tony Watson coming on to finish the inning. �Watson went on to pitch 3 more scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits while striking out 3 batters.

After their run in the 1st inning, the Curve batters found the going tough. �They went down in order in three of the next four innings, though they did get back-to-back singles by 1B Matt Hague and Mercer with two outs in the 4th. �Both were left on base. �D'Arnaud doubled in the 6th inning, and reached as far as third base, but after CF Gorkys Hernandez walked, a double play and another ground out ended the inning. �Presley also had a single in the 7th and was also left on base.

Dustin Molleken took the mound for the Curve in the top of the 9th. �He gave up two singles, then a double, which brought in both of the base runners, to give New Britain an 8-1 lead. �The bottom of the 9th began with a pinch-hit appearance by James Skelton, who was just promoted from A+ Bradenton to fill the roster spot vacated by Jim Negrych when he was moved up to Indianapolis. �Skelton led off with a single. �He scored when another pinch-hitter, Anthony Norman, tripled on a liner into right field. �Norman scored on Mercer's double, and Mercer scored on C Hector Gimenez's single. �With the score bumped to 8-4, the Rock Cats brought on a new pitcher, who started by getting Presley to bounce into a double play. �But the Curve were not down yet. �RF Miles Durham doubled, and he came around to score on DH Shelby Ford's single. �A fielding error put d'Arnaud on first and Ford on second base. �Hernandez brought both of them in with the second triple of the inning, and the Curve were within one run of tying the game, at 8-7. �That was as far as they got, though, as Skelton struck out in his second at-bat in the inning.

Some early games today in the lower minors:

Asheville Tourists �11, �West Virginia Power �5 (box)

All of the Power's scoring was done with home runs today, and even that wasn't enough to catch up to Asheville. �They did not score at all in the first 6 innings, despite getting a reasonable number of runners on base -- 2 walks to CF Evan Chambers and DH Kyle Morgan, one�walk to C Pat Irvine, two doubles by Chambers and one by LF Rogelios Noris, a single by 2B Jarek Cunningham.

The Power were behind 7-0 going into the top of the 8th, when they finally got some runs. �Noris walked, and 1B Aaron Baker blasted his 7th home run of the season to put the Power onto the scoreboard. �They added 3 more runs in the 9th, when SS Benji Gonzalez doubled, then Cunningham and Noris smacked back-to-back home runs. �That was not nearly enough, though.

Nate Baker pitched 5 innings in his start for the Power, and he allowed 5 runs on 6 hits and a walk. �A single, a wild pitch, and two ground outs brought in the first Asheville run in the 1st inning. �Two singles, a double, a triple, a wild pitch, and a double steal all contributed to bring in 3 runs in the 2nd. �Another triple plus a sacrifice fly added a run in the 5th, and the Tourists had a 5-0 lead. �Gabriel Alvarado relieved Baker to begin the 6th inning. �He retired the side in order, for the first time in the game, in the 6th, but then gave up 2 more runs in the 7th, on a single, an RBI double, a walk, and two more singles. �Jhonatan Ramos took over on the mound in the 8th, and he got into trouble quickly, as the first four batters reached base safely -- double, single, walk, and double. �The double plated 2 runs, and after two outs, another double drove in 2 more runs, and the Marauders were down 11-2. �Not even a 9th inning rally could change their fate.

The Indy Indians lost today, as did all of the other affiliates who were playing -- the Power also won, splitting a double header.

Tomorrow MLB will hold the 2010 Draft... stay tuned!

New Hampshire Fisher Cats �5, �Altoona Curve �3 (box)

Like yesterday, the Curve had an early 3-run inning to take the lead, but also like yesterday, they gave up runs in the late innings and lost to the Fisher Cats. �And like the Indy Indians today, the Curve faced a former teammate -- Ronald Uviedo, who was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays last week, made the start for the Fisher Cats. �Uviedo was a reliever while pitching for the Curve, so he will need to get stretched out -- he was limited to just 3 innings today. �Uviedo retired his old mates in order in the 1st inning, but gave up two walks, to LF Alex Presley and DH Jim Negrych in the 2nd. �The walks were followed by a booming home run by RF Miles Durham, to give the Curve 3 runs. �Uviedo also walked 3B Josh Harrison in the 3rd inning, but left him on base.

