The remainder of the Pirates' full season affiliates finished their regular seasons today. State College still has two games left, and Indianapolis will be joining the DSL Pirates1 in the post-season. Of course, you'll be able to follow minor league baseball all September as the Pirates get dominated by one minor league pitcher after another.
-P- Indianapolis won its final regular season game, 2-0, in seven-plus innings due to rain. The early finish cut short an attempt by Jeff Larish to play all nine positions. He did everything but catch. He even got a save by retiring the last batter in the bottom of the 7th. Chad Qualls pitched the first inning, striking out the side. He was followed by five relievers and then Larish. The Indians had only six hits, five by the top two hitters in the order, Chase d'Arnaud and Anderson Hernandez. D'Arnaud salvaged some degree of respectability in a disappointing season, going 3-5 to finish at .252. He scored one of the two runs. Three hundred-plus-pound reliever Jose "Jumbo" Diaz scored the other. Diaz moved to secondbase with two outs in the 7th so Larish could get the last out, then had to bat in the top of the 8th. He reached second on an error, then stole third and scored on a single by d'Arnaud just before the game was called. Since Rod Barajas was in Pittsburgh at the time, I can't begin to imagine how Diaz could have stolen a base.
-P- Altoona closed its season with a 2-1 win over Erie. Brandon Cumpton threw two-hit ball over six innings, allowing the one run. Vic Black pitched a scoreless 9th for the save. Charlie Cutler went 2-4 with two triples and Kelson Brown went 4-4 with one triple.
-P- West Virginia finished its season by winning, 4-1, over Delmarva as Zack von Rosenberg threw a nine-inning three-hitter. I believe that was the only nine-inning complete game in the system this year, unless one of the veteran pitchers at Indianapolis threw one. Von Rosenberg gave up a solo HR to the game's second batter, then allowed just two singles the rest of the way. He walked none and struck out two. Alen Hanson went 0-4 to finish at .309. Gregory Polanco didn't play. Eric Avila went 3-4 with his 11th HR, Dan Gamache went 2-4 with his 40th double, and Alex Fuselier hit his first pro HR.
-P- State College lost to Williamsport, 7-2. Joely Rodriguez struggled again, allowing all seven runs on eleven hits in four and a third. Ryan Hafner managed three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk, and fanning one. Dilson Herrera went 2-4 with a double.
-P- The DSL Pirates1 evened their best-of-five final series against the Angels at a game apiece with a 5-3 win. The Bucs got three in the first, two on a single by Daniel Arribas, who went 2-5 with a triple. Tomas Morales went 2-4 with a double. Starter Cesilio Pimentel gave up just an unearned run in four innings. He allowed three hits and three walks, and fanned six.