Tag: Wes Freeman

More brief notes for Saturday, since we're on the road....

Florida State League All-Star Game, played in Clearwater, Florida
FSL North  5,  FSL South  3
[ box ] 

Three Marauders' players got in on this game:  C Ramon Cabrera, 1B Aaron Baker, and 2B Jarek Cunningham were all starters for the South squad.  The North scored first, with a single, a triple, and fielding error in center field in the bottom of the 1st, for a 2-0 lead.  The South tied it up in the top of the 4th, thanks to the Marauders.  Cabrera led off with a single through to left field.  After two outs, Baker brought in Cabrera with a 2-run homer to tie the game.  

The North took the lead again in the bottom of the 5th.  A walk, a stolen base, an RBI double, and an RBI single gave the North a 4-2 lead.  The North added some insurance in the bottom of the 8th, on two singles and a double.  The South had one last chance in the top of the 9th, which began with a lead-off single.  Baker grounded out, moving the runner to second base, and another single put him on third.  A sacrifice fly brought in the run, but a ground out ended the rally and the game.  

Cabrera played 3.5 innings before being replaced by another catcher.  He went 1-for-2, with a ground out in his other at-bats.  Cunningham played 5.5 innings before letting another second baseman get into the game.  He grounded out and popped out in his two plate appearances.  Baker played the whole game, and went 1-for-2 at the plate, with two walks.   

The Pirates played two split-squad spring training games this afternoon (Monday):

Orioles  6,  Pirates  4
The Pirates were held to 5 hits at McKechnie field this afternoon, but one of the big ones was a 2-run homer over the left field wall in the bottom of the 9th by RF Miles Durham, who was up from minor league camp.  1B Lyle Overbay also singled for the Pirates, scoring the first Pirates' run of the game in the 5th.  3B Pedro Alvarez knocked in the remaining run for the Pirates, in the 6th inning.  LF Jose Tabata led off the inning with a single, stole second base, then scored on Alvarez's single    Alvarez also doubled for the Pirates.

LF John Bowker, SS Brian Friday, CF Mel Rojas, 3B Andy Marte,  1B Steve Pearce, 2B Chase d'Arnaud, 2B Jim Negrych, and C Wyatt Toregas all got into the game for the Pirates.   

Paul Maholm took the loss for the Pirates.  He gave up a run in the 1st inning on a double and a single, then another on a solo homer in the 2nd.  Jeff Locke allowed a run on two hits in the 6th.  He allowed a single and a walk, then with two outs, an RBI single brought in a run.   Justin Wilson got the first out, then walked the next three batters to load the bases in the 8th.  A double and a sacrifice fly drove in all three of the base runners.  Jeff Karstens pitched 2 scoreless innings, then Tyler Yates, and Mike Crotta each pitched a scoreless frame.   Cesar Valdez finished up the 8th for Karstens, then pitched a scoreless 9th, facing only 4 batters.

All of the Pirates' position players have arrived at camp in Bradenton, even Jose Ascanio, who had been held up in Venezuela due to visa issues. Pitcher Scott Olsen is going to be out for a few days due to a hamstring injury.  The only other "injured" player at this time is pitcher Donnie Veal, who is working his way back after elbow surgery ("Tommy John").  

Continuing to look at the Pirates' minor league outfielders... today we have two outfielders who have a lot to overcome:

Wes Freeman  --  R/R,  6' 4",  215 lb.
Freeman was the Pirates' pick in the 16th round of the 2008 draft.  The 21-year-old Florida native spent the remainder of the 2008 season and all of 2009 with the GCL Pirates, where he struggled at the plate.  He struck out in more than a third of his at-bats in 2009, and unfortunately that did not get any better in 2010.  Freeman began last season in West Virginia.  He did fine in right field, and his arm is strong, but at the plate, he was getting into more and more trouble.  In 24 games for the Power, he hit .187 with 44 strikeouts -- almost 2 strikeouts per game.  Freeman injured his ankle, and when he was ready to come back, he was returned to the GCL.  He finished the season with 21 games for the GCL Pirates, hitting .187 there.  His strikeout rate was 52% in those 21 games, for a total of 35 K's.  With all the other outfielders who are vying to start the season in West Virginia, Freeman is going to have to look very good in spring training if he's going to join the Power.  Then he's going to have to figure out how to stop striking out if he's going to stay in the organization.

