The Matt Morris Report: 8/2/14

-- Wirfin Obispo and Andy Oliver blew one-run leads in the 8th and 9th innings, but Indianapolis beat Toledo, 4-3, on a walkoff double by Mel Rojas in the 10th.  Rojas went 2-4 in the game and Chase d'Arnaud was 2-3 with a double.  Rafael Perez allowed just an unearned run in seven and a third innings on four hits and a walk.  He struck out three.  Oliver ended up with the win, but threw only 19 of 35 pitches for strikes.  He's made a lot of progress this year, but I think fans who are eager to see him in the Pirates' bullpen aren't being realistic about the likely impact of his continuing control problems at the major league level.  Andrew Lambo was 1-3 with a walk.  Marte was 0-4 with two strikeouts in a rehab appearance.

-- Altoona beat Richmond, 7-6.  Elias Diaz (pictured) was 3-3 with a double, a walk and three RBIs.  He's now hitting .320.  Josh Bell and Willy Garcia each went 2-4.  They're hitting .284 and .281, respectively.  Alen Hanson was 1-4 with a walk.  Adrian Sampson gave up only four hits and a walk in seven innings.  He was charged with three runs, but two of them were unearned.  Hanson had an error in his first game at second base.  Sampson struck out two.  Joely Rodriguez came on with two out in the 8th and gave up three straight hits to let one inherited runner score along with one of his own, but he pitched a scoreless 9th for the save.

-- Bradenton lost to Brevard County, 4-2.  Jason Creasy gave up four runs on ten hits in six and two-thirds innings.  He walked none and struck out one.  Creasy has struggled in the majority of his starts over the past month, which can't be making it easy for the Pirates to decide whether to add him to the 40-man roster.  Walker Gourley and Jose Osuna each went 2-4.

-- West Virginia beat Lexington, 6-1.  Felipe Gonzalez allowed one run in six innings on three hits and two walks.  He fanned four.  Erich Weiss was 2-4 with a double and a triple, and Francisco Diaz 3-4 with a double.  Austin Meadows was the only Power hitter to go hitless.  He was 0-3, Reese McGuire 1-4, and JaCoby Jones 1-4 with a double, a walk and three strikeouts.

-- Bristol's offensive surge continued, but their pitchers blew an early 6-0 lead and the Pirates lost to Bluefield, 12-10.  Jon Sandfort had another disastrous start, allowing five runs on five hits and four walks in three and two-thirds innings.  He struck out none.  Three relievers weren't much better.  Organizational catcher Tomas Morales was 4-5 with three doubles and a triple.  Edgardo Munoz was 3-5 with a double, Daniel Arribas 2-4 with a double and two walks, and Enyel Vallejo and Pablo Reyes each 2-5.  Carlos Ozuna hit his first pro HR, a three-run shot.

-- The GCL Pirates lost their fifth straight, 7-6 in ten innings, to the Yankees2.  Luis Benitez, Cole Tucker and Yoel Gonzalez were all 2-5.  Tucker had a triple and Gonzalez his first HR.  Sam Kennelly was 2-2 with a walk.  Hayden Hurst struck out all five times up.  A.J. Morris gave up two runs in a two-inning rehab appearance.

-- The DSL Pirates lost to the Cubs, 4-3.  Jhoan Herrera was 2-4 with a double.  Starter Francis Rodriguez threw five shutout innings, allowing five hits and a walk, and striking out three.