Tag: Jordy Mercer

Louisville Batts  5,  Indianapolis Indians   2
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The Indianapolis Indians and Louisville Bats played 6.5 scoreless innings at Louisville Slugger Field, before each team scored in its last two at-bats.  The Bats' first rally was sparked by their winning pitcher Daryl Thompson, and the second rally, in the bottom of the 8th, was aided by 3 Indians' errors.  The Tribe was not able to catch up, and the Bats took the first game of this 4-game away-and-home series.  

Justin Wilson (photo) made the start for the Indians, coming off a tough start last Saturday in Toledo.  He got through the first two innings rather quickly, allowing just one hit, a double by Bats' 1B Todd Frazier in the 2nd.  Wilson worked his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the 3rd.  3B Michael Griffin reached base when his Tribe counterpart 3B Pedro Alvarez bobbled his grounder for an error.  After two outs, 2B Chris Valaika grounded to short, where SS Jordy Mercer also had trouble with bobbles on the scoop.  Valaika reached base ahead of Mercer's throw, and the play was ruled a single.  LF Yonder Alonso walked to load the bases.  Wilson bore down and got C Devin Mesoraco to fly out to RF Anthony Norman, to escape the inning without a run scoring.   

Wilson worked around a single by Frazier in the 4th inning, then got into another jam in the 5th.  He walked the opposing pitcher Thompson, and hit Valaika with a pitch.  With two outs, Mesoraco hit a screaming liner right back at Wilson.  The ball hit Wilson's glove and dropped, but Wilson was so surprised that it took him a moment to realize that the ball had been stopped and had not sailed into the outfield.  Then he looked up, thinking that maybe the ball was still in the air, then finally looked down -- and still took a moment to realize that the ball was at his feet.  Mesoraco was safe on first, and the bases were loaded, but Wilson had kept the ball from going into the outfield and allowing at least 2 runs to score.  He ended the inning with a ground out by RF Jeremy Hermida, leaving the bases full of Bats for the second time in the game.  

That was all for Wilson, on a hot and humid night.  He had thrown 97 pitches (57 strikes), and thrown 5 scoreless innings, allowing 4 hits and 2 walks, with 5 strikeouts.  Wilson was relieved by former Bat (just a couple of weeks ago) Steven Jackson, who retired his old teammates in order in the 6th.  

Watching from the dugout:  Pedro Alvarez, Tom Filer, Dusty Brown, Jordy Mercer, Kris Watts








Toledo Mud Hens  5,  Indianapolis Indians  1
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The Indianapolis Indians must have used up too many of the hits in their bats in yesterday's 10-4 win, because today they were back to scoring just one run, as they did in the two previous games against the Toledo Mud Hens.  Tonight at Victory Field, the Tribe posted just 4 hits on their way to their lone run, while the Mud Hens stacked up 12 hits and 5 runs.  

Rudy Owens (photo) struck out a season-high 8 batters in his start for the Tribe, but he also gave up 8 hits and could not get through the 5th inning.  He was charged with his 6th loss of the season, giving him a 6-6 record.  

The game began with LF Will Rhymes lining a double into right field for a double.  Owens struck out the next two batters, 3B Danny Worth and rehabbing 2B Carlos Guillen.  DH Ryan Strieby lined a single into left field, and Rhymes raced around to score from second base.  Owens struck out former Indy Indian CF Jeff Salazar to end the inning, then began the 2nd by striking out 1B Scott Thorman.  RF Ben Guez doubled into center field with one out in the 2nd, but a fly out and another strikeout left Guez on base.  

(Photo:  Pitching coach Tom Filer, Rudy Owens, Dusty Brown, Corey Wimberly)


Owens also worked around a one-out hit by Worth in the 3rd -- a bloopy hit that fell into no-man's land behind first base, out of reach of Tribe RF Miles Durham, 1B Matt Hague, and 2B Corey Wimberly.  Salazar struck out again to lead off the 4th inning.  Thorman singled into right field, then with two strikes on Guez, Thorman took off to try to steal second base.  Guez swung and missed on strike three, and as he finished his swing, he stumbled a bit, causing his bat to come around and hit C Dusty Brown.  Brown was in the middle of throwing to second base as he was hit by the bat, and it caused his throw to go off-target.  Guez was out on the strikeout, and since he was already out, the penalty for the batter interference ruling was that the base runner Thorman was also called out at second base.  