Cole White  --  R/R,  6' 4",  205 lb.
White has a completely different situation to work around.  He was the Pirates' 42nd round pick in the 2008 draft, and along with fellow West Point graduate Chris Simmons, White signed and reported to State College, where he hit .338 with 6 doubles, one homer, and 9 RBI in 21 games.  But he ran into a snag -- the US Army changed its policy regarding athletes and their required military service.  So, White was off to military duties, and his baseball career was on hold.  Then the Army changed policy again, and White was able to ask to return to baseball.  He rejoined the State College Spikes at the end of June, and showed his excitement to return by hitting .306 in July.  He slid into a slump in August, but finished the season with a .250 average, 8 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, and 19 RBI.  White should be able to start 2011 in West Virginia, but he's going to have some catching up to do.  He'll be 26 in early April, and relatively speaking, that's 3 - 5 years older than most of his teammates will be.   (White still owes the Army 3 years of service.)

 

Some action with the Pirates' lower minor league affiliates on Wednesday...� still can't get anything done in Bradenton this evening, though the GCL Pirates did get their game in this afternoon.

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Erie SeaWolves� 3,� Altoona Curve� 1 ...�� (box)

The Curve were held to just 2 hits as they lost to the SeaWolves at home.� The Curve got two walks, one of which resulted in their only run, and they also had a runner reach on a fielding error.� 1B Matt Hague had the first Curve hit, a two-out single in the 4th inning.� 2B Jordy Mercer walked in the 2nd inning, and RF Miles Durham reached on a fielding error to begin the 8th inning.� None of them got as far as second base.� Finally, in the bottom of the 9th, SS Chase d'Arnaud led off with the second walk, and then he stole second base (his 32nd steal of the season).� DH Andrew Lambo lined a double into left field, scoring d'Arnaud with the Curve's lone run.

Justin Wilson pitched 4 innings in his start, and gave up all three of the SeaWolves' runs, on 6 hits and 3 walks, with 6 strikeouts.� He surrendered a run in the 2nd inning on three singles.� Another single and a double brought in one run in the 4th.� Wilson walked the next batter, then got a grounder to short for what looked like it would be an inning-ending double play.� The out was made at second, but Mercer's throw to first was not on target, and the batter was safe, which allowed the runner who had doubled to score from second base.

Mike Colla relieved Wilson to begin the 5th inning.� He gave up a walk to former teammate Brandon Jones to lead off the 5th, then erased him in a double play.� Colla allowed only one base runner in the rest of his four innings, a double to lead off the 7th inning.� Ramon Aguero pitched a perfect top of the 9th, with one strikeout.

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

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

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

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

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

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Looking in on the Pirates' minor league affiliates on Tuesday... the State College Spikes have a scheduled day off.

Hagerstown Suns� 5,� West Virginia Power� 4 (box)

A single, a double, and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th gave the Suns the extra-inning win over the Power this afternoon.� The Power were held to 6 hits and scored all 4 of their runs in one inning, the 5th.� 3B Jesus Brito led off the inning with a single, and CF Evan Chambers was hit by a pitch.� Both scored on DH Jose Hernandez's line drive double into center field.� 1B Aaron Baker brought in Hernandez with his 16th home run of the season, and the Power had their 4 runs.

Baker was the only Power batter who had more than one run in the game.� Besides the home run, he also singled in the 4th, but was forced out at second base.� SS Benji Gonzalez singled to lead off the 3rd inning, but was left on base. LF Rogelios Noris doubled to lead off the 6th.� Both RF David Rubinstein and� Noris were hit by pitches (back-to-back) in the 2nd inning.� Both C Ramon Cabrera and Chambers reached base two throwing errors in the 9th.� All four of them were left on base.

