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Only three games on Sunday.
-- James McDonald brought the Pirates closer to a very unpleasant decision with another poor rehab start as Indianapolis lost to Durham, 5-2. McDonald allowed four runs, three earned, over five innings. He gave up eight hits, walked three and fanned only one, throwing just 52 of 93 pitches for strikes. Tim Alderson fanned four in two relief innings, but gave up a run. Andrew Lambo provided all the offense with a two-run HR, his second in AAA. Josh Harrison went 2-4 with a triple as the Indians had only five hits. Indianapolis fanned ten times, giving them 39 strikeouts in their last three games.
-- Jameson Taillon (pictured) had a strong outing as Altoona edged Trenton, 2-1. Taillon allowed one unearned run in five innings on six singles and no walks. He struck out six and threw 47 of 72 pitches for strikes. Of the six hits, three were infield hits and two others were ground balls. This has been a common pattern with Taillon, raising the question of how he'd be pitching if he had a better defense. Gregory Polanco went 2-4 and Adalberto Santos 2-3 with a walk.
-- West Virginia played its second straight game without its no. 3 and 4 hitters, and lost to Greensboro, 7-5. Josh Bell is probably out due to a knee issue, but there's been no specific word on it. There's been no word at all that I'm aware of to explain Stetson Allie's absence. This, of course, lends itself to speculation that he could join Bradenton as the Marauders resume play tomorrow following their All-Star break. In the game today, Eric Wood provided most of the offense with a grand slam, his sixth HR. Barrett Barnes went 2-4 with a walk and two strikeouts. Joely Rodriguez had his worst start in a while, giving up seven runs in four and two-thirds innings. Five of the runs were unearned due to errors by Max Moroff, who had two, and Wood. The two have combined for 39 errors on the season. Rodriguez played a big role in the unearned runs, though, as he allowed 11 hits and a walk. He fanned three.