Tabata returns, Barnes connects twice

Lots of action on Friday:

-- James McDonald struggled again as Indianapolis lost to Charlotte, 7-5. McDonald did manage to last six innings and his final line wasn't horrible: four runs, six hits, three walks, six strikeouts. But he threw only half of his 96 pitches for strikes. Jose Tabata made his first rehab appearance and went 1-3. Felix Pie replaced Tabata and went 2-2 with his fourth HR. Darren Ford went 3-4, Matt Hague and Andrew Lambo each went 2-4 with a double, and Jared Goedert went 2-4 with two doubles. The Indians got the tying runs in scoring position with one out in the 9th, but Lambo and Brett Carroll each struck out, the fourth time in the game for Carroll.

-- Nick Kingham had a lot more trouble in his second AA start than his first, and Altoona lost to Bowie, 7-5. Kingham was facing the Eastern League's highest-scoring offense, one that's loaded with veteran players, most of them ages 26-27, as well as a rehabbing Nolan Reimold. He lasted six and a third, giving up five runs on seven hits and a walk. He fanned six and threw 69 of 99 pitches for strikes. The last two runs scored after he was out of the game. Adalberto Santos, who seems to be coming out of an extended slump, went 4-5, and Carlos Paulino and Gift Ngoepe each had two hits. Gregory Polanco went 0-4 with a walk.

-- Bradenton split a doubleheader with Charlotte. The Marauders took game one, 4-3. Stetson Allie's first high A at-bat came against David Price and, not surprisingly, resulted in a strikeout. On the game Allie went 1-3 with an RBI double and two whiffs. Alen Hanson went 3-4 with a double and Jose Osuna went 2-3 with a double. Joely Rodriguez made his first high A start and allowed three runs over five innings. He gave up five hits and a walk, and fanned two.

The Marauders dropped game two, 4-0. Robby Rowland allowed four runs in five innings. Zack von Rosenberg, who's been making scattered relief appearances, usually about five days apart, threw two scoreless innings. Bradenton was held to two singles, mostly by Jesse Hahn, one of the Rays' better pitching prospects. Allie went 1-3 with two strikeouts. Willy Garcia had the other hit. Hanson went 0-3, but had no errors in the twinbill.

-- Barrett Barnes (pictured) powered West Virginia to an 11-7 win over Lakewood. Barnes went 3-5 with his first two HRs of the year and drove in six. After being drafted last year, Barnes got off to a slow start at State College, but got hot after a few weeks. Hopefully, the same thing is happening this year now that he seems finally to be healthy. Dilson Herrera had one hit, his seventh HR, in five ABs, but also fanned three times. Josh Bell returned to the lineup as the DH and went 2-5 with a double. Pittsburgh native and Penn State product Jordan Steranka also went 2-5, his first two pro hits. Starter John Kuchno struggled, allowing five runs in three innings, but Bryton Trepagnier followed with three hitless innings in relief.

-- Jamestown won for the fourth time in five games, beating Williamsport, 8-3. Jin-De Jhang and Danny Collins both homered in the same game for the third time. Jhang connected for a three-run shot in the 1st, while Collins added a single and double in four ABs. Jodaneli Carvajal went 3-4 with a double and triple, Elvis Escobar went 2-4 with a double and a walk, and Edwin Espinal and Michael Fransoso each went 2-4. Harold Ramirez went 0-5. Ninth round draft pick Chad Kuhl made his pro debut with three scoreless innings. He gave up a hit and a walk, and fanned three. Tenth rounder Shane Carle had a rougher time in his debut, allowing three runs, two earned, in one inning. Lance Breedlove fanned seven in three innings.

-- The GCL Pirates lost their opener to the Yankees1 (they probably have to have two GCL teams so all their aging stars have someplace to rehab), 6-4. Wei-Chung Wang had a promising pro debut despite being charged with four runs in four and a third innings. He gave up a longball to the first batter he faced, a rehabbing AA player, but then dominated for four innings, striking out eight. He evidently ran out of gas in the 5th, giving up three more runs. He allowed five hits overall and walked none. Adam Landecker, a draftee out of USC, went 2-5 with a double and a triple in his pro debut, and Ulises Montilla went 2-4 with a double. Trae Arbet went 0-4, while Reese McGuire didn't play.

-- The DSL Pirates1 stomped the Rangers, 12-4. Deybi Garcia went 3-4 with two doubles and four runs scored. Tito Polo and Luis Benitez each went 2-4.

No results were available for the DSL Pirates2.