The wrapups from Tuesday:
-P- Indianapolis defeated Durham, 3-1, behind another stellar start by #FreeRudyOwens. (It's unfortunate for Rudy that Clint Barmes isn't a starting pitcher.) Owens went six and two-thirds, fanning seven and allowing just five hits and a walk. One of the hits was a solo HR, which has been a bit of a problem; Owens has allowed eight, accounting for nearly half of the 17 runs he's allowed. His ERA now stands at 2.29. He's allowed more than two runs twice in ten starts and failed to go at least six innings only in his first start of the season. He has a 7:1 K:BB ratio and opponents are hitting .224 against him. Bryan Morris followed with two scoreless innings, then Tim Wood got the one-out save by fanning the last hitter. On the offensive side, Jeff Clement (no hashtag for him yet) hit his fourth HR in his last four games, giving him five on the year. Starling Marte went 1-3 with a walk. Alex Presley went 0-3, but had a walk and a steal.
-P- Altoona drubbed Richmond, 6-1, as every player in the lineup except the pitcher had a hit. Miles Durham went 3-4 with a double, Tony Sanchez 2-4 with two doubles, Matt Curry 2-4 with one double, and Jarek Cunningham 2-3 with a walk. Sanchez is on a mini-tear, going 10-for-his-last-28 with four doubles. He also went 3-3 in throwing out base stealers in this game. Brandon Cumpton allowed the one run on three hits and three walks, with three strikeouts, over seven innings. Vic Black pitched the last two innings and had some control issues, walking two, but he fanned two and allowed no hits.
-P- Gerrit Cole had a solid start as Bradenton dropped Ft. Myers, 5-4. Cole went six and allowed six hits, including a HR, and two walks. He fanned four and was charged with two runs, one earned. Quinton Miller gave up two in the 9th to nearly blow a three-run lead, but hung on for the save. Gift Ngoepe went 1-3 with a double and a walk, and Drew Maggi went 2-3 with a double and a walk. Those two have been quietly effective at the top of the Bradenton order despite unimpressive traditional stats. Gift is hitting .244 and Maggi .260. Gift, though, has a .351 OBP in May after struggling through April, which isn't surprising considering that he played only a couple weeks of full season ball before this year and was coming off a hamate injury. (Why don't all the hitters just get the !#@$!$% thing removed after high school?) Maggi has a .373 OBP, is 13-16 stealing bases, and has a 25:29 BB:K ratio. Mel Rojas, Jr., added a triple (his 7th) in three ABs, and also drew a walk.
-P- West Virginia beat Lakewood, 7-3. The Pirates seem to be doing a better job of turning around Robby Rowland (the guy they got from Arizona for Brett Lorin) than in drafting and developing HS pitchers themselves. Rowland made his second start and allowed two runs in six innings on four hits and no walks. He fanned three. The bullpen somehow gave up only one run in three innings and nobody made an error. Gregory Polanco went 3-4 with a triple, Alen Hanson 1-4 with a triple and a walk, and Chris Lashmet 2-2 with two walks. Hanson and Polanco each stole their 14th bases; Polanco has been caught only three times.