Corey Wimberly congratulates John Bowker on his 2-run homer in the 4th inning.







Indianapolis Indians  10,  Toledo Mud Hens  4
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It was a good night for hitting, at least for the Indians, tonight at Victory Field.  The Tribe posted 13 hits, 10 more than they allowed the Mud Hens, as they easily defeated Toledo to even up this 5-game series at 2 games each.  The Indians had scored only one run in each of their last two games, but tonight, all but one member of the Indians' line-up scored at least one run, and all but two had at least one hit.  SS Jordy Mercer (photo), who did not have a hit, scored one run.  CF Anthony Norman, who had neither a hit nor a run scored, drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.  2B Corey Wimberly and DH Dusty Brown each smacked 3 hits, while LF John Bowker and C Kris Watts had 2 hits each.  


The Tribe scored in each of the first 5 innings:
In the 1st -- Wimberly led off with a double down the left field line, which landed about a foot inside the foul line and continued down to the left field corner.  Toledo LF Timo Perez had to fight the sun a bit, and had a little trouble tracking it down, so Wimberly made it into second base easily.  Mercer was hit in the back as he ducked away from the first pitch from Toledo starter LJ Gagnier.  A ground out to first by Bowker pushed Wimberly to third and Mercer to second.  Then rehabbing Pedro Alvarez, who played third base today, snuck a single between the Mud Hens' first- and second-basemen and into right field, scoring both Wimberly and Mercer for a 2-0 lead.  Two fly outs ended the inning.

In the 2nd --  RF Miles Durham led off with a blast into the right-center field gap, past the diving Toledo CF (and former Indy Indian) Jeff Salazar.  Once the ball got past Salazar's desperate reach, it bounced to the wall, and Durham had all the time in the world to motor around and into third base standing.  Brown ran the count full, fouled off five more pitches, then doubled down the left field line to almost the same spot as Wimberly hit in the 1st inning.  That brought in Durham to boost the lead to 3-0.  Norman  bounced back to the mound, where Gagnier whirled and caught Brown in between second and third bases.  Brown dodged back and forth long enough so that Norman could reach second base before he was tagged out.  Norman reached as far as third on Wimberly's ground out, but a strikeout ended the inning.

In the 3rd --  With one out, Alvarez worked a walk, as ball four bounced about two feet in front of the plate.  1B Matt Hague hit the Indians' third double down the left field line, just barely fair, which ducked under the bullpen bench so that Time Perez had to dig it out.  Alvarez was running "carefully" on his pretty-much-healed-up quad (photo), but manager Dean Treanor did not want to take any chances, so he held Alvarez at third.  Watts followed with a single lined into center field, picking up his first two AAA level RBI, as both Alvarez and Hague scored.  Durham hit a sharp bouncer toward third base, which bounced off former Indy Indian 3B Argenis Diaz's glove and into left field.  It was a 2-base error, putting Durham on second base and moving Watts to third.  Brown's long fly ball into right field became a sacrifice fly, bringing in Watts from third, as the throw in from Hens' RF Ben Guez was way wide of the plate.  Indians up, 6-0.  

Happy Fourth of July!


















Toledo Mud Hens  2,  Indianapolis Indians  1
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3B Pedro Alvarez (photo) arrived in Indianapolis today to continue his rehab work, after suffering a strained right quad muscle while playing for the Pirates.   He has had some set-backs in his rehab program, but has been on rehab assignments with both the GCL Pirates (1 game) and the A+ Bradenton Marauders (6 games).  Tonight Alvarez contributed 2 hits as the Designated Hitter in the Indians' loss to the Toledo Mud Hens in front of a sold-out crowd at Victory Field.  

Tribe starter Sean Gallagher made the start, but suffered his 9th loss of the season.  He pitched into the 6th inning, and allowed 2 runs on just 3 hits and 2 walks, with 4 strikeouts.  Gallagher had only one inning in which he retired the Mud Hens in order (the 5th).  He allowed a line drive single into center field by LF Timo Perez in the 1st inning, then walked DH Scott Thorman to open the 2nd inning.  RF Ben Guez followed the walk with a grounder back through the middle.  The ball glanced off Gallagher's glove then on to 2B Brian Friday, who flipped the ball to SS Jordy Mercer at second for the force out on Thorman.  The Indians were hoping for a double play, but Mercer's throw to first base was wide to the infield side, pulling 1B Matt Hague off the first base bag, and Guez was safe.  Gallagher ended the inning with a tapper back to the mound by former Indy Indian Argenis Diaz and a pop out by C Omir Santos.  

