Tag: Jim Negrych

Tuesday's action for the Pirates' lower minor leaguers....

Altoona Curve� 9,� Bowie Baysox� 1 ..���� (box)

The Altoona Curve clinched the Eastern League's Western Division title tonight with a win over Bowie.� This is just the second time the Curve have won their division in their 12 years of existence, and it follows a 2009 when the Curve spent the season in the cellar.

Six different Curve batters had 2 hits in the game, and 1B Matt Hague's two hits were both home runs.� The batters provided plenty of run support for starter Rudy Owens, who won his 12th game of the season.� Owens pitched 6 scoreless innings, and struck out 9 Bowie batters.� Owens allowing 2 singles in the 1st inning but kept the Baysox scoreless thanks to an on-target throw in from RF Miles Durham to C Hector Gimenez, to tag out the lead runner at the plate.� Owens retired the next 11 batters in order, then gave up back-to-back singles in the 5th.� A strikeout ended that inning -- he struck out 3 batters in the 5th, and two more in the 6th to finish up his night.

Derek Hankins earned his 7th save with 3 innings of work.� He gave up a lead-off homer to the first batter he faced in the 7th inning, and that was Bowie's only run of the game.� Hankins loaded the bases with three singles following the homer, but got out of the inning with a strikeout.� He allowed only one more hit over the next two innings and struck out a total of 5 batters.

Meanwhile, the Curve batters were steadily stacking up the runs, scoring in 6 of their 9 at-bats.� Bowie held them off in the 1st inning, despite loading the bases on singles by 3B Josh Harrison and SS Jordy Mercer, and a walk to DH Andrew Lambo. Two strikeouts strikeouts ended the inning without a run scoring.� After that, the Curve took off.� Durham singled and CF Anthony Norman tripled for one run in the 2nd inning (1).� Hague was hit by a pitch, then singles by Gimenez and 2B Jim Negrych brought in 2 runs in the 3rd (3).� Hague homered for the first time, a solo shot, in the 5th (4).� Two more runs came in during the 6th.� Norman walked, and LF Jose De Los Santos reached on a fielding error.� Harrison doubled, plating Norman (5), and Mercer's ground out brought in De Los Santos (6).� In the 7th, Negrych singled and scored on Norman's double (7).� Hague homered again in the 8th inning, this time with Mercer on base with a single (9).

Three Curve position players have been named to participate in the Arizona Fall League:� OF Andrew Lambo, INF Josh Harrison, and INF Jordy Mercer will be with the Mesa Solar Sox.� Joining them will be C Tony Sanchez. (Each team is allowed one A-level player.)� The Pirates are also allowed three pitchers, though those assignments have not yet been determined.� The Arizona Fall League begins play in mid-October.

Monday's action with the Pirates' lower minor league affiliates....

Bowie Baysox� 2,� Altoona Curve� 0 ..� (box)

The Curve out-hit the Baysox 7-5, but were still shutout in Bowie.� 3B Josh Harrison and RF Miles Durham each had two hits, including a double for Harrison, while 2B Chase d'Arnaud, 1B Matt Hague, and LF Jim Negrych had one hit each.� Harrison's double was the only extra-base hit for the Curve.� In addition, Negrych walked three times, and two Curve batters, C Kris Watts and pinch-hitter Jose De Los Santos, were hit by pitches.� That all adds up to 10 Curve batters left on base.

The Curve had two runners on in the 3rd inning, when d'Arnaud singled and Harrison doubled, sending d'Arnaud to third with two outs.� A strikeout ended that inning.� Two Curve were on base in the 4th also, when Negrych walked for the second time and Durham singled, but Negrych was picked off second base.� In the 8th, Hague singled and Negrych walked for the third time, but again a strikeout ended the inning.� The Curve's best chance at scoring came in the 7th inning, when they loaded the bases on back-to-back singles by Negrych and Durham, and then Watts was hit by a pitch.� A strikeout and a fly out ended that inning with all three runners still on base.

