Tag: Matt Hague

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.

Richmond Flying Squirrels 4, �Altoona Curve 2 (box)

Curve starter Tim Alderson had little trouble with the Squirrels for the first four innings on Thursday evening, using two double plays to erase two of the three base runners he'd allowed (two singles and a hit batter). �But he had problems in the 5th, when Richmond scored 5 runs on two walks, four singles, and a sacrifice fly, and Alderson could not get out of the inning. �One of the walks forced in a run, and it didn't get any better from there. �Alderson threw 89 pitches in his 4.2 innings, and allowed a total of 4 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks, with 4 strikeouts, while working entirely out of the stretch.

The Curve scored their first run in the top of the 1st. �SS Chase d'Arnaud opened the game in Richmond with a line drive single into right field. �A ground out moved him to second base, and he stole third base, then scored on 1B Matt Hague's RBI single. �The Curve managed only a couple of walks over the next three innings, until LF Alex Presley led off the 5th by beating out an infield single. �Alderson sacrifice bunted him to second base, and Presley scored on d'Arnaud's second single of the game, also an infield hit. �The Curve had one last chance in the 9th, when 2B Josh Harrison and RF Miles Durham hit back-to-back singles with two outs. �But a fly out by Presley ended the threat and the game.

Dustin Molleken relieved Alderson to finish up the 5th inning with a ground out. �He also pitched the next two innings, allowing only a walk. �Ronald Uviedo pitched the 9th inning, and he also gave up a walk, then struck out two batters.

Harrisburg Senators 7, �Altoona Curve 0 (box)

It was a tough afternoon in Altoona on Wednesday, as the Curve were held to just 3 hits in this shutout. �1B Matt Hague, RF Miles Durham, and LF Alex Presley were the only Curve batters to get hits, and all three were singles. �SS Chase d'Arnaud and Hague also reached base on walks. �The singles came in the 2nd (Durham), 4th (Hague), and 5th (Presley) innings, and all three runners were left on base when the innings ended. �D'Arnaud walked to lead off the 6th inning, but was erased in a double play. �Hague walked in the 7th, and he was also eliminated in a double play. �The Curve never had a base runner reach second base, nor did they ever have more than one runner on base in any one inning.

Curve starter Justin Wilson pitched 5 scoreless innings to begin his outing. �He allowed only one batter over the minimum in the first three innings (a walk). �Another batter who walked to open the 4th inning was picked off base. �Wilson gave up two singles in the 4th, but left them stranded. �The Senators finally scored against Wilson in the 6th inning, on a hit batter, a stolen base, and an RBI double. �Wilson went 6 innings total, allowing that one run on 3 hits, with 6 strikeouts, but without run support, his strong outing turned into a loss.

Things fell apart for reliever Corey Hamman, who took over to begin the 7th inning. �It began with a walk and a 2-run homer. �Hamman got the next two batters to strike out, but a wild pitch on strike three put the second of those on base. �After another walk, a 3-run homer gave Harrisburg a 6-0 lead. �Mike Dubee relieved Hamman to finish the inning, then pitched a scoreless 8th. �Danny Moskos pitched the 9th inning, and gave up one more run on a double and a single. �A hit batter and another single had a Harrisburg batter rounding third and heading for the plate, but RF Durham and 2B Josh Harrison got the ball right on target to C Hector Gimenez, who�tagged the runner out at the plate.

Harrisburg Senators 3, �Altoona Curve 2 (box)

Rain cut short the late-morning/early afternoon game in Altoona on Tuesday, and didn't give the Curve a chance to catch up to the Senators for a second time. �Starter Derek Hankins gave up an unearned run in the top of the 2nd. �A lead-off double and Hankins' own throwing error on a pickoff attempt put a runner on third base with no outs. �After a walk, a grounder for a double play was enough to score the runner from third base.

The Curve batters went down in order for the first two innings. �Two Harrisburg errors put C Kris Watts on third base and SS Chase d'Arnaud on first with two outs in the 3rd inning, but a fly out ended that threat as the rain began to fall. �Altoona got onto the scoreboard in the 4th, tying the game on a single by 1B Matt Hague and an RBI double by RF Miles Durham. Durham went to third base on a ground out, but was left there when the inning ended.