Toledo Mud Hens  7,  Indianapolis Indians  1
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Former Indy Indians Argenis Diaz and Jeff Salazar gave the Mud Hens both offensive and defensive boosts to help defeat the Indians at Fifth-Third Field in Toledo, Ohio tonight.  

Brian Burres (photo) suffered his of the season, going 7 innings and allowing 3 runs on 7 hits, with no walks.  He began his evening with 4 scoreless innings, giving up just 2 hits -- a double to CF Salazar in the 2nd and a single to C Omir Santos in the 3rd.  

The Indians put runners on base in each of their first 5 at-bats, but could not get any of them around to score.  DH Corey Wimberly opened the game with a double into left field and stole third base.  LF John Bowker walked to put runners on the corners.  1B Matt Hague bounced into an around-the-horn double play, started by 3B Diaz, to end the inning without a run scoring.  SS Jordy Mercer reached base on Diaz's fielding error in the 2nd inning, but was immediately erased when 3B Andy Marte bounced into a double play, again started by Diaz.  RF Miles Durham also walked in that inning, and was left on base.  

2B Brian Friday doubled with two outs in the 3rd inning, then Mercer walked and Marte lined a single into left field in the 4th inning.  The first two Tribe batters reached base in the 5th, CF Gorkys Hernandez on a throwing error by Toledo SS Cale Iorg, and Wimberly on a fielder's choice by Toledo starter Fu-Te Ni.  Wimberly moved to second on the fielders' choice as Hernandez was out at third.  Wimberly stole third base and Friday walked, again giving the Tribe runners on the corners.  And again, a double play ended the inning without a run scoring.  

Indianapolis Indians  4,  Toledo Mud Hens  3
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After 5 scoreless innings with a tie score, the Indians pushed across a run in the top of the 12th, then held on for the win over the Mud Hens at Fifth-Third Field in Toledo, Ohio.    

With two outs in the top of the 12th, 2B/3B Brian Friday worked a walk.  LF John Bowker (photo) lashed a double into the right-center field alley, over the head of Toledo RF Ben Guez, and off the wall.  Friday was off and running with the pitch, and he rounded third and headed for the plate as Guez chased down the ball.  He crossed the plate well ahead of the throw, scoring the go-ahead run for the Indians.  

The Mud Hens jumped right on Tribe starter Justin Wilson in the bottom of the 1st inning.  Lead-off batter DH Will Rhymes with a single, and LF Timo Perez doubled, putting runners on the corners.  Rhymes scored on an RBI single into right field by rehabbing 2B Carlos Guillen, and Perez came in on an RBI single by 1B Ryan Strieby, for a 2-0 lead.  Strieby stole second base and 3B Danny Worth walked.  Wilson got out of the inning when he struck out RF Scott Thorman, and C Kris Watts fired down to third base, throwing out Strieby trying to steal third.  SS Cale Iorg added a run in the 2nd inning on a solo homer, giving the Mud Hens a 3-0 lead.  

Wilson went on to pitch 4 more innings, scattering 3 more singles (by Rhymes, Iorg, and Strieby) and two walks (Guillen and Strieby), but he did not allow another run.  He threw 91 pitches, with 52 strikes.  

Syracuse Chiefs  5,  Indianapolis Indians  4
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The Indians were one out away from a win at Alliance Bank Park in Syracuse, NY tonight, but a two-out rally led to a walk-off for the Chiefs.  

The Tribe went into the bottom of the 9th with a 4-3 lead, and Justin Thomas (photo) in from the bullpen.  Thomas got two quick outs, with a ground out and a strikeout.  Then he gave up a soft looper into center field by Syracuse 2B Steve Lombardozzi.   3B Matt Antonelli singled on a grounder up the middle, moving Lombardozzi to second base.  Thomas was relieved by Jose Ascanio, so that the righty Ascanio could face the right-handed RF Jesus Valdez.  Valdez lifted a fly ball into the right-center gap.  Tribe RF Andrew Lambo gave chase, and after a long run he made a desperate dive -- but could not come up with the ball.  The ball got past him, and turned into a 2-RBI double, scoring Lombardozzi with the tying run and Antonelli with the winning run. 