Justin Wilson suffered the loss.� He threw 5 innings and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits, but with 5 walks and 4 strikeouts.� Bowie scored their first run in the bottom of the 1st without needing a hit:� a walk, a ground out, a stolen base, and a sacrifice fly.� A single and a double brought in their second run in the 3rd.� Mike Colla pitched the last 3 innings for the Curve.� He gave up only one hit, a double in the 7th, and retired the other 9 batters he faced, including 3 strikeouts.

Just two late games on Sunday, with one week to go ...� The Bradenton Marauders and the West Virginia Power both have a scheduled day off today.

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Richmond Flying Squirrels� 5,� Altoona Curve� 4 ..�� (box)

Richmond broke a 4-4 tie with a run in the top of the 9th, and the Curve could not answer back.� With Ramon Aguero on the mound to begin the 9th, a walk and a single put Richmond runners on the corners with no outs.� Aguero got a strikeout, then gave up an RBI single to first.� A double play, 2B Jordy Mercer to SS Chase d'Arnaud to 1B Matt Hague, ended the inning without the Squirrels scoring again.� The Curve got one runner on base in the 9th, when pinch-hitter Jim Negrych singled to lead off the inning.� CF Jose De Los Santos' sacrifice bunt moved Negrych to second base, but a fly out and a ground out ended the inning before Negrych could get any further.

The Curve had cracked the scoreboard first, with a run in the bottom of the 1st.� D'Arnaud led off with a single, but was out at second on 3B Josh Harrison's grounder force out.� Harrison stole both second and third base, then scored on C Hector Gimenez's RBI single.

Richmond took a 2-1 lead in the 2nd, with a lead-off homer.� A fielding error by d'Arnaud, and a single put two runners on base.� Another 4-6-3 double play moved the lead runner to third, and an RBI single drove in the run.� Curve starter Jared Hughes gave up two more runs in the 3rd inning, with a hit batter, a triple, and a double.

The Curve tied the score in the 5th with a walk by Hughes, then back-to-back home runs by Chase d'Arnaud and Josh Harrison.� It was d'Arnaud's 5th homer of the season, and Harrison's 4th blast.

Hughes pitched 6 innings and allowed those 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits and a walk.� He also struck out 2 batters.� Bryan Morris, in the bullpen to keep his inning count down for the remainder of the season, pitched 2 scoreless innings, allowing a lone single in each and striking out a batter in each.

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Lots of action for the Pirates' minor league affiliates on Thursday....

Richmond Flying Squirrels� 9,� Altoona Curve� 6�� (Game 1)..� (box)

This was the wrap-up of a suspended game from... awhile back.� 2B Jordy Mercer had 3 hits in the game with an RBI, and LF Jim Negrych had a single, a double, and an RBI for the Curve.� The Curve scored first, with 3 runs in the bottom of hte 1st, on a double by 3B Shelby Ford, an RBI single by Mercer, walks to both C Kris Watts and LF Brandon Jones (back when he was still on the team), and a 2-RBI single by RF Miles Durham.

Richmond came back to tie the score with 3 runs in the top of the 2nd, on four singles and a throwing error by 1B Matt Hague. Then they took the lead with another 3 runs in the top of the 3rd, on a walk and three doubles.� Starter Tim Alderson was responsible for 6 runs (5 earned) on 7 hits and a walk over 3 innings.� Dustin Molleken took over for Alderson, and retired the side in the top of the 4th inning.� The Curve began the bottom of the inning with a walk to Durham, a single by CF Anthony Norman, and a sacrifice bunt by Molleken, to put both runners into scoring position.� That was when play was halted.� When the game resumed, SS Chase d'Arnaud singled, scoring Durham.� PH/3B Josh Harrison grounded to short, which let Norman score also.� Mercer singled again, but was left on base.� The Curve had closed the gap, 6-5

Derek Hankins took over for Molleken after the restart.� He pitched 5 innings, scattering two hits and a walk over the first four of those innings.� The Curve also put runners on base in the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings, but did not score.

In the top of the 9th, Hankins gave up a single and an RBI double, then three more singles, increasing Richmond's lead to 9-5.� The Curve got one of the runs back in the bottom of the 9th, when Hague walked, and moved to third on a fielding error that also put Watts on base.� Jim Negrych singled into left field, bringing in Hague from third.� Watts also tried to score, coming from second base, but he was out at the plate on the throw in from left field, ending the game.

