Tag: Shelby Ford

Game 1: �Altoona Curve �3, �Harrisburg Senators �2 (box)

The Curve got the evening off to a good start in the first of two 7-inning games, as they made up for the rain-out on Wednesday. �C Kris Watts led the offense with 2 hits and SS Chase d'Arnaud drove in 2 of the Curve runs.

Harrisburg scored first, with a run in the 2nd inning on two singles, a wild pitch by Altoona starter Tim Alderson, and a sacrifice fly. �The Curve tried to respond in the bottom of the inning, when Watts and LF Anthony Norman both singled, and Alderson walked to load the bases. �All three were left on base when a line out ended the inning. �But the Curve got the job done in the 4th inning. �RF Alex Presley led off by beating out a bunt for a single. �Watts lined another single into left field. �3B Shelby Ford dropped down a sacrifice bunt, and when the Harrisburg third baseman threw wide of first base for an error, Presley raced around to score, leaving Watts on third and Ford on second. �An intentional walk to Norman brought up Alderson, who flied out for the first out of the inning. �Then d'Arnaud ripped a line drive into left field, scoring both Watts and Ford. �The Curve came close to getting another run, when CF Gorkys Hernandez flied out to right field, but instead of that being a sacrifice fly, Norman was thrown out at the plate after tagging up.

Alderson gave up another run in the top of the 5th, on a single, a stolen base, and another single. �He pitched a total of 6 innings and allowed those 2 runs on 7 hits and a walk, with 3 strikeouts. �Alderson earned his 5th win of the season, giving him a 5-2 record. �Danny Moskos earned his 14th save of the season by pitching a perfect 7th inning.

�

Game 2: �Senators �1, �Curve 0 (box)

The second game was another story. �SS Chase d'Arnaud led off the bottom of the 1st with a walk. �He was immediately erased when CF Gorkys Hernandez bounced into a double play. �And that was it. �No more Curve base runners, no hits, no more walks, no one reaching on an error or being hit by a pitch. �Just another 19 outs, 21 all together (it was a 7-inning game, as part of the double-header). �Harrisburg starter Chuck James pitched 5 innings and struck out 7, including striking out 6 Curve batters in a row in the 3rd and 4th innings. �Reliever Cole Kimball pitched a perfect 6th including 2 more strikeouts. �Reliever Zech Zinicola pitched the 7th, another perfect inning with two strikeouts.

And, as if that weren't bad enough -- it was even worse for Curve starter Rudy Owens. He pitched 7 innings and allowed only one run on 7 hits, no walks, with one strikeout, and still suffered the loss (his 3rd of the season). �Owens worked around a single in the 2nd and a double in the 3rd to keep the game scoreless. �He gave up a double and hit a batter in the 4th, but still did not allow a run. �Harrisburg's only run came in the 5th, with 2 outs, on 3 consecutive singles. �Owens allowed one more single in the 6th, then removed that base runner with a double play. �Jimmy Barthmaier pitched a scoreless 7th inning, also allowing just one single and also eliminating that threat with a double play.

�

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

�

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Friday night business.... the State College Spikes (Short-season A level) begin their season two weeks from today. �The Gulf Coast League Pirates, who will share McKechnie Field with the Marauders, begin their season on June 21st.

While the team rosters have not been formally announced yet, there have been some player moves: �C/INF Andrew Walker and INF Anthony Norman have been moved from the Marauders to the State College roster. � LHP Eliecer Navarro has been moved onto the Marauders' roster from the GCL Pirates' roster. �Also, Marauders' INF Greg Picart has been reactivated from the disabled list (hand injury).

�

Altoona Curve �6, �New Hampshire Fisher Cats �1 (box)

The Curve began their series in New Hampshire with a win, boosting their lead in the Eastern League Western Division to 9 games over Bowie, Harrisburg, and Richmond, who are all tied for second place.

SS Chase d'Arnaud and CF Gorkys Hernandez got the Curve off to a good start with back-to-back singles in the top of the 1st. �3B Josh Harrison grounded into a double play which erased Hernandez but moved d'Arnaud to third base, and 1B Matt Hague's single through the hole into left field scored d'Arnaud with the first run of the game. �They added another run in the 2nd on a one-out triple by LF Alex Presley and a double by DH Shelby Ford.

The game picked up some controversy in the 4th inning, when Fisher Cats' 3B Shawn Bowman led off with a long fly ball that seemed to fly over the left field wall... but then bounced back onto the field of play. �Home run or a bounce off the top of the fence? �The umpires ruled it a homer, and Curve manager Matt Walbeck was ejected when he argued a little too vociferously. �Walbeck got his revenge in the 5th, when CF Danny Perales hit another long fly, this one to right field, for what he thought was a game-tying home run. �But while Perales had slowed to a home-run trot, the umpires ruled that this ball had hit the wall and so was still in play. �Curve RF Miles Durham threw the ball in to the infield, catching Perales by surprise between second and third bases, where he was tagged out after a brief run-down.

