The GCL Bucs were washed out by the tail end of some little storm, but everybody else managed to get their games in on Monday:
-P- Indianapolis outlasted Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in a seesaw affair, 9-8. Daniel Cabrera struggled through four innings, walking five, but the Indians took a 7-2 lead into the 5th. Cabrera left with two on, but Daniel Moskos let them score, plus one of his own. Dan McCutchen then gave up three more in the 6th, but an RBI triple by Starling Marte in the bottom half of the 6th provided the game's last run. Evan Meek threw two scoreless innings, giving up a hit and two walks, and fanning three. Tim Wood struck out two in the 9th for his 10th save. Marte went 2-4 with three RBIs, and added a double and a walk. Yamaico Navarro went 2-3 with a walk and Gorkys Hernandez went 2-4. Jordy Mercer, after being found in a basket on the freeway, went 1-3 with a walk.
-P- Altoona also won a crazy one, 13-8 over Akron. Kelson Brown entered the game to run for Brock Holt, who got ejected after being hit with a pitch, and went 3-3 with four runs scored. Among the three hits were Brown's first two professional HRs, coming after nearly 600 ABs. Stefan Welch went 3-4 with a walk and three RBIs, raising his average to .448 since he moved up from Bradenton. For some reason, it's pretty common for a minor leaguer who's moved up after spending a long time mired at a particular level (four years in the FSL in Welch's case) to go on a tear at the new level. Welch's hot streak has sparked a big surge by the Curve's offense. Another minor league vet, Charlie Cutler, went 3-5 with a double. Tim Alderson had a rough start, allowing seven runs in 5.2 IP. Jeff Inman got out of a bases loaded, no out jam in the 8th to pitch two scoreless innings.
-P- Bradenton swept a doubleheader from Dunedin. The first game went ten innings before the Marauders prevailed, 3-1. Colton Cain followed a strong start his last time out with six shutout innings. He gave up three hits and a walk, and fanned two. The Marauders had only five hits. Benji Gonzalez drove in all three runs, one with a ground ball and the two winners with a single. Bradenton took game two, 6-2. Dan Grovatt went 3-4 with a double and three RBIs, and Gonzalez went 2-3 with a triple. Converted reliever Casey Sadler started and threw three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and no walks, and fanning two.
-P- West Virginia lost to Lakewood, 6-4. Nick Kingham struggled early, but managed to go five, giving up three runs on five hits and a walk, and striking out three. He left with a 4-3 lead, but Robbie Kilcrease gave up three runs to lose it. Alen Hanson went 2-5 with a double and a steal, and committed his 29th error.
-P- State College scored four in the 8th to top Batavia, 7-4. Jake Burnette struggled with his control, walking three and throwing three wild pitches in four innings. He allowed four hits and three runs, and fanned one. Logan Pevny and Thomas Harlan each threw two scoreless innings in relief. Chris Diaz went 2-3 with a double and a walk, Yhonathan Barrios went 2-3, and Walker Gourley went 2-4 with three RBIs.
-P- The DSL Pirates1 routed the Marlins, 13-3. Cesilio Pimentel, whom Baseball America characterizes as a potential power lefty, made his first appearance of 2012 after striking out 31 in 23.1 IP in the DSL in 2011. He allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk in 4.1 IP, while fanning two. Jose Regalado, who doesn't appear to be a prospect as far as I can tell, pitched the last 4.2 innings and fanned five while allowing no runs, one hit and one walk. Deybi Garcia, a 20-year-old catcher, went 3-5 with two doubles. Ramses Pena, who got a good bonus in 2010 and has struggled for two years--and who needs to succeed because . . . well . . . his name is Ramses--went 2-5 with a double. Carlos Esqueda, an infielder who had a big year in 2010 but was hurt most of last year, went 2-4 with two doubles. Yunior Aquiles, an 18-year-old outfielder who got a six-figure bonus, went 2-2 after entering the game as a substitute.
-P- The DSL Pirates2 lost to the Yankees2, 8-6. Angel Sanchez, a 6'7" LHP, started and struggled, allowing four runs on four hits and three walks in four innings, with no strikeouts. Rodney Polonia, the son of Luis, went 2-4. Maximo Rivera, another six-figure signee who's struggled for two years, went 2-3 to raise his average to .357.