Three games Monday, with Altoona off:
-P- Is this a good thing? Jo-Jo Reyes threw a complete game three-hitter as Indianapolis blanked Lehigh Valley, 4-0. Reyes walked one and fanned eight to lower his ERA to 2.03 and run his record to 5-0. He threw 72 of 99 pitches for strikes. Hopefully, Neal Huntington is telling himself, "Must . . . resist . . . ." Matt Hague went 3-3 with a walk, but he still has only three extra base hits, all doubles, in 81 ABs, and his BB:K ratio is a surprisingly weak 6:16. Jake Fox continued his tear, going 3-4, and the resurgent Jordy Mercer went 2-4.
-P- Bradenton pounded out 20 hits in a 10-5 win over Tampa. Three bench players--Andy Vasquez, Benji Gonzalez and Francisco Diaz--combined to go 10-16. Vasquez was playing in place of Drew Maggi, who appears to be injured. Alex Dickerson had a single, double and triple in six ABs, with three RBIs. Mel Rojas, Jr., went 2-6. The game was started by the Pirates' latest former prospect/reclamation project, not to mention their umpteenth ex-Marlin prospect, Henricus VandenHurk, who will be known as "Dutch" from now on to save me some typing. Dutch, who's pitching his first game of the year, started with three scoreless innings, but may have tired as he allowed four runs over the next three. He gave up eight hits, walked one and fanned five. Dutch has spent parts of the last five seasons in the majors, so the Pirates probably plan to move him up to AA or AAA soon.
-P- West Virginia lost to Greensboro, 6-3. The Power didn't score until the 9th, when Willy Garcia hit a three-run HR, his sixth. Garcia added two doubles in four ABs. Gregory Polanco went 2-4. Alen Hanson went 0-3, but he did have a walk and a steal. Zack Dodson started and had a mediocre outing. He went five innings, allowing five hits, two walks and three runs, two earned. He fanned only one and was helped by the Power's outfield, which threw two runners out at the plate. Dodson's ERA now stands at 5.72 despite the fact that he's repeating a level at which he pitched well last year. As of now, every one of the prep pitchers drafted in 2009 has regressed from last year.