The Matt Morris Report: 7/3/14

Welcome to the rechristened MiLB recap, now named after the man who made it possible for the Pirates to have an actual farm system, meaning that fans no longer have to try to convince themselves that Brad Corley is a prospect.

-- Indianapolis beat Lousiville, 9-3.  Rojas (pictured) entered the game as a pinch runner after Jose Tabata got hit by a pitch and proceeded to go 3-3 with a double and five RBIs.  Matt Hague was 3-4, Jaff Decker and Chris Dickerson each 2-5, and Blake Davis 2-2.  Starter Jay Jackson allowed two runs over six and two-thirds innings.

-- Altoona scored three in the 9th to top Bowie, 6-3.  Stetson Allie hit a three-run HR, his 13th, in the 1st, but Bowie tied the game in the 3rd and the score stayed that way until the 9th.  Allie finished 1-4, as did Alen Hanson.  Willy Garcia was 2-4.  Zack Dodson lasted only three and two-thirds innings, allowing the three runs on three hits and four walks.  He fanned four and threw only 46 of 86 pitches for strikes.  John Holdzkom got the win with two scoreless innings, in which he fanned three.

-- Bradenton lost to Fort Myers, 7-6.  Josh Bell and Adam Frazier each went 2-5, with Frazier adding a double.  Max Moroff, Jordan Steranka and Walker Gourley were each 2-4.  Starter John Kuchno gave up four runs in four and two-thirds innings.

-- West Virginia lost to Hickory, 6-1.  Dovydas Neverauskas walked five and allowed two unearned runs in four innings.  Chris Diaz was 2-4 with a double.  Harold Ramirez was out of the lineup for the second day in a row.  He's not on the disabled list.

-- Jamestown scored three in the 8th to tie its game with Williamsport, but still lost in twelve innings, 7-3.  Starter Montana DuRapau gave up two runs, one earned, on seven hits and no walks in four and a third innings.  He struck out one.  Sam Street threw three perfect innings in relief, striking out one.  Chase Simpson was 3-5.

-- Bristol bumbled its way to a seven-error, eight-walk, 7-4 loss to Pulaski.  Starter Billy Roth gave up just two hits over four and a third innings, but he walked five and allowed six runs, five of them unearned.  He struck out three.  Trae Arbet went 3-5 with a double.  Despite a 21:1 K:BB ratio in 47 ABs, Arbet has raised his average to .213.  He was, however, one of three Pirates with two errors.

-- The GCL Pirates lost to the Tigers, 11-5.  Lambo started his rehab, going 0-2 with two walks.  Barrett Barnes was 1-2 with a walk, then was replaced by Michael De La Cruz, who went 1-2.  Austin Meadows is now listed on the Bristol roster, although he didn't play today.  Cole Tucker was 2-5.  Tito Polo! was 2-3 with a double, a triple and a walk.  Starter Nick Hutchings allowed three runs, two earned, in four innings.  Collin Balester seems to be having more than the usual trouble recovering from Tommy John surgery; he gave up seven runs, five earned, while recording only two outs.

-- The DSL Pirates beat the Astros Orange, 6-1.  Starter Richard Mitchell threw five scoreless innings, allowing five hits and a walk, and striking out two.  Valerio was 2-3 with two doubles.  Half of his 24 hits have gone for extra bases and he's hitting 242/306/384 with a 10:15 BB:K ratio.  That's not bad for an excellent defensive shortstop who's a little over 17 and was thought to have a suspect bat.  Sandy Santos was 2-4.