Jason Erickson pitched into the 7th inning for the Power, but he did not figure into the decision.� He gave up a run in the 3rd inning on a double, a sacrifice bunt, and an RBI single.� LF Noris prevented another run from scoring on a single, when he made a perfect throw in from left field to the plate, with Cabrera making the tag at the plate. Erickson gave up lone singles in the 4th and 5th, then gave up a solo home run in the 6th inning.

The Suns tied the score in the 7th inning.� With two outs, Erickson gave up a bunt single, a stolen base, and a walk.� Justin Ennis relieved Erickson, but the first batter he faced doubled into left field, scoring both base runners, to tie the game at 4-4.� Ennis gave up a single and a walk in the 8th, but did not let either runner score.� Zach Foster took over for the 9th, and retired the side in order then, but he suffered the loss when he gave up the run in the 10th.� The Power had two base runners on in the 8th (two errors) but they did not score either.

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Monday's action in the Pirates' lower minor leagues... the Bradenton Marauders have a scheduled day off today.

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Altoona Curve� 11,� Erie SeaWolves� 2 (box)

RF Miles Durham's grand slam ignited a 9-run 8th inning to lift the Curve over the SeaWolves in the series opener.� Both teams put runners on base in the first four innings, but none of those runners scored.� The Curve got the scoring started in the 5th, when LF Brandon Jones led off with a single and DH Yung Chi Chen brought him across the plate with a double into center field.� CF Anthony Norman singled to score Chen from second base, and the Curve were ahead, 2-0.� The SeaWolves tied the game in the bottom of the 9th.� Curve starter Jeff Locke had allowed two doubles over the first 5 innings and had struck out 9 batters.� With two outs in the 6th, Locke gave up three singles and hit a batter, which gave Erie two runs.

Then came the 8th.� Norman led off with a double, and he scored the go-ahead run on singles by SS Chase d'Arnaud and 1B Matt Hague. A new pitcher, Luis Marte, came in from the bullpen for Erie.� 2B Jordy Mercer was the first batter Marte faced, and Mercer bunted the runners up one base.� C Kris Watts was intentionally walked, then Durham rocketed a grand slam over the left field wall, to give the Curve a 7-2 lead.� Jones followed the home run with a single, and Chen followed that with a 2-run homer, bumping the Curve to 9-2.� The next batter, 3B Josh Harrison, was hit by a pitch, which caused the ejection of Luis Marte and his manager.� The next pitcher got a ground out, then walked d'Arnaud.� A wild pitch put both Harrison and d'Arnaud into scoring position.� Hague grounded to the mound, but a throwing error by the pitcher brought in both Harrison and d'Arnaud, to make it 11-2.� A ground out ended the inning.

Ramon Aguero pitched two scoreless innings of relief for the Curve, with a walk and a double.� Mike Colla pitched the 9th, and gave up only a single.

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A few roster notes:� RHP Teddy Fallon and LHP Justin Ennis were both promoted from State College to West Virginia.� Fallon was the Pirates' 43rd pick in the 2009 draft, and Ennis was the 33rd round pick in this year's draft.� RHP Tom Boleska has been promoted from Bradenton to Altoona.

Altoona's Bryan Morris has skipped a start, which the Pirates are calling just a "breather".� He has struggled in his last few starts, but has also stacked up the innings so far this season (103) and the Pirates want him to stay below 140 innings this season.

West Virginia Power� 9,� Hagerstown Suns� 1 (box)

Phillip Irwin pitched 7 no-hit innings for the Power tonight, before he had to be relieved due to his increasing pitch count.� Irwin struck out 8 batters in his 7 innings, and he allowed 2 walks.� He got off to a strong start when he struck out the side in the 1st inning, then struck out 2 more in the 2nd.� The first walk came in the 3rd inning, but that runner was immediately erased when the next batter lined right to 1B Aaron Baker, who stepped on first base for a double play.� The next 7 batters went down in order, until the 6th, when that same batter, C Sandy Leon, walked again.� This time Leon was forced out at second on a grounder, and another ground out ended the inning.� Irwin wrapped up his amazing evening with two more strikeouts in the 7th inning.

