Bradenton's doubleheader was rained out.
-- Indianapolis (52-50) dropped Charlotte, 5-2. Chad Kuhl left the game after one scoreless inning due to right triceps discomfort (sub. req'd), making the day a potentially disastrous one for the Pirates' pitching situation. Five pitchers followed for the Indians, with Justin Masterson allowing one run over four innings. Jose Osuna homered for the third consecutive day, giving him four since he moved up to AAA. He finished 2-4 with three RBIs.
Max Moroff: 1-4
Josh Bell: 1-4
Jason Rogers: 2-4
Willy Garcia: 1-4, 2B, 3 K
Jacob Stallings: 2-4, 2B
-- Kevin Newman went 4-4 as Altoona (54-45) doubled up Akron, 10-5. Newman is now batting .350 in AA. Harold Ramirez went 2-3 with a double, a triple and three RBIs. Brandon Waddell threw 100 pitches, only 57 for strikes, and somehow survived six hits and five walks to throw six shutout innings. He struck out five.
The Curve achieved a rare Double TOOTBLAN when the following occurred after Newman led off the first with a single:
Erich Weiss singles on a fly ball to center fielder Bradley Zimmer. Double play, center fielder Bradley Zimmer to third baseman Joe Sever to first baseman Nellie Rodriguez to second baseman Todd Hankins. Kevin Newman out at 3rd. Erich Weiss out at 2nd.
I got a headache trying to figure out what happened, but two singles somehow ended up as two outs and nobody on.
Erich Weiss: 2-5
Eric Wood: 2-4, 2B
Barrett Barnes: 2-5
Jared Lakind: IP, H, 2 K
-- West Virginia (50-48) didn't get a hit until Carlos Munoz singled with two out in the seventh in a 10-0 loss to Rome. The Power finished with four hits. Bret Helton got torched for eight runs, seven earned, in two and two-thirds innings.
Casey Hughston: 0-4, 3 K
Daniel Arribas: 0-3
-- I got out to Morgantown (18-17) to see the Black Bears hammer Connecticut, 12-3. Hunter Owen (pictured -- in case you're wondering about the cartoonish uniform, it was Star Wars night) had a big day, going 4-5 with a double, his fifth HR and five RBIs. He scorched every ball he hit, including the one out, which was a liner to short. Owen is now batting 319/347/560, although the three walks and 19 Ks are a cautionary note. Sandy Santos also went 4-5, and Chris Harvey had two doubles and two walks. Stephen Alemais was 2-4 and also had a line out.
Luis Escobar got good results despite some control issues. He threw only 39 of 70 pitches for strikes in his five innings, but he walked only one. He got through the first four innings with little trouble, but walked the leadoff hitter in the fifth after a long rest when his teammates scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth. Escobar later threw away a double play ball that would have gotten him out of the inning, but managed to allow only two runs, one unearned. He gave up four hits and struck out four. He showed at least three solid pitches and had good success throwing his slider and, especially, his change against lefties.
-- Bristol (14-15) beat Greeneville, 4-1. The Pirates had 14 hits, but didn't score until the eighth, when they got all their runs. Jhoan Herrera went 3-4. Fifth round pick Blake Cederlind threw five shutout innings, allowing four hits and a walk, and striking out four.
Victor Fernandez: 0-5 (only player without a hit)
Michael De La Cruz: 2-5
Brent Gibbs: 2-4
Julio De La Cruz: 2-4
-- The GCL Pirates (12-14) beat the Yankees West, 6-2. Fourth round pick Braeden Ogle made his second appearance, throwing two shutout innings. He gave up a hit, walked none and fanned three. Six other pitchers followed, allowing nothing until unearned runs scored in the eighth and ninth.
Yondry Contreras: 0-3, BB, 3 K
Edison Lantigua: 1-3, BB
-- The DSL Pirates (16-26) beat the Rangers1, 7-1. Yeaudry Manzanillo allowed one run over six innings on six hits and a walk. He struck out two. Christopher Perez, Sherton Apostel and Ramy Perez each went 3-5, with Apostel getting a double.
Larry Alcime: 1-5