After that, it was all Altoona. �The Curve loaded the bases in the 6th on walks to Hague and 2B Jordy Mercer, and a single by C Hector Gimenez. Presley's RBI ground out brought in Hague, and Durham walked to load the bases again. �Ford greeted the New Hampshire reliever with a line drive into center field, driving in both Mercer and Gimenez to give the Curve a 5-1 lead. �After another grounder force out, Hernandez walked, loading the bases for the third time in the inning. �The third time was not a charm, though, as a fly out ended the inning.

Hernandez added an insurance run in the top of the 9th when he led off with his first home run of the season. �The Curve recorded 12 hits, including 2 each from d'Arnaud (single and double), Hernandez (single and homer), Gimenez, Presley (single and triple), and Ford (single and double).

Rudy Owens earned his 6th win for the Curve, going 6.1 innings and allowing only that solo home run plus 4 other hits and 3 walks. �He did not have more than one Fisher Cats' base runner on base at one time until the 7th inning, when he struck out the first batter, then gave up a walk and a single. �That was the point at which he was relieved by Derek Hankins. Hankins threw a wild pitch to move the runners to second and third bases, then walked a batter to load the bases with two outs. �But he got a ground out to first to end the inning without letting any of those three runners to score. �Hankins allowed just one single over the next two innings, as he earned his first save of the season.

Altoona Curve �2, �Erie SeaWolves �1 (box)

The Curve extended their winning streak to 5 games with a win over Erie on Sunday afternoon. �That gives them a sweep of the 4-game series in Erie, and puts them 11 games over .500 with a 27-16 record. �They are in first place in the Eastern League Western Division, 3 games ahead of the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

Justin Wilson made the start for the Curve and allowed only one unearned run in his 6 innings of work for his 2nd win of the season. �Wilson allowed only 2 hit and 3 walks, while striking out 10 Erie batters. �He worked around two walks in the 1st inning, then retired the side in the 2nd. �The unearned run came in the 3rd inning. �A single into center field plus a fielding error by CF Gorkys Hernandez put a runner on second base, and a second single put runners on the corners. �A double steal (home and second) brought in the run for Erie, unearned because of the error. �Wilson gave up another walk in the 4th, but C Hector Gimenez threw that runner out trying to steal second base. �After that steal attempt, Wilson retired the next 7 batters in order.

Dustin Molleken pitched 2 innings and allowed just one hit, while striking out 4 batters. �Danny Moskos pitched the 9th inning, working around a walk to keep the SeaWolves at bay and earn his 10th save.

The Curve were not doing much hitting either, and they were making it look like Wilson was going to suffer from lack of run support again. �Erie starter Andy Oliver also pitched well, allowing only 4 hits, while striking out 9 Curve batters. �The Curve put up a lot of donuts for the first 6 innings. �DH Jim Negrych singled in the 1st, and 1B Matt Hague reached on a throwing error, but both were left on base. �C Hector Gimenez walked to lead off the 2nd, and reached third base, but was left there. �RF Miles Durham singled in the 4th, with the same result.

Finally in the 7th, the Curve made Wilson happy. �With one out, Gimenez singled, then after a strikeout, 2B Shelby Ford crushed his third home run of the season over the left field wall, giving the Curve a 2-1 lead.

The Curve worked two more walks (Hernandez and Gimenez again) over the last two innings, but did not score again.

Now for a treat: Fellow Pirates' fan Mike Davenport, who lives in Erie, was at the game, and he sent along some notes he made at this game, along with permission to share them here: �(after the jump)

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.

�

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.

Altoona Curve �9, � Richmond Flying Squirrels �2 (box)

Jared Hughes earned his 7th win, the most of any pitcher in the Eastern League, as the Curve beat the Flying Squirrels in Richmond on Saturday evening. �Hughes allowed two runs (one earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 4 batters. �He breezed through the first two innings, then gave up the earned run in the 3rd, on a hit batter, a single up the middle, and an RBI ground out. �Hughes then retired 9 more Squirrels in order, before giving up a double in the 6th. �A ground out moved the runner to third base, and a throwing error by 3B Josh Harrison let the runner score. �Hughes allowed two singles and a walk in the 7th inning, but a double play got him out of that jam.