Harrisburg didn't let the tie last long. �They scored 2 more runs in the top of the 5th, on a walk and a 2-run homer, taking a 3-1 lead. �The Curve came right back in the bottom of the inning. �Watts was hit by a pitch, and pinch-hitter Jim Negrych doubled into right field, moving Watts to third base. �A sacrifice fly by d'Arnaud plated Watts and moved Negrych to third base. �He could not advance further, though, as a ground out and a line out ended the inning. �At that point, the rain was much harder, and the umpires called for a rain delay. �After nearly two hours of waiting and hoping for another chance to score, it was clear that the rain was not going to stop. �Since 5 full innings had been played, it was an official game, and the Curve were on the losing end.

The rain also held Alex Presley to just 2 at-bats, both of which were outs. �That ended his 24-game on-base streak.

Daytona Cubs �2, �Bradenton Marauders 1 (box)

Starter Bryan Morris pitched 6 scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits and a walk, while striking out 4 Cubs' batters. �Unfortunately he did not earn a win, as the Marauders lost in extra innings. � Morris had to work around a fielding error and a walk in the top of the 1st inning, but got out of the frame leaving two runners on base. �He allowed only one base runner over the next 4 innings, and that was a double to lead off the 4th. �Back-to-back singles began the 6th inning, and a sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position, but Morris got a strikeout and a pop out to end that inning.

The Marauders were also held scoreless over the first 5 innings. �They had at least one runner on base in each of those innings, but base running errors erased two of the runners. � Four runners were left on base, two after singles and two after walks. �Finally in the 6th, Daytona starter Brooks Raley was relieved, and the Marauders got going. �With one out, four consecutive singles, by C Tony Sanchez, LF Quincy Latimore, 3B Jeremy Farrell, and 1B Calvin Anderson brought in one run, and the Marauders had a slim lead.

Casey Erickson took over for Morris to begin the 7th inning. �He retired the side in order in the 7th, but then gave up a run on a double and a single in the 8th to tie the game. �SS Brock Holt singled in the bottom of the 7th, but was left stranded. �They also went down in order in the 8th and 9th, and the game went into extras.

Noah Krol relieved Erickson to begin the 9th. �He gave up a lead-off single, but did not let that runner score. �Then in the top of the 10th, a walk, a stolen base, and a triple brought in the go-ahead run for Daytona. �The Marauders could not respond in the bottom of the inning, and Krol was charged with the loss.

This was Bryan Morris' fourth straight start in which he did not allow an earned run. �That gives him 26 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. �Morris's ERA stands at 0.66 -- 3 earned runs over 40.2 innings.

Erie SeaWolves 10, �Altoona Curve 7 (box)

A 4-run rally in the 8th and a franchise-record 16 opposing batters struck out could not push the Curve past the SeaWolves on Sunday in Altoona. �Curve batters C Kris Watts doubled twice and 1B Matt Hague singled twice in the losing effort.

The Curve scored first, when CF Gorkys Hernandez singled, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a throwing error in the bottom of the 1st. �After a couple of quiet innings, Erie took the lead in the top of the 4th, on a 2-run homer by 1B Michael Bertram. �Matt Hague tied the game in the bottom of the frame, when he led off with a single, went to second on DH Jim Negrych's bunt, to third on a wild pitch, and scored on LF Alex Presley's RBI single.

Curve starter Rudy Owens had allowed only a single and a walk over the first three innings, then a walk and the homer in the 4th. �Another homer, by C Max St. Pierre, led off the 5th, and Owens then gave up three singles and a walk for two more runs, and Erie was ahead, 5-2. �The SeaWolves just kept coming, scoring 3 runs (2 earned) in the 7th off reliever Mike Dubee. Dubee gave up a single and a walk, then a fielding error loaded the bases with SeaWolves. �CF Wilkin Ramirez cleared the bases with a double, and Erie was ahead 8-2. �They added another run in the 8th on a triple by St. Pierre and an RBI ground out, then a homer by RF Josh Burres lifted the Erie total to 10 runs.

