Cannonballs coming: Altoona clinches playoff spot

West Virginia was rained out.

— Indianapolis (75-61) missed a chance to clinch its division with a 7-4 loss to Louisville. Indy won the division anyway, though, when Columbus lost. The Indians took a 4-0 lead in the fifth, but Clay Holmes had a control breakdown and Casey Sadler threw gas on the fire. Holmes gave up three runs on five hits and four walks in five innings. He struck out two. Sadler gave up four in two innings on six hits and two walks. Chris Bostick went 3-4 with a double. Eric Wood and Gift Ngoepe each had two hits. Barrett Barnes made his first start in AAA since June 11, going 0-3 and getting hit by a pitch.

— Altoona (71-63) clinched a playoff berth with a 3-1 win over Richmond. Austin Coley threw seven shutout innings, giving up just four hits and a walk, while fanning eight. Cole Tucker went 2-4 and drove in a pair of runs. The Curve are in first place with a one game lead over Bowie. The top two teams make the playoffs.

Jerrick Suiter: 0-4
Jin-De Jhang: 1-4
Wyatt Mathisen: 1-4

— Playing for the first time in five days, Bradenton (67-59) lost the first game of its doubleheader with Tampa, 1-0. Starter Bret Helton gave up a walk and a single to the first two batters, then departed after a long rain delay. Sam Street gave up a sacrifice fly and that was all the scoring. Street ended up throwing five scoreless innings, giving up four hits and a walk, and fanning five. The Marauders had just one hit, a single by Casey Hughston. Between walks and one error, they had plenty of chances to score, but went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

The second game was rained out.

— Morgantown (35-32) came back from an 8-0 deficit to take an 11-9 lead, but ultimately lost to State College, 13-11, in ten innings. Starter Sergio Cubilete lasted just one inning, giving up three runs, and the bullpen wasn’t any better. Tristan Gray had four RBIs, and Jose Barraza and Sandy Santos three each. Gray went 2-5 with a double and a triple, and Santos was 2-3 with two walks and his third HR at this level. Hunter Owen continued his rehab, going 0-4 with two walks.

Jared Oliva: 1-5, 4 K
Dylan Busby: 1-6
Bligh Madris: 2-5, BB

— Bristol (16-48) did a lot of competing, falling behind by 6-0, coming back to tie, falling behind again by 13-6, then scoring six times in the ninth before leaving the tying run on third in a 13-12 loss to Burlington. Travis MacGregor, last year’s second round draft pick, continued a rough season as he retired only one batter while getting battered for six runs. The bullpen had its own problems and the Pirates eventually turned to infielder Melvin Jimenez to get the last two outs in the top of the ninth. The Pirates drew 11 walks to aid their comeback effort. Huascar Fuentes went 2-3 with a double and four RBIs. Matt Diorio hit his third HR, a three-run shot. Jimenez went 2-3 with three walks, and Ben Bengtson went 2-4 with a double and two walks.

— The GCL Pirates (24-32) beat the Braves, 8-4. Mason Martin (pictured) went 2-3 with a walk and his tenth HR. That total tied him with Walter Young (OK, not the most auspicious company) for the team record. Martin currently leads the GCL in OBP and slugging. Jesse Medrano was 4-5 with three RBIs and Jeremias Portorreal 2-4 with a triple. Starter Roger Santana gave up four runs on seven hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out six.

Lolo Sanchez: 1-5
Rodolfo Castro: 1-5
Calvin Mitchell: 1-5, 2B