Cannonballs coming: Altoona advances, Indianapolis out

One news item . . . well, two, really. Cole Tucker has a broken bone (sub. req’d) in his left hand and will miss the rest of the playoffs. The injury could also cost him his Arizona Fall League assignment. He’s been replaced on the Altoona roster by Kevin Kramer.

— Indianapolis got bounced from the playoffs in a 4-3 loss to Durham. Drew Hutchison threw shutout ball for five innings, but ran into trouble in the sixth. He ended up allowing two runs in five and two-thirds innings, with the second one scoring after Dan Runzler took over. Hutchison gave up five hits and walked four, while striking out five. The Indians got a decent amount of offense against top Tampa Bay prospect Brent Honeywell, with nine hits in his six and a third innings, but they made four outs on the bases. Erich Weiss provided most of the offense, going 3-4 with two doubles. Hutchison left with a 3-2 lead, but the bullpen couldn’t hold it. Newly acquired lefty Jack Leathersich came on in the eighth and let two of the three hitters he faced reach base, on a walk and a hit batsman. Johnny Barbato then let both runners score.

— Altoona rode a strong start from Austin Coley (pictured) and a pair of longballs to a 6-1 win, completing its three-game sweep of Bowie. Coley went seven, throwing 96 pitches and allowing six hits, including a solo HR. He walked one and struck out three. Tanner Anderson closed the game out with two shutout innings. Pablo Reyes and Wyatt Mathisen both went deep. Jerrick Suiter and Reyes each had two hits. Mitchell Tolman, who’s been a big addition for the Curve, had a hit and a walk, while Kramer went 1-3 with a sacrifice fly that started the scoring in the first. In the finals, Altoona will play Trenton, which was by far the Eastern League’s strongest team.