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Curve� 5,� Flying Squirrels� 1�� (Game 2)..� (box)

The Curve turned the tables in the second game, which was scheduled for only 7 innings.� Rudy Owens buzzed through 6 scoreless innings, allowing only 2 hits and one walk, while striking out 5 batters.� He surrendered a single in the 2nd and a double in the 4th, then a walk in the 6th.� It was Owens' 11th win of the season.� Daniel Moskos wrapped things up in the 7th inning.� He loaded the bases with two walks and a single.� A grounder force out brought in Richmond's only run, but then Moskos ended the game with a strikeout.

2B Jordy Mercer's bat was still hot, as he collected another 2 hits.� He and LF Jim Negrych both singled in the 4th, then C Hector Gimenez reached on a throwing error, which brought in Negrych with the first run of the game.� A walk to 3B Josh Harrison and singles by 1B Matt Hague and Mercer scored Harrison with another run in the 5th.� SS Chase d'Arnaud added three more runs with a 3-run homer in the 6th, also plating CF Anthony Norman, who had walked, and pinch-hitter Andrew Lambo, who had singled.

Sunday in the Pirates' lower minor league affiliates... as usual for a Sunday, the GCL Pirates have a scheduled day off.

The Bradenton Marauders and the Fort Myer Miracle got just an inning and a half of baseball in before they had to stop.� C Eric Fryer was the only Bradenton batter to reach base, with a double in the top of the 2nd.� Marauders' starter Nate Adcock had retired the side in order in the bottom of the 1st.� The suspended game will be resumed on Monday evening as part of a double header, weather permitting.

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Altoona Curve� 9,� Binghamton Mets� 5 (box)

Two big innings boosted the Curve over the Mets, as starter Tony Watson pitched 6 scoreless innings, allowing 4 hits, while striking out 8 Mets.� Watson retired the first 9 batters he faced, then gave up a single and a walk in the 3rd.� He set down the next 6 batters, then gave up a lone double in the 5th.� Watson faced his biggest threat in the 6th,when he gave up a single and a double, putting two runners in scoring position.� But Watson got out of the jam with a strikeout and a ground out to finish the inning.

C Hector Gimenez led the Curve bats with 3 hits and 3 RBI.� He opened the scoring with a solo home run (his 16th of the season) in the 2nd inning.� He singled again in the 4th inning but was left on base, then reached on a fielding error in the 5th inning rally, and doubled in the 7th inning rally.

The 5th inning began with a solo home run by CF Anthony Norman. Watson worked a walk, then singles by 2B Chase d'Arnaud and 3B Josh Harrison loaded the bases.� A sharp line-out to third by LF Jim Negrych forced the base runners to freeze in place, but a grounder force out by 1B Matt Hague brought in Watson, with Harrison out at second base.� SS Jordy Mercer's single plated d'Arnaud, and a fielding error on Gimenez's ball to center field brought in both Hague and Mercer.� The Curve had a 6-0 lead.

They added 3 more runs in the 7th.� With one out, Hague singled, and Mercer reached on an error.� Gimenez's double brought in both of them, then after a single by RF Miles Durham, Gimenez scored on a sacrifice fly by Norman.

The Curve were leading 9-0 going into the bottom of the 7th, when Derek Hankins relieved Watson.� Hankins gave up 2 runs on a double, two singles, and two wild pitches.� He retired the side in the 8th, but gave up a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 9th.� Hankins still earned his 6th save of the game, because he'd pitched 3 innings.� Watson's win was his 5th of the season for the Curve.

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Pirates' lower minor leaguers on Saturday...

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Altoona Curve� 10,� Binghamton Mets� 4 (box)

The Curve posted 14 hits, with two big innings, as all but one member of the starting line-up had at least one hit in the game, as starter Rudy Owens earned his 10th win of the season.� SS Jordy Mercer doubled three times and 1B Matt Hague doubled twice, with 4 RBI.� Even Owens doubled, walked, and scored twice.

