Cannonballs coming: Six shutout innings by Clay Holmes and a complete game by Casey Sadler

Two news items:

Braeden Ogle has had season-ending knee surgery (sub. req’d) for a torn meniscus. It doesn’t sound especially dramatic. He apparently injured it a couple years ago and it finally got to the point where he decided to get something done about it. He’ll be healthy by spring and could even return for fall instructional league. He threw 43 innings for Bristol, with a 3.14 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 3.3 BB/9 and 7.3 K/9. In his last two starts, he threw ten innings with no earned runs allowed and a dozen strikeouts.

The Pirates have signed right-hander Johnny Hellweg (sub. req’d) out of independent ball. He’s a hard-throwing former Brewers’ prospect with poor control who lasted only 30 innings in the majors. (I can actually remember a Brewers fan coming to BD to carry on about what a great prospect Hellweg was.) He’s being assigned to Altoona, which has lost a couple relievers to Indianapolis, which lost several relievers to the Pirates, who lost several relievers to injuries/discomfortitudes. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pirates pick up another pitcher or two to help their farm teams finish out the season.

— Clay Holmes threw six shutout innings as Indianapolis (72-58) blanked Louisville, 10-0. Holmes allowed just two hits and two walks, and struck out five. He needed only 76 pitches, but the Pirates have been easing up on his workload lately. Holmes has a 2.17 ERA in his last 11 starts. Jacob Stallings went 3-4 with two doubles and three RBIs. He’s batting .378 (14-for-37) in his last 11 games and .280 overall. He seems to be making a strong bid to stay on the 40-man roster, especially if the Pirates don’t exercise Chris Stewart’s option. Austin Meadows was 2-4 with a walk.

Kevin Newman: 1-4, BB
Chris Bostick: 0-3, 2 BB
Jordan Luplow: 1-4

— Casey Sadler (pictured) threw a nine-inning complete game as Altoona (69-60) edged arch-nemesis Bowie, 2-1. The win gave the Curve a five-game winning streak and a two-game lead in their division. Sadler allowed seven hits and a walk, and fanned seven. He needed only 95 pitches. The Curve had only six hits and got both runs on sacrifice flies in the fifth inning, one of them following a triple by Jin-De Jhang. For real. Elvis Escobar was 2-3.

Cole Tucker: 1-4
Jerrick Suiter: 1-3, BB

— Bradenton (67-58) lost to Daytona, 7-5. Cam Vieaux continued to scuffle in high A, giving up five runs on six hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out two. Stephen Alemais went 2-4 with a double and a walk. Ke’Bryan Hayes was 2-5 and is batting .405 (15-for-37) in his last eight games.

Will Craig: 1-5
Kevin Krause: 2-3, 2B

— West Virginia (62-64) scored two in the bottom of the ninth, with a two-out single by Henrry Rosario giving them a walkoff, 2-1 win over Charleston. Mike Wallace allowed one run over four innings, but came out probably due to a pitch count of 83. Lefty Ronny Agustin fanned six in three innings of one-hit, shutout relief, giving him 50 strikeouts in 32 innings since joining the Power in June.

Adrian Valerio: 0-4
Oneil Cruz: 1-3, BB
Pasquale Mazzoccoli: 2 IP, 2 K

— Morgantown (35-27) lost to State College, 6-5. Starter Sergio Cubilete gave up six runs in six innings. In fact, he gave up six runs on six hits in the first inning, including three straight doubles at one point. After that, he threw five shutout innings while allowing just one more hit. Chris Sharpe was 2-4 with a triple and Lucas Tancas 2-3 with a double.

Bligh Madris: 1-5, 2B
Deon Stafford: 1-4, BB
Tristan Gray: 1-5

— Bristol (14-45) actually clobbered another team, one of the league’s better teams even, in a 10-2 win over Elizabethton. Evan Piechota gave up one run in five and two thirds innings on five hits and a walk. He fanned seven. The Pirates had 16 hits (although they still struck out 11 times). Luis Perez was 3-3 with a double. Huascar Fuentes, Kyle Watson and Paul Brands each had a single and a double, and Brands drove in three runs.

Edison Lantigua: 1-5
Mason Ward: 3.1 IP, R, BB, 4 K

— The GCL Pirates (21-30) beat the Phillies, 9-5. After going a month without a HR, Mason Martin went deep for the second day in a row. He was 1-3 with a walk and now has nine HRs. That leads the Gulf Coast League even though Martin has played in only 32 of his team’s 51 games. Steven Jennings started and threw three shutout innings. He gave up four hits and didn’t walk and strike out anybody. Austin Shields had a rough game, giving up six hits, four walks and five runs, while striking out just one. Somehow, though, he got through five and two-thirds innings. Francisco Mepris, who’s missed much of the season with an injury, hit his first HR as a pro. Jesse Medrano drove in three runs. Hunter Owen continued his rehab, going 1-4 with a double.

Lolo Sanchez: 1-4
Calvin Mitchell: 0-3, BB
Jeremias Portorreal: 2-4
Gabriel Brito: 2-4

— In the first game of their doubleheader with the Dodgers2, the DSL Pirates (35-33) gave up three runs in the bottom of the seventh and lost, 3-2. Starter Noe Toribio gave up no runs in three and two-thirds innings despite giving up four hits and four walks.

Jean Eusebio: 1-3, 2B
Francisco Acuna: 1-2, BB
Sherten Apostel: 0-2 2 BB

The Pirates got destroyed in the second game, 11-1. They managed only five singles.