The roundup of Thursday's games:
-P- Indianapolis got shut out for the third straight game, the second by 1-0. The Indians have scored one run in their last five games. As usual, they got a good start, this one from Jo-Jo Reyes, who went seven innings and allowed one run on seven hits while fanning five. Indy had just five hits, with Jeff Clement getting two doubles and Gorkys Hernandez two singles. The Indians probably won't be looking to the Pirates for offensive help; Alex Presley, in his first game since being optioned out, went 0-4 with three whiffs. Starling Marte went 0-4 and is now hitting .252.
-P- Altoona finished a sweep of Bowie with a 4-2 win. Phil Irwin went 6.1 IP, allowing eight hits and no walks, and fanning three. Jhonathan Ramos got the win by getting the last eight outs without allowing a baserunner. Elevys Gonzalez and Miles Durham each went 2-4 with a double and a HR, Gonzalez' second and Durham's first. The top four hitters in the order--Robbie Grossman, Brock Holt, Tony Sanchez and Matt Curry--combined to go 0-15 with a walk. As a side note, Manny Machado played the three games at short for Bowie. While he didn't look overmatched, I don't believe he hit a single ball hard in the three games. He had two errors today.
-P- Bradenton lost to Dunedin in 11 innings, 2-1. Gerrit Cole started and went six, allowing five hits and a run, along with no walks and four Ks. Jeff Inman pitched two innings and the only runner he allowed was on a hit batsman. He fanned two. The Marauders had only five hits, but they drew a dozen walks and managed to strand 14 runners by going 0-9 with RISP. Evan Chambers and Stefan Welch each had three walks, while Justin Howard and Benji Gonzalez each had two hits.
-P- West Virginia's problems continued as the Power lost to Greenville, 8-3. They've now lost 12 of their last 14. For some reason, Orlando Castro started and was relieved by Zac Fuesser. Castro lasted only an inning and two thirds, as he allowed four runs in the second. Fuesser gave up four runs, two earned, on seven hits and a walk in 5.2 IP. He struck out 6. Alen Hanson went 1-3 with a two-run triple before being lifted for a pinch hitter. The Power totaled only five hits.