The Curve rallied in the bottom of the 8th, as they batted around. �Watts opened the inning with a double, Hernandez walked, and pinch-hitter Jose De Los Santos singled to load the bases. �A single by Hague scored Watts, and the bases were still loaded. �A walk to Negrych forced in Hernandez, and a fielding error let De Los Santos score. �Presley's grounder force out plated Hague, and left runners on the corners, but a fly out ended the inning, with the Curve closer at 10-6.

Watts also doubled to begin the 9th inning, and the Curve had hopes that another rally might get them a win. �The third Erie error of the game, on a ball hit by Shelby Ford, put runners on the corners. �Hernandez grounded back to the mound for a fielders' choice, scoring Watts, and that was all the Curve could get.

Owens pitched 5 innings, and allowed 5 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks, with 9 strikeouts. �Dubee struck out 4 in his 2 innings of work, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 2 hits and 2 walks. �Ronald Uviedo pitched the final two innings and allowed 2 runs on 2 hits, no walks, with 3 strikeouts.

West Virginia Power �2, �Kannapolis Intimidators �0 (box)

Kyle McPherson and Maurice Bankston combined for 9 shutout innings against Kannapolis on Friday. �McPherson scattered 4 hits, no walks over 7 innings, while striking out 9 Kannapolis batters. �He had to work around 3 errors by his teammates to keep the Intimidators from scoring. �The first error came in the top of the 1st -- a throwing error by 3B Jesus Brito. McPherson worked around that runner, then around back-to-back singles in the 3rd. �A throwing error by 2B Jarek Cunningham stopped what should have been a double play in the 5th, allowing the batter to reach second base, but McPherson got a strikeout and a ground out to end that inning. �A throwing error by Brito in the 7th after a single put runners on second and third bases, but again McPherson worked around them, leaving both of them right there.

Bankston pitched the last two innings. �He gave up three singles in the 8th, but the first was doubled off first base after a fly out, and the other two were left stranded. �He gave up a walk in the 9th, but struck out two, earning his first save of the season. �The win was McPherson's second of the year.

The Power batters were having to work hard to get their runs. �Kannapolis starter Terry Doyle struck out 14 Power batters in his 7 innings of work, including 3 strikeouts each by LF Rogelios Noris and DH Kyle Morgan. Each member of the Power line up struck out at least once.

The Power put a runner on base in each of the first three innings, but couldn't score. �CF Evan�Chambers singled and stole second base in the 1st inning, and C Ramon Cabrera singled and went to second on a wild pitch in the 2nd, but neither could come around to score. �Cunningham singled in the 3rd, but was also left stranded. �Noris finally got the scoring started in the 4th, when he led off with a solo home run, his second homer in two days.

After the homer, the next 12 Power batters went down in order. �In the bottom of the 8th, when Doyle had been relieved by Garrett Johnson, the Power were able to get things going again. �RF Wes Freeman greeted Johnson with a double, SS Benji Gonalez walked, and Chambers loaded the bases with his second hit of the game. �Cunningham was hit by a pitch, forcing in Freeman with the Power's insurance run. �A grounder to first forced Gonzalez out at the plate, and Chambers was caught out between third and the plate, and no further runs scored.

Richmond Flying Squirrels �2, �Altoona Curve �1 (box)

Three singles in the bottom of the 11th inning gave the Squirrels the walk-off win on Thursday night in Richmond. �Reliever Ronald Uviedo, who had allowed runs to score in only one of his previous 8 appearances for the season, gave up the singles in the 11th and suffered his second loss.

The Curve scored first, way back in the top of the 1st inning. �With one out, CF Gorkys Hernandez singled, 2B Josh Harrison walked, and 1B Matt Hague brought Hernandez in with an RBI single. �Richmond responded with a run off starter Derek Hankins in the 4th, scoring on a double and two ground outs.