1B Shelby Ford provided the big part of the Curve's offensive attack. �He went 3-for-5 for the night, with a single and two home runs, accounting for 5 RBI. �Ford homered from both sides of the plate -- from the right side in the 4th and from the left side in the 7th. �Ford also singled in the 2nd inning, but was left stranded. �He put the Curve onto the scoreboard for the first time in the 4th inning, when he homered over the left field wall after a walk by RF Miles Durham. C Hector Gimenez also knocked a 2-run homer in the 5th inning, following 2B Jim Negrych's single.

The Curve went into the 7th inning with a 4-2 lead, and that was when they exploded for 5 more runs. �SS Chase d'Arnaud led off with a walk, and moved to third base when CF Alex Presley singled up the middle. �Negrych plated d'Arnaud with a ground out to first base. �Gimenez singled to put runners on the corners, and Harrison's ground out brought in Presley. �Durham was hit by a pitch, then Ford blasted his second home run, also bringing in Gimenez and Durham.

Relievers Mike Dubee and Danny Moskos each pitched a scoreless inning to finish the game for the Curve. �Gimenez and Durham each had two hits for the Curve. �D'Arnaud and Presley both singled and walked twice, with a stolen base for d'Arnaud.

Who was the last Curve batter to have 5 RBI in one game? �It was Ford, on August 8th of last season.

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.

A late morning game, and an evening game on Wednesday.... the West Virginia Power have a scheduled day off

Altoona Curve 10, �Akron Aeros 2 (box)

The Curve tied their season-high with 15 hits on the way to 10 runs, to sweep a shortened 2-game series with the Aeros, and finish this homestand with a 3-3 record.

The two teams exchanged a run in the 1st inning. �Curve starter Rudy Owens opened the game by giving up a single, then hitting the next batter with a pitch. �A grounder to short moved the lead runner to third, but the Curve couldn't get ball to first fast enough for the double play. �A single into left field scored the runner from third, and Akron had the first run of the game. �In the bottom of the inning, DH Jim Negrych singled into left, then 3B Jordy Mercer grounded into a force out at second, but he also beat out the relay to first to avoid the double play. �A wild pitch put Mercer into scoring position on second base, and from there he scored easily on RF Miles Durham's line drive into right field, tying the score at 1-1.

Owens held the Aeros scoreless over the next two innings, while his teammates got him some run support. �SS Chase d'Arnaud led off the 3rd with a single blooped into center field. �Negrych followed with a smash past the diving Akron center fielder, which brought in d'Arnaud and put Negrych on third with a triple. �Mercer brought in Negrych with an oops swing that dribbled the ball into the middle of the infield and out of everyone's reach. �Two more singles, by Durham and CF Alex Presley loaded the bases, but all were left on base when the inning ended. �Curve up, 3-1.

Akron got a little closer in the top of the 4th. �Owens gave up a double and a single to the first two batters of the inning, and a grounder to third allowed the lead runner to score. �A double play ended that frame, with the Aeros within one run of the Curve. �That was all the scoring the Aeros would do, though. �Owens retired the side in order in both the 5th and 6th innings, and finished his day with 2 runs on 5 hits and a walk, plus 2 strikeouts over 6 innings.

Harrisburg Senators 6, �Altoona Curve 4 (box)

As the world looked in on the baseball-happy town of Altoona, via ESPNews and MLB, Stephen Strasburg made his pro debut against the Curve. �Some people, maybe those who thought Strasburg didn't need to bother with the minors at all, �may have thought that Strasburg would breeze through this start. �The Curve were not among that group, though. �Yes, Strasburg got his first pro win in his first pro start. �Yes, he did strike out 8 batters. �But the Curve did not make it easy, as they scored 4 runs off Strasburg on 4 hits and 2 walks, and reminded Strasburg and anyone else that those guys with the bats in their hands are dangerous, no matter who's on the mound.

With Curve radio broadcaster Dan Zangrilli and former Pirate pitcher Stan Belinda doing the honors on national tv, Strasburg started off strong. �He got 2B Jim Negrych on a sky-high pop out to short, and got CF Gorkys Hernandez to ground out. �Then LF Alex Presley lined Strasburg's 2-0 pitch to the base of the wall in right field, and sped around to score when RF Miles Durham followed with a line drive into center field. �C Kris Watts worked a walk, even though the 4th ball came in at 98 mph. �3B Josh Harrison struck out to end the inning, but the Curve had scored a run off Strasburg.