Ryan Kelly relieved Irwin and pitched the final two innings.� He allowed one hit, but it was a solo home run.� He also walked a batter in the 9th, and struck out 2 batters.

The rest of the team was busy giving Irwin and Kelly plenty of run support.� They piled up 16 hits, with everyone in the lineup reaching base at least one time, and all but SS Benji Gonzalez picking up at least one hit (Gonzalez had a walk).� 3B Elevys Gonzalez, Aaron Baker, and LF Rogelios Noris each had 3 hits.� Baker led off the 2nd inning with a solo home run.� CF David Rubinstein followed the homer with a double, and Noris added a single to put runners on the corners.� C Jairo Marquez lined a single into center field, scoring Rubinstein to give the Power an early 2-0 lead.

They boosted that lead in the 3rd inning, as they sent 11 batters to the plate and scored 7 runs.� Six of the first seven batters reached base safely:� 2B Jarek Cunningham and RF Jose Hernandez began with back-to-back singles, and Baker's double scored Cunningham (#1 run).� Rubinstein's sacrifice fly brought in Hernandez (#2).� Noris and DH Kyle Morgan goth singled, and Baker scored (#3).� Marquez doubled in Noris and Morgan (#4, 5), and sent the Hagerstown pitcher to the showers.� Benji Gonzalez flied out, but Elevys Gonzalez singled, plating Marquez (#6).� A fielding error on that play moved Elevys G to second base, and a wild pitch put him on third.� Cunningham's second single in the inning brought in Elevys G (#7), before a line out ended the inning.

The Power put at least one baserunner on in all but one of the remaining innings, but none of them were able to come around to score.

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Wednesday, with games going on all afternoon and evening....

Bradenton Marauders� 3,� Tampa Yankees� 1 (box)

A 3-run 5th inning was all it took from the Marauders' bats this afternoon.� The inning began with 3B Jose De Los Santos reaching base on a fielding error.� RF Robbie Grossman singled, moving De Los Santos to third base, and LF Quincy Latimore doubled, scoring De Los Santos.� Both Grossman and Latimore scored on 1B Erik Huber's single into right field.� Huber stole second base, but was left there when the inning ended on a fly out. All three runs were unearned.

Those three hits were half of the Marauder's total for the game.� Latimore and Huber also singled in the 2nd inning, and C James Skelton walked, loading the bases, but three consecutive strikeouts ended the inning with all three runners still in place.� CF Austin McClune singled to lead off the 6th, 2B Adenson Chourio reached on a fielding error, but a double play ended the inning with Chourio forced out at second.� The Marauders went down in order in the last three innings of the game.

The only run the Yankees scored was also unearned.� Bradenton starter Aaron Pribanic pitched 5 innings and scattered 4 hits.� He came back out to begin the 6th, but was relieved after giving up a single and a walk.� Tom Boleska struck out the first batter he faced, then Skelton threw out the second runner as he tried to steal second in a double steal.� When the next batter reached on a throwing error by De Los Santos, the runner (who had stolen third base) scored from third.� Boleska pitched a scoreless 7th.� Tyler Cox allowed a single and a walk in the scoreless 8th.� Diego Moreno, who has finished his organizational suspension and has been reassigned to the Marauders, pitched a scoreless 9th, allowing just one walk.

Reliever Mike Colla has been promoted from the Marauders to AA Altoona, trading spots with Moreno.

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Nate Adcock, who earned his 5th win in last night's Marauders' game, has been named the Florida State League's Pitcher of the Week for May 17th - 23rd. �Adcock made two starts during the week, going a total of �12 innings (6 each), and allowing just one run, for an ERA of 0.75 during the week. �He also gave up 5 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 12 batters. �Adcock's record is now 5-2, and his ERA stands at 2.50. �He has pitched 50.1 innings and allowed 42 hits, 14 earned runs, 9 walks, with 54 strikeouts.

