Cannonballs coming: Indianapolis offense continues to improve

One news item: Josh Harrison will start his rehab with Altoona on Monday.

Only two games today, as Bradenton was off and West Virginia was rained out.

— Indianapolis (18-16) fell behind 7-2 early, but stormed back with 18 hits for a 12-7 win over Columbus. Kevin Newman (pictured) stayed hot, going 3-5 with a double, a walk and three runs. Over his last four games he’s 12-for-18, leaving his line at 309/336/423. Chris Bostick was 3-6; Austin Meadows 2-5 with a double and three RBIs; Eric Wood 2-4 with a double, his third home run and three RBIs; and Ryan Lavarnway 3-4 with two doubles and a walk. Starter Austin Coley had another rough outing, giving up seven runs over four innings. The victims of the Indians’ outburst included two pitchers who were in camp with the Pirates this year: Jack Leathersich and Jordan Milbrath. They now have ERAs of 5.73 and 8.10, respectively, in AAA. The score could have been more lopsided, as Indy had 25 ABs with runners in scoring position and stranded 13.

Jordan Luplow: 1-6
Kevin Kramer: 1-5
Pablo Reyes: 2-4 (batting 322/333/424 in AAA)
Casey Sadler: 2 IP, 3 K
Bo Schultz: IP, H, 2 K
Josh Smoker: IP, 2 K
Dovydas Neverauskas: IP, H (since being optioned: 11.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 6 BB, 14 K)

— Altoona (18-15) got a pair of two-run home runs in the first inning and coasted to a 7-1 win over Reading. Jason Martin kept mashing, going 3-4 with a walk, his fourth home run and four RBIs. He’s batting 346/405/606. Logan Hill had the other longball, his fifth. Dario Agrazal gave up a run on four hits and a walk in six innings, while fanning seven. He has a 1.30 ERA after seven outings.

Cole Tucker: 1-3, BB, CS (0-for-5 as base stealer)
Ke’Bryan Hayes: 1-3, 2B, 2 BB
Will Craig: 0-4, BB
Christian Kelley: 0-4
Jake Brentz: IP, BB, K
Yeudy Garcia: 2 IP, 3 K