Jared Hughes had the start for the Curve. �He begin the bottom of the 1st inning with three straight singled, loading the bases with no outs. �A grounder to short for a force out at second brought in one run, but they did not get a double play. �Instead, Hughes struck out the next batter and ended the inning with an easy grounder to first.

That 3-1 score held for the next 5 innings. �Counting those three outs after the three singles in the 1st, Hughes retired 17 Fisher Cats batters in order, taking him to the 6th inning with two outs. �That's when he loaded the bases again, on a single, a walk, and a single, before bearing down to get out of the jam with a fly out.

After Uviedo finished the 3rd inning, the Curve got a walk by C Hector Gimenez in the 4th, and SS Chase d'Arnaud was hit by a pitch in the 5th, but neither scored. �They came close in the 6th, when Josh Harrison led off with a double. �A passed ball had Harrison moving, but he was caught in a run-down on the third base line, and eventually tagged out.

New Hampshire added a run in the bottom of the 7th off reliever Tony Watson. A double and two ground outs did the trick, and the Curve lead was cut to 3-2. �The Curve got the run back right away, when d'Arnaud led off the top of the 8th with a triple, then scored on a wild pitch. �Two more Curve batters got on base in the inning, with a walk to CF Gorkys Hernandez and 1B Matt Hague being hit by a pitch, but a double play ended the inning without further runs scoring.

The Fisher Cats did their damage in the bottom of the 8th. �With Watson still on the mound, a double and a ground out put a base runner on third. �Jimmy Barthmaier relieved Watson, but he walked the only batter he faced. �Danny Moskos came on next, and he gave up an RBI single to tie the game. �A throwing error on the play moved the runners to second and third base. �Another single drove in both runners to give the Fisher Cats the winning run plus an insurance run. �The Curve tried to rally in the 9th, when Gimenez walked and Negrych singled, but two strikeouts ended the game.

Two morning games today in the Pirates' organization. �Pat Irvine was brought up from extended spring training to take the place of catcher Josue Peley, who was traded away a few days ago. �Irvine was the Pirates' 33rd round pick in the 2009 draft. �He played at State College for the second half of 2009, but he split his time between third base and left field.... now he's a catcher.

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Lexington Legends �6, �West Virginia Power �3 (box)

The Power and the Legends were the first to get started this morning, and the Power bats woke up first. �CF Evan Chambers opened the game with a looping single into right-center field. �2B Jarek Cunningham dropped another single in, right in front of the Legends' center fielder, then a wild pitch moved both runners up a base. �DH�Aaron Baker grounded out to first base, allowing Chambers to score from third base. �LF Rogelios Noris was hit by a pitch, but a double play ended the inning. �The Power took advantage of an error by the Legends' second baseman, who bobbled the ball, then threw wide to first base in the 2nd inning, putting 3B Elevys Gonzalez on base. �RF Jose Hernandez drove Gonzalez in with a double lined into the right field corner. �After two innings, the Power were leading 2-0.

Power starter Brandon Holden also got off to a good start, retiring the Legends in order in the 1st inning, and allowing only a walk in the 2nd -- then he threw out the runner trying to steal second to end the inning. �The Legends loaded the bases against Holden in the 3rd inning with one out -- on a walk, a single, and a fielding error by SS Benji Gonzalez. �But Holden induced a double play to end the inning, with a ground out to 2B Cunningham, who stepped on second base, then threw on to 1B Kyle Morgan to end the inning without a run scoring.