Owens got off to a little bit of a shaky start on the mound.� He gave up a double, a single, and a sacrifice fly to begin the bottom of the 1st.� A single and a double gave the Mets a second run in the 3rd.� Owens settled in after that, and allowed just one hit in each of the 4th and 5th.

The Curve got one run back in the top of the 4th, after putting runners on base in each of the first three innings but failing to score.� In the 4th,� Mercer hit his first double, and he scored on RF Miles Durham's RBI single.� Then they broke through in the 5th.� Owens led off the inning with a walk.� LF Jose De Los Santos singled, then 3B Josh Harrison bunted both runners into scoring position.� 2B Jim Negrych was intentionally walked to load the bases.� Hague cleared the bases with a double into left field, then Mercer hit his second double (this one was a ground-rule double), plating Hague.� The Curve had a 5-2 lead.

The next inning began with a solo home run by Miles Durham.� One out later, Owens doubled, and De Los Santos singled.� A fielding error on a ball hit to third by Harrison let Owens score.� Negrych brought in both Owens and De Los Santos with another double, and Hague made it three doubles in the inning with his 26th of the season, bringing in Negrych with the fifth run of the inning.� The Curve were up, 10-2.

Mike Colla relieved Owens to begin the 6th.� He gave up a solo homer in that inning, and another solo homer in the 8th, but retired the other 12 batters he faced in 4 innings.� Owens earned his 10th win of the season, and Colla earned his first save.

A full day of action for the Pirates' minor league affiliates on Wednesday

Altoona Curve� 1,� Portland Sea Dogs� 0 (box)

Jeff Locke pitched 7 shut-out innings and struck out 8 batters to earn his 2nd win with the Curve.� Locke scattered 3 hits and one walk in those 7 innings.� All three of the hits were doubles.� Two of the runners were left on base, and the other was thrown out trying to stretch the double into a triple.� Locke never had more than one base runner on at a time.� Mike Dubee completed the shutout with 2 perfect innings in relief, including two strikeouts.

The Curve batters were not hitting a lot either, but they were the ones who put together a series of hits to score a run.� In the 8th, C Hector Gimenez doubled, and DH Yung Chi Chen and CF Anthony Norman followed with back-to-back singles.� Norman's single drove in Gimenez with the only run of the game.� The only other hits the Curve posted were back-to-back singles by LF Jim Negrych and 1B Matt Hague in the first inning.� Both were left on base.� After those two hits, the next 20 Curve batters were retired in order, until the 3 hits in the 8th.

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Tuesday:� The Indianapolis Indians have a scheduled day off.� The State College Spikes are on their All-Star break, with three of their players, Jhonathan Ramos, Matt Curry, and Adalberto Santos chosen to participate in the game.

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NY-P All-Star Game:

AL Affiliate All-Stars 4,� NL Affiliate All-Stars� 3 (box)

A 3-run rally in the bottom of the 8th gave the host AL All-Stars the win in Staten Island tonight.� The NL Stars threatened in the top of the 1st, when 2B Cesar Hernandez (Williamsport/Phillies) tripled, but he was thrown out at home on a fielder's choice.� Spikes' 1B Matt Curry grounded out in that inning.� The NL Stars did get onto the scoreboard in the 2nd inning, with a solo home run by LF Miguel Alvarez (Williamsport/Phillies).

After having gone down in order in the first two innings, the AL side tied it up in the 3rd inning on three singles, by 3B Adam Gaylord (Aberdeen/Orioles),� SS Jose Mojica (Staten Island/Yankees), and CF Felix Sanchez (Lowell/Red Sox).� The NL Stars came right back in the next inning with two runs.� RF Cory Vaughn (Brooklyn/Mets) led off with a single.� After a pop out by Matt Curry, Alvarez lined a single into center, pushing Vaughn to third base, then Alvarez moved up to second base on the throw in from center.� 3B Joe Bonfe (Brooklyn/Mets) grounded to short, where AL SS Jose Garcia (Lowell/Red Sox) made a throwing error, allowing both Vaughn and Alvarez to score to give the NL a 3-1 lead.