The scoreboard filled up with a lot of donuts after that. �The Curve went down in order for three consecutive innings, until SS Chase d'Arnaud walked in the 5th. �He stole second base and went to third on a wild pitch, but got no farther. �Harrison walked in the 6th but was eliminated in a double play.

In the 7th, the Curve got close. �C Kris Watts doubled and moved to third base on a wild pitch. �Pinch-hitter Jim Negrych lined out to left field, and when Watts tried to tag up and score, he was thrown out at the plate. �They loaded the bases in the 10th, on a single by 3B Jose De Los Santos (in his first game back since being involved in a collision with Gorkys Hernandez on Monday), an intentional walk to pinch-hitter Jordy Mercer, and a single to short by d'Arnaud. �But Hernandez bounced into an inning-ending double play, and the threat ended. �Hague and RF Miles Durham had back-to-back singles in the 11th, but both were left on base.

Meanwhile, Derek Hankins was also pitching well. �He scattered 4 singles and a walk over the other 5 innings he pitched besides the 4th. �He left after 6 innings, with the game tied. �Tony Watson relieved Hankins, and he pitched 3 shutout innings, allowing three singles and a hit batter. �A timely double play got him out of a jam in the 7th, when he had runners on first and second with one out. �Ronald Uviedo replaced Watson to begin the 10th. �Uviedo gave up a two-out single and a walk, then ended the inning with a strikeout. �But when he returned in the top of the 11th, the Squirrels ended the game quickly.

Matt Hague and Miles Durham each had two hits for the Curve. �Watts' double in the 7th was the Curve's only extra base hit. �LF Alex Presley's hitting streak came to an end at 19 games (2nd longest in Curve history) when he went 0-for-4, but he did continue his on-base streak with a walk in the 1st inning.

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.

Altoona Curve �6, � �Harrisburg Senators �1 (box)

Washington Nationals' #1 Prospect Stephen Strasburg was scheduled to make one last AA start on Sunday afternoon, before heading over to AAA Syracuse. �The Curve wanted to make sure Strasburg learned one more lesson at the AA level before being promoted. �That lesson: �sometimes you have to take a loss. �The Curve were not all that cowed by Strasburg the first time they faced him, back on April 11th, and they were not any more impressed today. �After going down in order in the top of the 1st, the Curve began the top of the 2nd with a walk by 1B Matt Hague, followed by three consecutive singles by 2B Jim Negrych, RF Miles Durham, and LF Alex Presley. Negrych just beat out the throw from the shortstop for an infield single. �Durham floated a little single over the head of the Senators' center fielder. �Presley's single through the right side of the infield�brought Hague and Negrych in to score with the throw in from the outfield not even close, and the Curve had a 2-1 lead. �C Kris Watts walked, again loading the bases. �Strasburg got his mound opponent Justin Wilson to strike out. �SS Chase d'Arnaud grounded to short, and it looked like Strasburg was going to get out of the inning with a double play. �Watts was forced out at second, but Senators' 2B Michael Martinez threw wildly to first base, and the ball skittered away, as two runs came across the plate, and d'Arnaud was safe at first. �The Curve took a 4-1 lead.

The Curve kept poking at Strasburg, and made him work for his outs. �In the 3rd inning, 3B Jordy Mercer led off with a walk, and Hague singled. �After a fly out, a double play got Strasburg out of the inning. �Strasburg retired the side in the 4th, but began the 5th by hitting d'Arnaud with a pitch. �Singles by CF Gorkys Hernandez and Mercer loaded the bases, but again Strasburg got a timely double play. �Hague grounded to third, and the Senators started a 5-2-3 double play, forcing d'Arnaud out at the plate. �That was the end of Strasburg's afternoon. �He finished with 4.2 innings, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts, and was charged with the loss. �Strasburg has allowed 9 runs (4 earned) in his 5 starts -- 8 of those, including all of the earned runs, have been by the Curve.

