Taillon fans ten, McPherson gets shelled, and Bell and Allie keep hitting

Friday's action:

-- It's probably safe to say Kyle McPherson won't be an option to start for the Pirates any time soon. After getting knocked out early in his first start, he failed to survive a seven-run 2nd in his second one. The seven runs were all Indianapolis allowed, but it was enough for Columbus to beat the Indians, 7-6. McPherson got chased with two outs, the bases loaded and four runs in. Kyle Waldrop then allowed all three runners to score before he got the last out. Vin Mazzaro threw two scoreless innings in relief and Duke Welker one. Jordy Mercer went 2-4 and is now hitting .310. Brandon Inge went 1-3 with a double. He's hitting .115 for his rehab. That means if you added his batting average to Clint Barmes' and John McDonald's, the three veterans combined would be hitting only 84 points lower than Mercer. For the game, Indianapolis hitters struck out 13 times.

-- Jameson Taillon had the weakest of his five starts so far in AA, but still pitched well. It wasn't enough, though, as Altoona got shutout, 4-0, by Harrisburg. Taillon went six innings and allowed two runs on five hits and three walks. He fanned ten. The walks notwithstanding, Taillon threw 62 of 96 pitches for strikes. Jason Townsend threw two scoreless innings, striking out three, but Nate Baker allowed two runs in two-thirds of an inning. Altoona had six hits. Matt Curry went 2-4 with two doubles.

-- Bradenton lost its eighth straight to open the season, dropping a 12-inning decision to St. Lucie, 6-5. The Marauders tied the game in the bottom of the 9th on a two-out, RBI double by Carlos Mesa. They didn't score again, though, and Quinton Miller eventually gave up the winning run in the 12th. Willy Garcia went 3-5 with a double and his first HR, raising his average to .313. Gregory Polanco went 2-6 and Dan Gamache 2-5. Matt Benedict started and allowed three runs in 5.2 IP. Zack von Rosenberg gave up one run in an inning and two-thirds. Joan Montero failed to keep the game tied in the top of the 9th, giving up the go-ahead run on a walk, a wild pitch and three errors. Bradenton's defensive misery continued, as they had six errors total. That gives them 22 in eight games, seven more than any other FSL team. St. Lucie has two. The Marauders have allowed 15 unearned runs. St. Lucie has allowed only 16 runs total.

-- West Virginia won the completion of their suspended game against Asheville, 11-4. Josh Bell went 4-5 with two doubles, while Stetson Allie went 2-5 with a double and his third HR. Max Moroff went 2-6 with a double, D.J. Crumlich 2-4 with a double, and Raul Fortunato 2-5. Orlando Castro threw four shutout innings before the rain hit, allowing one hit and fanning three. Ryan Hafner rebounded from a bad outing to pick up the win with two scoreless innings. He allowed one hit and one walk, and struck out three.

The Power lost the regularly scheduled game, which was shortened to seven innings, 9-7. Stetson Allie, Eric Wood and Walker Gourley all went 2-4. Wood connected for his second HR. Josh Bell and Max Moroff each went 1-4 with a double, Moroff's of the bases-clearing variety. Bell is now hitting .314, Allie .359 and Wood .300. John Kuchno started and allowed eight runs, six earned, in four innings.