Rudy Owens made the start for the Tribe.  He had missed his last turn for a start, due to a bruise on his hand, suffered when a come-backer hit him while on the mound.  Owens worked around a fielding error by SS Pedro Ciriaco and a walk to Jesus Valdez in the 1st inning, escaping the jam with the help of a timely around-the-horn double play, 3B Andy Marte to 2B Brian Friday to 1B Matt Hague.  With one out in the 2nd inning, LF Jeff Frazier and Indiana University product SS Seth Bynum hit back-to-back doubles.  Frazier scored to put the Chiefs onto the scoreboard.  After a fly out, Syracuse starter JD Martin singled through to left field, and Bynum raced around from second base.  But LF John Bowker's throw to C Kris Watts was on target, and Watts tagged out Bynum at the plate for the third out of the inning.  Syracuse manager Randy Knorr argued the call at the plate, but only got himself ejected by plate umpire Chad Whitson for his efforts.

Indianapolis Indians  7,  Syracuse Chiefs  3
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Brian Friday (photo) was not even in the Indians' starting line-up today, but he ended up being the big basher for the night as the Indians defeated the Chiefs at Alliance Bank Park in Syracuse, NY.  The Indians came from behind, scoring in three of the last four innings, and posting 14 hits.  CF Gorkys Hernandez went 4-for-4 with a double and three singles, and RF Miles Durham had a triple and two singles, plus 3 RBI.  

Sean Gallagher won his 3rd game of the season (3-8 record), going 5 innings and allowing 2 runs (one earned).  He gave up a double in each of the first three innings.  Chiefs' 2B Steve Lombardozzi doubled and was left stranded in the 1st, and C Jhonatan Solano doubled in the 2nd, and was left on base, along with LF Gregor Blanco, who was hit by a pitch.  The double in the 3rd inning brought Gallagher some trouble, though.  Rehabbing major leaguer Rick Ankiel doubled into right field, then was sacrifice bunted to third base by Lombardozzi.  SS Matt Antonelli drove in Ankiel with a sacrifice fly.  Ankiel also reached second base in the 5th due to a fielding error when RF Miles Durham dropped his fly ball.  Lombardozzi again put down a sacrifice bunt, moving Ankiel to third.  This time Antonelli brought Ankiel home with an RBI single lined into center field.  

The Indians had one batter reach base in each of the first five innings.  SS Jordy Mercer was hit by a pitch in the top of the 1st.  Hernandez hit his lined his first single into left field to lead off the top of the 3rd, and 1B Matt Hague doubled into right field in the 3rd.  Hernandez's second single came in the 5th inning.  None of them were able to come around to score.  And to possibly make it worse :  Mercer was able to return to the field after being hit by the pitch (?hand or arm?), but he was not going to be able to swing the bat, so Friday came in to pinch-hit for Mercer in the 3rd, then remained in the game at shortstop.  

Syracuse Chiefs  8,  Indianapolis Indians  5
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The Indians opened a 4-game series against the Syracuse Chiefs tonight with a disappointing loss at Alliance Bank Stadium in Syracuse, NY.  Starter Brian Burres suffered the loss, unable to get out of the 4th inning.  2B Pedro Ciriaco (photo), in his first game back with the Indians after being sent down from Pittsburgh, extended his (interrupted) hitting streak to 8 games with 3 hits.  

The Pirates' roster shuffling continued today.  OF Jose Tabata was officially placed onto the Disabled List with the injury to his quad.  That move allowed them to bring INF Josh Harrison back to the big league team immediately, instead of having to wait for 10 days after they'd sent him down.  And, as anticipated, OF Alex Presley was officially placed onto the Pirates' active roster.  