Starter Justin Wilson gave up a run to the Senators in the bottom of the 1st, on a single, a walk, and an RBI single that slipped just past d'Arnaud. �Wilson worked around runners on base in each of the next three innings, but allowed only that one run over 4 innings, on 4 hits and 3 walks, with 2 strikeouts. �Mike Dubee, just returned to the Curve from Indianapolis, pitched the next three innings for the Curve. �Dubee retired 9 batters in order, with one strikeout. �That earned him his first win. �Ronald Uviedo followed Dubee by retiring all 6 batters he faced, also with one strikeout.

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.

Three weeks into the minor league season... knowing that it's a small sample, who's hot -- or not-- at the plate:

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS

Team batting average: .274 (4th in International League) , �20 Home runs (3rd in IL), 166 strikeouts (2nd in IL), 30 stolen bases (2nd in IL)

Who's HOT: � (* is the team high)

Steve Pearce - .371 average*, 9 doubles*, 2 homers, 7 RBI, 16 walks ; .488 OBP*, .643 SLG*, and 1.131 OPS*; �Pearce has been spending most of his time at first base, with just 3 games in right field. �This is the Pearce we saw in 2007, when he rocketed through the Pirates' minor league system. �His average has been above .400 this week, and even when he's not hitting, he's still walking and scoring runs. �He and Neil Walker should be the next position players called up.

Neil Walker - .333 average, 8 doubles, 3 homers, 15 RBI*, 10 walks, 7 stolen bases, .407 OBP, .560 SLG, .967 OPS; Walker is right behind his buddy Pearce in most of those numbers. �Pearce is doing it while back at his comfortable position, and Walker is doing it in all his uncomfortable positions. �He's learning to play outfield and second base on the fly, and is looking good. �If you didn't know this was his first month at second base, you probably couldn't tell just by watching. �He made a jump-turn-throw this week that looked like he's been there all his life. �He's also taking more walks than he has before, and has fewer strikeouts. �And, he's stealing bases -- second most steals on the team. �He's had at least one hit in 10 of his past 12 games, and went 4-for-4 last night. �Not so great splits: �he's hitting .434 against right-handed pitching, but only .091 against lefties. �Also in line to go home to Pittsburgh.

Luke Carlin - .342 average, 3 doubles, 4 RBI in 11 games. �Carlin has had more playing time than originally expected, due to some minor injuries to Erik Kratz.

Jose Tabata - .296 average, 2 doubles, 2 homers, 8 RBI, 8 stolen bases*; �Tabata started the season with an 11-game hitting streak, then went 0-for-4 in one game, and has hit in each if his next 6 games -- he's had at least one hit in 17 of the 18 game's he's played. �Looking good in the outfield, mostly center plus a few games in left.

Argenis Diaz - .296 average, 8 RBI; �That taste of The Show last week was good for Diaz. �He's been 7-for-15 since his return, and boosted his batting average 60 points.

Not So Hot:

Brandon Moss - .233 average, 2 doubles, 2 homers, 7 RBI; Doing better in the past week, going 6-for-22 in his last 5 games.

Erik Kratz - .200 average, 2 doubles, 2 homers, 7 RBI; �Invaluable behind the plate, though, and also on the mound.

Brian Myrow - .200 average, 2 doubles, 2 homers, 7 RBI; (yes, that's right, these three all have the same numbers of doubles, homers, and RBI); Got off to a slow start, but he's starting to pick it up.

In the Middle:

Pedro Alvarez - .237 average, 2 doubles, 4 homers*, 12 RBI, 22 strikeouts*, 8 walks; �Those homers all came in the first 8 games of the season -- in fact, three came in the first two games. �But, this is also how Alvarez started off last season with A+ Lynchburg, and he got better. �He had a modest 7-game hitting streak in the past 10 days. �Also worrisome is that he leads the team in errors (4). �Three of those were fielding errors, and the one yesterday was throwing, but he also probably leads the team in the number of times Steve Pearce has saved him at first base. �By my observations, about half of Alvarez's throws to first base make Pearce stretch out as far as he can go to make the catch -- to his left, to his right, in the dirt. �Pearce is a very good first baseman... what's going to happen if Alvarez is throwing to a less experienced first baseman, like Jeff Clement?

Continuing on with the rest of the affiliates... (click on "read more")