Morton has good rehab start

Plenty of action on Saturday . . . and both DSL boxes are up!

-- Charlie Morton had a solid rehab start as Indianapolis beat Norfolk, 3-2, in eleven innings. Morton threw six shutout innings before allowing two runs in the 7th. His final line was 6.1 IP, six hits, one walk, four strikeouts, 64 of 96 pitches for strikes. For context, Norfolk is one of the better hitting teams in the IL. The Tides have a lot of good AAAA types like Jason Pridie, Travis Ishikawa, Russ Canzler and former Pirate Yamaico Navarro. The Indians got two runs off another former Pirate, Dan McCutchen, but got only one hit in five and two-thirds innings against the two relievers who followed. For Indy, Erik Cordier pitched out of a bases loaded, no out jam in the 9th, then Brooks Brown did the same thing in the 11th. The game finally ended when Tony Sanchez led off the bottom of the 11th with a single, his pinch runner went to third on a hit by Brett Carroll, and Darren Ford hit a sac fly. Sanchez went 2-5. Andrew Lambo went 0-4 with a walk in his first game since being promoted to AAA.

-- Altoona opened the post-Lambo era with a 9-3 drubbing at the hands of Binghamton. The Curve had only three hits and didn't score until the 9th. Starter Casey Sadler pitched well, allowing only one earned run, along with two unearned, in six innings. He gave up five hits and a walk, and fanned four. Luis Sanz and Nate Baker each allowed three runs in relief. Baker failed to record an out and now has an ERA of 12.36.

-- Bradenton dropped a 5-4 decision to powerhouse Fort Myers. Robby Rowland allowed all five runs in 5.2 IP. Willy Garcia and Carlos Mesa each went 2-4 with a HR, Garcia's seventh and Mesa's fifth. Alen Hanson went 2-5 and Gregory Polanco 0-5.

-- West Virginia rode another outstanding start by Orlando Castro (pictured) to a 1-0 win over Hagerstown. Castro allowed only two runners, both on singles, in seven innings. He struck out five. Ryan Hafner and Kyle Haynes each threw a perfect inning, Hafner fanning two. Eric Wood's RBI double accounted for the only run. Walker Gourley and Josh Bell each went 2-4, while Dilson Herrera and Stetson Allie each went 0-3.

-- The DSL Pirates1 stomped the Marlins, 10-2. Starter Dan Urbina threw five shutout innings for the win. Tito Polo (I sure hope he turns into a prospect, especially after being disappointed by Henry Henry) went 3-4 with a double. Carlos Esqueda went 2-3. One of the two big signings from the last year, Julio de la Cruz, went 0-4 and is struggling in the early going.

-- The DSL Pirates2 pounded the fabled Mets1, 10-1. The starter, 18-year-old Dario Agrazal threw five scoreless innings, allowing five hits and a walk, and fanning three. He has yet to be scored upon in two starts. The other de la Cruz, Michael, went 2-3 with a walk and is hitting .292. Shortstop Bealyn Chourio went 2-4 and is hitting .333. (I'm interested in Chourio because I saw a lot of him in camp, where he was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. He impressed me a great deal in batting practice, which of course probably means nothing at all.) Firstbaseman Carlos Munoz, a soon-to-be 19-year-old from Mexico, went 2-4 with a double and is now hitting .476. Catcher Yoel Gonzalez, who's only 16, went 1-2 with a double and a walk.