That score held for the next four innings.� Matt Curry left the game after 4.5 innings, and LF Adalberto Santos came into the game at the same time.� Santos walked in the 6th -- one of only a few batters to reach base in the middle innings.� Santos stole second base, then advanced to third when the throw from AL C Julio Rodriguez (Connecticut/Tigers) went wild.� Jhonathan Ramos came on to pitch the bottom of the 6th for the NL team.� He quickly got the first two outs, then gave up two ground ball singles, but struck out PH/RF Trent Mummey (Aberdeen/Orioles) to end the inning.

Chase Johnson (Williamsport/Phillies) was on the mound for the NL Stars in the bottom of the 8th.� The AL Stars rallied with a double by 1B James Robbins (Connecticut/Tigers) and a single by Julio Rodriguez to open the inning.� Robbins scored on a ground out, then Rodriguez stole third base.� After a walk to Mummey, Chase Johnson was relieved by Ryan Fraser (Brooklyn/Mets).� But Fraser walked the first batter he faced, 3B Matt Perry (Connecticut/Tigers) to load the bases.� That set up for a sacrifice fly by DH Ryan Enos (Connecticut/Tigers), which brought in Rodriguez with the tying run.� SS Jose Garcia (Lowell/Red Sox) lined a single into left field, scoring Mummey with the go-ahead run, before a strikeout ended the inning.

Santos led off the top of the 9th with a ground out, and despite a walk, two more strikeouts ended the game.

Sunday's games in the Pirates' lower minor leagues were partially hampered by rain.... The GCL Pirates again had today off.

The State College Spikes and the Aberdeen IronBirds fell victim to rain.� That game will not be made up, as the Spikes are not scheduled to play Aberdeen again this season.� Tomorrow is an off day for the Spikes, then on Tuesday, Matt Curry, Adalberto Santos, and Jhonatan Ramos will be participating in the New York-Penn League All-Star Game.

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West Virginia Power 3,� Lexington Legends 3 -- suspended (box)

The Power and the Legends were supposed to play 2 games today, making up for last night's rainout.� They got started on Game 1, but got only into the third inning (of a 7-inning game) before the rain returned.� That game was suspended and the second game was postponed.

The game began with a scoreless first inning for both teams.� In the top of the 2nd, LF Rogelios Noris and C Ramon Cabrera both singled, then with two outs, 1B Kyle Morgan blasted a 3-run homer.� The Legends responded with 3 runs in the bottom of the frame on four singles.� With one out in the top of the 3rd, the game was suspended.� They will try to finish this one, then play a second game tomorrow.

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New Hampshire FisherCats� 3,� Altoona Curve� 2 (box)

More extra innings for the Curve and the FisherCats, but this one went New Hampshire's way.�� The Curve threatened in the 2nd inning, when both 1B Matt Hague and 2B Jordy Mercer led off with back-to-back singles.� DH Jim Negrych's grounder forced out Hague at third, and C Kris Watts walked to load the bases.� Another ground out ended the inning, though.�� A triple by SS Chase d'Arnaud and a sacrifice fly by 3B Josh Harrison in the 3rd inning did put the Curve onto the scoreboard with a 1-0 lead.� They scored again in the 5th on an exciting play.� CF Jose De Los Santos began with a single.� D'Arnaud grounded to short, for what should have been a double play, but the New Hampshire second baseman missed the catch, and both runners were safe.� De Los Santos tagged up and advanced to third on a fly out, then stole home in a double steal.

Rudy Owens pitched 5 scoreless innings in his start for the Curve, striking out 6 batters.� He scattered 5 hits, no walks, and only had more than one runner on base at a time in the 3rd, but got out of it with a strikeout and a ground out.� Jared Hughes relieved Owens to start the 6th.� Hughes walked a batter then erased him with a double play in the 6th.� In the 7th, Hughes hit the first batter, CF Callix Crabbe with a pitch.� Crabbe stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch, then scored on an RBI single.� That batter was thrown out at second base by RF Miles Durham when he tried to stretch his single into a double.� Moments later, a solo home run tied the game at 2-2.� Hughes also pitched the 8th, and again gave up a walk and erased the runner with a double play.

