Tag: Tony Sanchez

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.

The Indianapolis Indians lost, but the rest of the Pirates' affiliates won on Saturday.

Altoona Curve �9, �Erie SeaWolves �7 (box)

A 6-run 2nd inning boosted the Curve to an early lead, and a late-inning rally kept them on top for a win at home on Saturday. �The Curve sent 11 batters to the plate in the 2nd, collecting 8 hits for their 6 runs. �DH Jim Negrych got the fun started with a single through the hole into right field. �2B Josh Harrison and LF Alex Presley both doubled, and RF Miles Durham added another single, and two runs were in before an out had been recorded. �After a fly out, SS Chase d'Arnaud singled, bringing in both Presley and Durham, and a fielding error accounted for the second run (so only one RBI for d'Arnaud) and moved d'Arnaud to third. �Three more consecutive singles, by CF Gorkys Hernandez, 3B Jordy Mercer, and 1B Matt Hague, and another run came in. �That brought it back to Negrych, who this time brought the 6th run in with a sacrifice fly, before a ground out by Harrison ended the inning.

Starter Tim Alderson elected to work entirely out of the stretch as he worked on mechanics. �He�kept the SeaWolves from scoring over the first three innings, but gave up one run in the 4th on a single and an RBI double. �He ran into more trouble in the 5th, giving up a single, a double, a sacrifice fly, and another double, and then another single, for 3 runs. �Alderson was relieved at that point, just one out away from qualifying for the win, having surrendered 4 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks over his 4.2 innings, with 6 strikeouts. �He was replaced by Dustin Molleken, who gave up another single, but the throw in from Durham in right field put the runner from first out at third base to end the inning. �Curve 6, SeaWolves 4.

Erie moved within one run of the Curve in the 7th, when Molleken gave up a double, a wild pitch to move the batter to third base, then a sacrifice fly. �The Curve responded in the bottom of the inning with 3 more runs to maintain a bigger lead. �Hernandez led off with a double, and Hague walked. �A grounder by Negrych forced Hague out at second, but left runners on the corners with two outs. �Harrison brought both Negrych and Hernandez in with a line drive double into left field, and he moved to third on the throw in to the plate. �That meant that he was able to score on a wild pitch, and the Curve had a 9-5 lead.

Jeff Sues came in fro Molleken to begin the 8th inning, and he was greeted by a solo home run by Erie 1B Michael Bertram. �Sues got two outs, then gave up a single, a wild pitch, and another single. �Danny Moskos finished the inning for Sues with a fly out. �Moskos had to work around a fielding error by SS d'Arnaud and 2B Harrison in the 9th, but still kept Erie from scoring, to earn his 7th save of the season. �Molleken was credited with the win, his first of the season.

Gorkys Hernandez had a 3-hit night for the Curve, with a double and one RBI. �Jim Negrych, Josh Harrison, and Alex Presley each had 2 hits for the Curve.

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.

Three hits were the common theme in these minor league games on Monday:

Palm Beach Cardinals �1, �Bradenton Marauders �0 (box)

The Marauders were held to just 3 hits in this shut-out on Monday night in Palm Beach. �CF Robbie Grossman, DH Starling Marte, and C Tony Sanchez were the only batters to get a hit, and all three hits were singles. �Grossman and Sanchez also walked in the game, and Marte was hit by a pitch.

Two of those base runners came in the top of the first. �With two outs, Marte was hit by a pitch, and stole second base, then Sanchez walked. �A wild pitch put the runners on second and third bases, but they were left there when LF Quincy Latimore struck out to end the inning. �The next 14 Bradenton batters were retired in order, until Grossman singled in the 6th. �Grossman was thrown out trying to steal second base.

Marte and Sanchez led off the 7th inning with back-to-back singles, but Marte was picked off and caught stealing, and Sanchez was left on base after two ground outs. �Grossman also walked in the 9th inning, and went to second base on a balk, but was again left stranded.

In a sad twist, Bradenton starter Nate Adcock also gave up only 3 hits in his 7 innings of work. �It was his longest start of the season -- his first four starts were all 5 innings in length. �Adcock struck out a season-high 8 batters (he's struck out 7 batters twice) and did not allow any walks. �Unfortunately, one of the hits was a solo home run by Palm Beach's RF Alex Castellanos to lead off the 3rd inning. �That was the only run of the game, making Adcock the hard-luck loser. �Adcock gave up a single to begin the 2nd inning, but got a pop-out double play to erase the runner. �Castellanos also singled with two outs in the 5th, and he was Palm Beach's only runner left on base.

Casey Erickson relieved Adcock to pitch the 8th. �He also gave up a two-out single, but that runner was caught stealing second base to end the inning.

�

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.

Altoona Curve �7, �Harrisburg Senators �4 (box)

The Curve staged two late-inning rallies to surpass the Senators' late-inning rally, to begin this 3-game series with a win. �Altoona began the game by threatening in the top of the 1st. �SS Chase d'Arnaud led off with a single, but was erased when CF Gorkys Hernandez bounced�into a double play. �3B Jordy Mercer reached base on a throwing error, and 1B Matt Hague singled, but both were left on base when a ground out by 2B Josh Harrison ended the inning. �The Curve did get onto the scoreboard in the 2nd inning. �RF Miles Durham was hit by a pitch to start the inning, but was forced out at second base on LF Alex Presley's grounder. �Presley was safe at first, and he moved on to third base when starting pitcher Jared Hughes doubled. �D'Arnaud brought both Presley and Hughes in with a triple into center field.

Hughes gave up a double to the first batter in the bottom of the inning, and a bunt moved that runner to third base. �After a walk, a tapper back to the mound got the lead runner trapped in a run-down on the third base line and tagged out. �But the next batter doubled, and one run scored. �Hughes gave up a single in each of the 3rd and 4th innings, but kept those runners from scoring. �He then retired the side in both the 5th and 6th innings. �Hughes left the game with the lead, allowing one run on 4 hits and 5 strikeouts over 6 innings.

The Curve were not scoring either in the middle innings. �Harrisburg starter Aaron Thompson retired 11 Curve batters in order from the end of the 2nd into the 6th inning. �Matt Hague reached base on an error in the 6th, and Josh Harrison followed with a single, but they were both left stranded, as was D'Arnaud who walked in the 7th. �The scoring picked up again in the 8th. �With two outs, three consecutive hits brought in 3 runs: �a single by Harrison, a triple by Durham, and a 2-run homer by Alex Presley. �It was Presley's second home run in 10 days -- half already the number he hit in 2009.

Dustin Molleken relieved Jared Hughes to begin the 7th, and he gave up a single to Harrisburg's 1B Chris Marrero -- but Gorkys Hernandez fired a perfect throw in from center field to Chase d'Arnaud covering second and Marrero was out trying to stretch it into a double. �In the 8th, Molleken gave up one run on a walk, a single complicated by a throwing error by Miles Durham, and an RBI grounder. �Then a 2-run homer gave Harrisburg 3 runs in the inning, matching the Curve. �Jordy Mercer kept the Curve well ahead, though, with his own 2-run homer in the 9th, also bringing in Hernandez, who had singled.

Danny Moskos relieved Molleken after the homer in the 8th, and he finished the inning with a walk and two strikeouts. �He gave up a single and hit a batter in the 9th, but held on to earn his 5th Save of the season. �Hughes took the win, his 4th of the season.

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")

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.