In order to fill in spots on the Indians' roster, OF Anthony Norman and SS Jordy Mercer were promoted from AA Altoona to Indianapolis today.  Mercer had been hitting .268 for the Curve, with 17 doubles, 13 homers, and 48 RBI.  Norman had appeared in 15 games for the Curve, hitting .342 with 2 doubles, 2 triples, and 4 RBI.  Also, INF Josh Rodriguez was sent to Altoona.  Just acquired from the Cleveland Indians last week, Rodriguez was 5-for-11 at the plate with 6 RBI for the Tribe in 4 games.  

 
LF John Bowker got the Indians going tonight with his third home run in three days.  Newcomer RF Anthony Norman began the game with a ground-rule double down the left field line.  2B Pedro Ciriaco dropped down a bunt and beat it out for a single, moving Norman to third.  That brought up Bowker, who blasted a 3-run homer over the right field wall.  1B Matt Hague followed the homer with a double, and 3B Andy Marte walked, but the were left on base.  The Indians had a quick 3-0 lead.  

Starter Brian Burres (photo) retired the Chiefs in order in the first inning, but he struggled after that.  The bottom of the 2nd began with a single by 1B Chris Marrero, then a strikeout, then two more singles by LF Jeff Frazier and former Indiana University player SS Seth Bynum.  With the bases loaded and one out, CF Corey Brown tapped a grounder back to the mound, where Burres fired back to C Kris Watts, forcing out Marrero at the plate.  That delayed but didn't prevent the inevitable -- Syracuse pitcher Craig Stammen singled to drive in Frazier from third, cutting the Indians' lead to 3-1.  

The Chiefs kept on going in the 3rd.  With two outs, Marrero walked, then C Jesus Flores doubled, bringing Marrero all the way around from first base to score.  Frazier also walked, and both Flores and Frazier scored when Bynum lifted a long fly ball to right-center, which bounced off Norman's glove for a double.  That gave the Chiefs a 4-3 lead.  The 4th inning began with another pair of singles, including a second single by the pitcher Stammen, and one by 2B Steve Lombardozzi.  A wild pitch from Burres put both runners into scoring position.  Burres walked 3B Mark Antonelli, and ball four was another wild pitch, allowing Stammen to score from third.  After a strikeout, Burres was relieved by Chris Leroux.  Leroux gave up a single to Marrero, driving in Lombardozzi, then got out of the inning with a fly out and a ground out.  That gave the Chiefs a 6-3 lead.  Burres threw 90 pitches (59 strikes) in his 3.1 innings, allowing those 6 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks, with 3 strikeouts.  

Tuesdays' action... and again the player moves are as interesting as the games.

3B Pedro Alvarez was moved from the GCL Pirates to the Marauders to continue his rehab work.  
With OF Jose Tabata being placed onto the Disabled List, the Pirates were no longer forced to wait 10 days before recalling INF Josh Harrison.  Harrison joined Chase d'Arnaud and Alex Presley as the new kids on the block in Pittsburgh.  Backfilling, OF Anthony Norman and SS Jordy Mercer were both promoted from Altoona to Indianapolis.  INF Josh Rodriguez was sent down to Altoona.


Bradenton Marauders  8,  St. Lucie Mets  1
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A 5-run 4th inning gave the Marauders a big boost, as they bombarded the Mets in Bradenton.  Pedro Alvarez started the game at third base for the Marauders.  He grounded out in the 1st inning, then singled to lead off the 4th, and was hit by a pitch in the 5th. It was not a particularly busy day at third base for Alvarez, but he successfully fielded 3 grounders that came his way.  Elevys Gonzalez took over for Alvarez at the beginning of the 6th.   

Brett Lorin allowed only one run in his start, and earned his 3rd win of the season (3-4 record).  The lone run scored in the 3rd, on a hit batter, a ground out, and a ground-rule double.  Lorin scattered 3 more hits, no walks, over the rest of his 6 innings.  He hit another batter and he struck out 5.  

The Marauders got onto the scoreboard when they batted around in the 4th.  Alvarez's single got the fun started, then 1B Aaron Baker lined a double into left field, moving Alvarez to third.  DH Adalberto Santos walked to load the bases.  CF Evan Chambers brought in Alvarez with an RBI single, and C Carlos Paulino's double into center field plated both Baker and Santos.  LF David Rubinstein walked to load the bases again.  After a pitching change, SS Kelson Brown's RBI ground out scored Chambers, and RF Robbie Grossman's sacrifice fly brought in Paulino, to give the Marauders a 5-1 lead.  