The tie continued as the Curve went down in order in the 7th.� D'Arnaud was hit with a pitch in the 8th, was bunted to second by Harrison, then stole third base, but was left stranded.� Daniel Moskos worked around a lead-off single to keep the tie going in the top of the 9th.� Jim Negrych singled in the bottom of the inning, but was erased in a double play.� Derek Hankins retired the FisherCats in order in the top of the 10th.� Kris Watts singled in the bottom of that inning, and was replaced by pinch-runner Anthony Norman, who was also left on base.

Hankins came out again for the 11th.� With two outs, he gave up a single, then an RBI double to Crabbe, and the FisherCats had the 3-2 lead.� Matt Hague walked with two outs in the bottom of the 11th, but a grounder off the bat of Negrych forced out Hague at second base to end the game.

Saturday's action with the Pirates' lower minor league affiliates...� The West Virginia Power and Lexington Legends were rained out tonight.� They will go for two tomorrow.

State College� 1,� Aberdeen IronBirds� 0 (box)

Pitchers Tyler Waldron, Ryan Beckman, and Brooks Pounders combined to one-hit the IronBirds tonight.� Waldron made the start with 5 nearly-perfect innings.� The first IronBirds batter of the game was the only one to reach base against Waldron, and he got on when C Matthew Skirving dropped strike three, then made a throwing error when he fired the ball down to first base.� Waldron immediately erased that base runner in a double play, then retired all the rest of the batters he faced, including one more strikeout.

Beckman took the 6th inning, and he also retired the side in order.� Pounders pitched the final three innings.� He gave up back to back walks with one out in the 7th, but left both runners stranded.� Pounders also retired the side in order in the 8th.� The no-hitter was lost in the 9th, when the first batter of the inning doubled into right field.� Pounders retired the next three batters in order, leaving the runner on second base.� Waldron earned his 3rd win of the season, and Pounders earned his first save.

The Spikes batters collected 6 hits and 4 walks, but fell victim to double plays and outfield assists, so they scored only one run.� In the 2nd inning, 1B Matt Curry walked, but was erased in a double play, and LF Pat Irvine singled, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.� Curry walked again in the 4th, but was caught stealing.� SS Gift Ngoepe singled in the 9th, but was thrown out trying for two bases. The lone Spikes' run came in the 6th inning.� With one out, CF Mel Rojas worked a walk, then DH Gerlis Rodriguez drove a triple into center field, scoring Rojas.� Curry walked for the third time in the game in the 9th, and RF Cole White singled, but both were left on base.� White was the only Spikes' batter to have two hits.� 2B Kelson Brown also singled.

Friday's action with the Pirates' lower minor leaguers... The GCL Pirates and the GCL Tigers barely got started this afternoon before their game had to be suspended.� Starter Bryton Trepagnier pitched 2 innings and allowed a run on one hit in the 1st.� The Pirates had had 6 batters go down in order when play was halted.

Only a few more days left until the deadline for signing draftees... take a look HERE to see which draft picks the Pirates have signed.� The newest signee is OF Dan Grovatt, the 11th round pick, from University of Virginia.

Reliever Daniel Moskos has been returned to Altoona from the Indy Indians.� He'd been struggling with the Indians, with a 0-5 record, one save, and a 10.38 ERA in 19 appearances.� In his last appearance, on Monday, Moskos walked the bases loaded in his one inning of work, though a line drive out got him out of trouble.

Pitcher Travis Chick, who had been assigned to Altoona last week, was traded to the Texas Rangers;� they assigned him to AA Frisco.

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Altoona Curve� 4,� New Hampshire Fisher Cats� 3�� (19 innings -- yes, 19) (box)

The Curve and the Fisher Cats played for 19 innings, and 5 hours and 49 minutes, finally finishing up at 12:50 am, when RF Miles Durham blasted a home run to break a 13.5 inning tie.

It all started innocently.� New Hampshire scored first on a single, an RBI double, and a controversial 2-run homer in the 3rd.� The ball sailed over the left field wall... or did it?� It was ruled a homer, and the Curve protested, but the ruling stood.� Much later in the game, the word came in from some fans who were out there -- the ball had indeed cleared the left field wall by about 8 inches, then hit a secondary wall behind the first one.