Strasburg settled down to retire the Curve in order in the 2nd and 3rd innings, with 2 strikeouts in each. �He began the 4th inning with a fly out off Durham's bat, but then Kris Watts worked another walk. �Josh Harrison bounced a grounder to Harrisburg SS (and former Curve and Indy Indian) Pedro Lopez. �Lopez scooped up the ball as he was moving behind second base, and flipped it to his 2B Michael Martinez. �But Martinez missed the flip, and instead of an inning-ending double play, both runners were safe. �1B Shelby Ford struck out, then SS Jose De Los Santos slipped a single just under his counterpart Lopez's glove and into center field. �Watts scored easily, and when the throw in from CF Leonard Davis came in to the plate way up the line and got past the Harrisburg catcher, Harrison rounded third and slid into the plate just ahead of the tag. �Next up was Altoona pitcher Rudy Owens, who had told the Altoona Mirror's Cory Geiger that he was more concerned about his first professional plate appearance against Strasburg than about pitching against the big prospect. �(Below the AA level, designated hitters are always used and pitchers never hit.) �Owens needn't have worried. �He collected his first pro hit and his first RBI too, with a single up the middle, scoring De Los Santos from third base. �A strikeout ended the inning, with the Curve ahead 4-0.

A couple of middle infielders to look at today, who fall somewhere between "prospects" and "veterans":

Shelby Ford was the Pirates' 3rd round pick in the 2006 draft. �His career has been plagued by injuries, including back injuries, hip flexors, and a sprained wrist. �When he was healthy in 2008, Ford hit .285, with 23 doubles, 10 triples, 4 homers, and 32 RBI, but that came in only 81 games. �He was assigned to the Arizona Fall League in the fall of 2008, and hit .294 there, with 3 homers and 11 RBI. �Ford was invited to major league camp for spring training in 2009, and guess what happened there ? �He got hurt, of course -- the sprained wrist, which delayed his start to the 2009 season by a week or so.

The Texas native was assigned to AAA Indianapolis when he got off the Disabled List, and got off to a slow start. �In fact, the wrist was still bothering him, and he had to sit out a number of games in the second half of the month. �He got going in the first week of May, going 8-for-23 over the first few days, but then slumped again, and finished May with a .168 average. �Unfortunately, June wasn't any better, with a .154 average, and only 4 RBI. �Ford had some better luck in July, with several multi-hit games, including a 5-for-5 game on July 5th in Norfolk (one homer, four singles). �That gave him a .259 average for July, but couldn't boost his season average enough. �On August 5th, Ford was reassigned to AA Altoona, leaving behind a .188 average in Indianapolis, with 11 doubles, 4 triples, 4 homers, and 27 RBI in 86 games. �He finished the season with the Curve, playing in 29 games over the last month of the season. �Ford went 8-for-24 in his first week in Altoona, but slipped after that. �He finished the season with a .233 average for the Curve, including 2 homers and 17 RBI.

Ford was not invited back to major league camp in 2010, and it's clear that he took a big step backwards last season. �He did get to come up from minor league camp for three Grapefruit League games in March, and had a single and a triple in three plate appearances. �With a crowded middle infield in Indianapolis already -- Brian Friday, Argenis Diaz, Doug Bernier, and even Neil Walker trying out second base -- Ford might not be back in Indianapolis for the start of the 2010 season. �The infield in Altoona is going to be busy too, with Chase d'Arnaud, Jordy Mercer, and Josh Harrison. �At 25 years old, Ford is going to need to stay healthy and get his bat going quickly if he hopes to stick around and not slip further out of the picture.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 3, �Indianapolis Indians 2

The Indians suffered their first loss in their spring training games this afternoon in Bradenton. �The Indians scored their runs in the 4th inning, courtesy of an RBI single by INF Miles Durham and a sacrifice fly by C Tony Sanchez. Tribe starter Donnie Veal pitched 2 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit and one walk, with 2 strikeouts. �The Indians' bullpen held the Yankees to 2 runs, and the game went into the 9th inning with a 2-2 tie. �Reliever Michael Dubee pitched the top of the 9th, and gave up two singles to account for the go-ahead run. �Dubee was charged with the loss.

The Indians announced that their game that had been scheduled for Sunday against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in Tampa has already been cancelled, as they are expecting severe thunderstorms most of the day.

�

Orioles 5, �Pirates 2 � (box)

The Pirates out-hit the O's 9 to 6, but the Birds still came out on top this afternoon in Sarasota, Florida. �Starter Charlie Morton suffered the loss, as he gave up 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks in 4.2 innings. �Morton worked out of a jam in the 1st inning, with the help of a double play. �He gave up a solo home run to 1B Luke Scott in the 4th inning. �Then in the 5th, Morton began the inning with a walk, then gave up a double to former Indy Indian/Pirate (2004-05) Ty Wigginton. �An RBI ground out followed, and Morton was lifted in favor of reliever Jeremy Powell. Powell�got the next batter to ground to short, but SS Bobby Crosby's throw to first was low and it skipped past 1B Garrett Jones, allowing another run to score, giving the Orioles a 3-2 lead. �DJ Carrasco pitched 2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk. �Chris Jakubauskas came on for the top of the 9th, and he gave up a double that plated 2 more runs.