Heredia has OK start and Welker blows a save

The farm system finally seems to be getting out from under the rain.

-- Indianapolis blew a two-run lead in the 9th and lost to Louisville, 4-3. Graham Godfrey and Tim Alderson combined to allow only one run through the 8th, but Duke Welker gave up three runs in the bottom of the 9th. After walking the leadoff hitter he struck out the next two, but then gave up three straight hits to lose the game. Felix Pie went 2-4 with two doubles and Ivan De Jesus, Jr., went 1-4 with one double.

-- Altoona beat Binghamton, 6-3. Gregory Polanco (pictured) went 2-4 with a walk and Alex Dickerson also went 2-4. This is a rare moment where the Curve have most of their better hitters (those two, Adalberto Santos, Mel Rojas, Jr., Jarek Cunningham, Justin Howard) healthy, and Matt Curry should be back soon, so it'll be interesting to see whether they start scoring more runs. David Bromberg started and allowed the three runs over six innings, while fanning seven.

-- Bradenton allowed 21 hits in an 11-5 drubbing at the hands of Fort Myers. Orlando Castro allowed eight hits in five innings, but only two runs. Robby Rowland then got destroyed in his first relief appearance, giving up ten hits and nine runs in an inning and two-thirds, although only three of the runs were earned. Willy Garcia went 2-3 with a double and Jose Osuna 2-4 with a double. Stetson Allie went 1-4 with a double, a walk and a strikeout.

-- West Virginia got shut out by Hagerstown, 3-0. Luis Heredia gave up one run in five innings on three hits and three walks. He struck out two. Ryan Hafner gave up the other two runs in two innings. He gave up two hits and a walk, and fanned three. Jordan Steranka went 2-3 with two doubles. Josh Bell and Dilson Herrera both went 0-4, with Herrera striking out twice. Herrera's average is now down to .266.

-- Jamestown split two games with Mahoning Valley. The Jammers lost the continuation of a suspended game, 5-3. Isaac Sanchez gave up two runs on six hits in two innings before the game was suspended. He did strike out five. Danny Collins went 1-3 with his fifth HR and a walk. Harold Ramirez went 1-2 with a triple and a walk.

Jamestown won the regularly scheduled game, 7-3. Shane Carle gave up three runs on seven hits in four innings. Edwin Espinal went 3-3 with a double and Ramirez 2-3 with two doubles. Jimmy Rider went 2-3 with three RBIs.

-- The GCL Pirates lost to the Tigers, 5-3. The GCL lineup is still heavily occupied by rehabbing players (Matt Curry and Jerry Sands) and overage college players (Chris Diaz and Adam Landecker), which is getting puzzling. I can understand that Reese McGuire has been sick, and Austin Meadows and Nick Buckner just signed, but Diaz and Landecker both have more at-bats than Trae Arbet. Anyway, Sands had a HR and Diaz an RBI double. Starter Mervin Del Rosario allowed three runs in four innings.

-- The DSL Pirates1 beat the Mets2, 6-1, in ten innings. Ramses Pena went 3-5 and Julio De La Cruz 1-3 with a walk. Starter Jandy Vasquez allowed no runs, hits or walks. He struck out three.

-- The DSL Pirates2 stomped the Reds, 9-2. Dario Agrazal allowed one run over five innings to improve his record to 4-0. Carlos Munoz went 3-5 with a double and his second HR. Edgar Figueroa went 2-5 with a triple and his first HR. Jesus Ronco went 2-3 with a double.