The Curve got two runs back in the 4th.� 2B Jordy Mercer led off with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch, then on to third when� Miles Durham singled.� A fielder's choice by SS Yung Chi Chen brought in Mercer, and a single by DH Jim Negrych brought in Durham.� Mercer picked up the RBI in the 5th to tie the score.� LF Andrew Lambo walked, 1B Matt Hague singled, and they advanced to second and third bases on a missed catch error.� Mercer's ground out brought Lambo in from third.

That 3-3 tie lasted.... until Saturday.� Bryan Morris pitched the first 4 innings and allowed the 3 runs in the 3rd, on a total of 4 hits, no walks, with 3 strikeouts.� Mike Colla pitched 2 scoreless innings, with 3 hits.� Derek Hankins threw 3 innings, allowing only a walk.� Mike Dubee contributed 3 more scoreless innings, with one hit.� Anthony Claggett also took 3 innings, and gave up 2 walks.� Tom Boleska pitched 4 innings, because by then, only Daniel Moskos was left, and someone had to be saved for Saturday's (evening) game.� Boleska managed to keep going, even when he was smacked with a come-backer.� He gave up 2 hits, but struck out 3 batters, and still didn't allow a run.� Boleska got the win, since he was the pitcher of record when Durham homered.

The Curve batters had more hits in all those innings, but they still were putting up donuts.� The Curve had two runners on base in the 14th -- single by 3B Josh Harrison and an intentional walk to Hague.� They loaded the bases in the 16th, when Harrison walked, Lambo singled, and Hague was intentionally walked again, but Mercer struck out, and it kept going.� Harrison singled in the 18th, and stole second base, then Lambo walked again, but they still couldn't get a run across.� Finally in the top of the 19th, after C Hector Gimenez flied out, Durham sent everyone home with his homer over the left-center field wall.� The Curve had to cancel the schedule fireworks show, because county regulations forbid fireworks after midnight.� They did not cancel the opportunity for the kids to run the bases ... at 1 am, there were kids, up way beyond their bedtime, running the bases at Blair County Ballpark.

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Minor League action with the Pirates' affiliates on Thursday... lots of good pitching

Altoona Curve� 5,� Trenton Thunder� 3 (box)

The Curve came from behind to take this game from Trenton, despite being out-hit 8-7.� Starter Jeff Locke had trouble in the 1st inning, when 3 runs scored on a double, three singles, a wild pitch, and a throwing error by C Hector Gimenez on a stolen base play.� After that inning, Locke settled in, scattering four hits over the next 5 innings, while striking out 6 batters.

The Curve batters had only 2 hits over the first 3 innings, but they got going in the 4th to put one run on the board.� LF Andrew Lambo walked, and 1B Matt Hague singled.� A ground out to second by Gimenez moved both runners into scoring position, and 2B Jim Negrych picked up an RBI when his groundout scored Lambo.� DH Yung Chi Chen got the 5th inning off to a good start with a triple into left field.� He scored on CF Anthony Norman's sacrifice fly.� A fielding error in left field put Norman on first base, but he was caught stealing moments later.� SS Chase d'Arnaud kept the rally going with a walk, and he was successful in stealing second.� 3B Josh Harrison was hit by a pitch, and a wild pitch moved d'Arnaud to third and Harrison to second.� Lambo's grounder to second brought in d'Arnaud from third, and the score was tied at 3-3.

Jared Hughes took over for Locke for the final three innings.� He held the Thunder to just a walk in the 7th, retiring the other 9 batters he faced, with the help of some outstanding outfield work, particularly by Norman, and an infield gem by Negrych.� The Curve threatened in the 6th, when RF Miles Durham singled and Chen walked with 2 outs, but both were left on base.� Harrison began the 7th inning with a walk, and with two outs, he stole second base.� That put him into scoring position, so that when Hague took a 3-0 pitch into left field for a double, Harrison was able to score the go-ahead run.� Gimenez was intentionally walked to get to Negrych, who obligingly grounded to second base for what should have been the final out of the inning.� But the Trenton second baseman made a fielding error -- Negrych was safe at first, and Hague scored an insurance run.

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