Some roster moves over the past few days:

INF Jim Negrych has been placed on Altoona's temporarily inactive list, due to a family illness.

P Diego Moreno has been promoted from Bradenton to Altoona. �He earned a 3-0 record and a 1.37 ERA in 16 relief appearances for the Marauders.

P Melkin Laureano has been promoted from West Virginia to Bradenton. �In 10 games (5 starts) for the Power, Laureano earned a 2-3 record and a 2.83 ERA.

P Mike Williams has been promoted from State College to West Virginia. �The Spikes have not started their season yet, so Williams has really not been there, but in extended spring training in Bradenton.

INF Adenson Chourio and OF Wes Freeman have been reassigned from West Virginia to State College, which means they are going to Bradenton for a few weeks. �Chourio was hitting .217 with 4 RBI in 15 games for the Power. �Freeman had appeared in 24 games for the Power, but was hitting .155, with 5 doubles, a triple, 6 RBI, and 44 strikeouts.

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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, �Charleston River Dogs �0 (box)

Three Power pitchers combined to pitch a 7-hit shutout of the Charleston (South Carolina) River Dogs in a mid-day game in South Carolina today.

The River Dogs had at least one runner on base in every inning, but the Power pitchers did an excellent job of working out of small jams and big jams. �Nate Baker got the star for the Power, and he pitched 5 innings, scattering 3 hits and a walk. �He hit the first batter he faced in the bottom of the 1st, but picked him off first base. �Baker gave up a single later in the 1st and back-to-back singles in the 2nd, but both time ground balls ended the innings. �He also hit batters in the 3rd and the 4th innings, but a timely double play erased one, and a strikeout took care of the second. �The 5th inning was the first time that Charleston got a runner as far as third base against Baker, when the lead-off batter walked, was bunted to second, and moved to third on a ground out. �But Baker easily got another ground out to end the inning.

Gabriel Alvarado took over for Baker to begin the 6th inning. �He gave up a two-out double in that inning, but left that runner on base. �In the 7th, Alvarado gave up a lead-off single and hit the next batter with a pitch. �The next batter dropped a bunt down towards first base, where 1B Aaron Baker scooped it up and tried to throw to third base for the force out. �The throw was wide and actually hit the base runner in the head for an error. �All three runners were safe, and the one who had been hit was ok and was able to stay in the game. �Alvarado remained calm and first got a short fly out, then got the next batter to ground into an inning-ending double play to escape the jam without a run scoring. �Ryan Kelly earned the save with two more scoreless innings. �He gave up a lone single in each of the 8th and the 9th, and both times stranded the runner on base.

The Power batters only scratched out three hits against the River Dogs' pitchers, but they made the hits count. �DH Kyle Morgan led off the 2nd inning with an opposite field double into left. �CF David Rubinstein moved Morgan to third base with a ground out to the right side of the infield. �RF Wes Freeman brought Morgan in with a sacrifice fly for a 1-0 lead. �That run stood alone for quite a while, as not too many more Power batters reached base. �2B Jarek Cunningham reached on a fielding error in the 4th, but was thrown out trying to steal second base. �Cunningham must have been jinxing the River Dogs infielders, because he made them commit another error when he led off the 7th inning. �Aaron Baker followed that with a single, putting runners on the corners. �Baker stole second base, and Freeman walked to load the bases with two outs. �LF Jose Hernandez had the remaining Power hit, a�single to deep short, bringing in Cunningham with the (unearned) insurance run. �The Power had two more base runners, but neither scored. �3B Adenson Chourio walked and stole base in the 8th, but was left stranded. �Morgan walked to lead off the 9th, but was forced out on a grounder by Freeman. �Freeman was then caught stealing to end the inning.

The Power now have a 3-4 record and stand in 4th place in the South Atlantic League Northern Division.

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