The Legends got to Holden in the 4th inning. �A lead-off single was followed by a strikeout, but then a double brought in the first Lexington run. �Another single drove in the second run of the inning, to tie the game. �Lexington added three more runs in the 5th, as they took advantage of mistakes by the Power. �A lead-off double by 2B Jose Altuve and a single by SS Miguel Arrendell put runners on the corners. �When Arrendell tried to steal second base, new Power catcher Pat Irvine�made a throw to second base, but his throw went into center field for an error, allowing Altuve to score and Arrendell to reach third base. �CF Evan Chambers' throw back to the infield, presumably aiming for third base, went sailing into the stands, and Arrendell also scored. �After another single, Holden was relieved by Jhonatan Ramos. Ramos had trouble too, hitting a batter, and giving up a single, which brought in the third run of the inning (charged to Holden). �A throw in to the plate was on-target but but the runner slid to the outside edge of the plate and eluded Irvine's tag. �A passed ball put runners on second and third, but the next batter tapped a grounder to first, which 1B Morgan fired back to the plate, and this time Irvine was able to apply the tag to prevent the run from scoring.

After scoring in the 2nd, the Power were able to put runners on base in 4 of the next 5 innings. �Jarek Cunningham and Benji Gonzalez singled, Jose Hernandez singled twice, and Kyle Morgan doubled, but none of them could come around to score. �The Power scored again in the 8th, when Aaron Baker led off with a double down the left field line, barely fair. �He advanced to third on Rogelios Noris's ground out, and then scored on Morgan's RBI ground out. �Pat Irvine was up next, and with a count 3-0 on him, the rain that had been going on for some time became much harder, and the game was halted for a rain delay. �The rain didn't last long, though, and play was resumed, with Irvine getting robbed of what should have been a double down the right field line, thanks to an excellent run and dive by the Legends' RF JD Martinez.

Ramos pitched two more scoreless innings, giving up three more singles. �Zach Foster came on to pitch the bottom of the 8th. �He gave up a solo homer to Altuve, to keep the Legends three runs ahead. �The Power could not respond in the top of the 9th, and the Legends had the win. �Brandon Holden was charged with the loss, his fourth of the season. �Hernandez went 3-for-4 for the Power, and Cunningham had 2 hits.

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The Curve also had a morning game.... �"Read More"

Altoona Curve �7, �Reading Phillies �1 (box)

Justin Wilson pitched 5 scoreless innings to earn his third win, and CF Gorkys Hernandez had 3 hits to lead the Curve over the R-Phils on Friday evening.

The Curve jumped out to an early lead with 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning. �SS Chase d'Arnaud led off with his second triple of the season. �He scored on Hernandez's double. �2B Josh Harrison was hit by a pitch and 1B Matt Hague walked to load the bases. �3B Jordy Mercer was also hit by a pitch, forcing in another run. �LF Alex Presley bounced into a double play, erasing Mercer, but Harrison scored (no RBI). �A passed ball allowed Hague to score, and the Curve were ahead 4-0. �The Curve added another run in the 2nd inning, when d'Arnaud beat out an infield single to third base, stole second, then came around to score on Hernandez's second double of the game.

Hernandez did not get a hit in the 5th, but instead he led off the inning with a walk. �Back-to-back singles by Harrison and Hague loaded the bases with no outs. �Mercer grounded to third, where former Indy Indian Tagg Bozied made the play to force out Hernandez at the plate, leaving the bases still loaded. �Another pair of back-to-back singles, by Presley and RF Miles Durham brought in a run each.

Hernandez picked up his third hit, a single, in the 8th inning, but was out in a force play. �Presley also doubled in the 7th inning.

Justin Wilson gave up just 2 hits and a walk in his 5 innings. �Tagg Bozied singled to open the 2nd inning, but was erased in a double play. �Wilson gave up the other single and the walk in the 3rd inning, but two strikeouts left those runners stranded. �Wilson retired the last 8 batters he faced.

Dustin Molleken relieved Wilson to begin the 6th inning. �He allowed a double in the 6th but did not let the runner score. �He loaded the bases with three singles (another to Bozied) in the 7th, but two strikeouts and a fly out got Molleken out of the inning without a run scoring. �Ronald Uviedo pitched 2 innings, and allowed the R-Phils' only run in the 8th, on a walk and two singles.

Reliever Diego Moreno, who was recently promoted to Altoona from Bradenton, has been placed on the DL with right rotator cuff strain. � The Pirates are sending reliever Jack Taschner, who has been on the DL with left hamstring issues, is going to be joining the Curve for a rehab assignment.