Tyler Cox replaced Lorin to begin the 7th inning.  Cox walked the first batter he faced, then retired the next 6, including two strikeouts in each inning.   Duke Welker pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 9th, with one strikeout.  

The Marauders also did some late-inning scoring.  Brown and Grossman led off the 7th with back-to-back singles, and 2B Jarek Cunningham drove both of them in with his double into right field.  Chambers started the 9th with a single, and moved to second base on a wild pitch.  He tagged up and advanced to third on Rubinstein's fly out, then scored on a wild pitch, to give the Marauders their 8 run total.  

Saturday's action in the Pirates' lower minor league organization... being thrown out at the plate seemed to be a recurring theme....

Harrisburg Senators  3,  Altoona Curve  1
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The Curve out-hit the Senators 8-4, but could only force one run across the plate, though that was one more run than they had scored in their last three games.  Aaron Pribanic suffered his 5th loss of the season (for a 5-5 record), allowing 2 runs on just 2 hits and a walk, while strikeout out 7 batters in 6 innings.  The walk gave the Senators their only baserunner over the first three innings.  The Senators began the 4th inning with a single, and a balk put the runner on second base.  Pribanic struck out the next two batters, but the next batter smacked a 2-run homer.  He retired the next 7 batters in order to finish his night.  

The Curve put at least one batter on base in 5 of the first 6 innings.  They came closest to scoring in the 4th, when SS Jordy Mercer led off with a single, and advanced to second on a balk.  He reached third when 3B Jeremy Farrell singled to first, but got hung up between third and home, and was tagged out in a run-down.  Altoona got onto the scoreboard in the 7th inning.  Farrell lined a single into right field, and after two outs, pinch-hitter Anthony Norman grounded to second, where the Harrisburg second baseman missed the play.  Farrell scored on the error.  CF Starling Marte doubled into left field, moving Norman to third, but a strikeout ended the inning with both of the runners in scoring position.  

Matt McSwain replaced Pribanic in the 7th.  He walked two batters, and loaded the bases with a single.  An RBI ground out brought in the runner from third, for the Senators' third run.  Tim Alderson gave up a lead-off triple in the 8th, and hit the next batter with a pitch, but got out of the jam with a strikeout and a double play -- a line out to center field and an on-target throw by Marte to the plate let C Tony Sanchez tag him out at home.  

Former Pirate farmhand Jimmy Barthmaier walked Mercer to begin the 8th, but he was erased on a double play, and a strikeout ended the inning, the Curve went down in order in the 9th.  

The Pirates have signed 23rd round draft pick RHP Jordan Cooper to a contract.  He had been a pitcher for Kentucky, and that experience might get him a start at State College.  Here is a list of all the 2011 draft picks, with notations for which ones have signed.  

Friday's game action:

Harrisburg Senators  2,  Altoona Curve  0
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A 2-run homer in the bottom of the 10th broke the scoreless tie for the only scoring in this pitching duel.  Jeff Locke pitched 6 scoreless frames for the Curve, scattering 3 singles and a walk over his first 3 innings.  The he retired the Senators in order for the next 3 innings.  He threw 78 pitches (48 strikes) in those 6 innings.  Bryan Morris pitched a scoreless 7th, allowing just a single.  That base runner moved to second base on a balk, which started an argument by Altoona manager PJ Forbes -- and resulted in Forbes being ejected. Michael Dubee, back with the Curve after some time with Indianapolis, gave up a lone single in the 8th, and Noah Krol allowed a single and a walk in the 9th, but both kept the Senators from scoring.

But the Curve weren't scoring either.  They pounded out 7 hits, including two by SS Jordy Mercer.  Mercer's triple i n the 7th was the only extra-base hit for the Curve, and the only time that a Curve base runner reached as far as third base.  RF Andrew Lambo also walked twice.  CF Starling Marte opened the game with a single, but was thrown out at second after Mercer's strikeout.  1B Matt Curry and LF Brad Chalk both singled in the 2nd, but Curry was picked off second base, and Chalk was thrown out trying to steal second.  2B Brock Holt singled in the 4th, and pinch-hitter Anthony Norman singled in the 10th and stole second base.