Cannonballs coming: Some bad days on the mound

West Virginia was off. The GCL Pirates had their game called just after they’d taken a 3-2, fifth inning lead. The game didn’t become official and won’t be made up, so the stats won’t count. The starting pitcher, Jose Maldonado, was just promoted from the DSL. With the GCL season ending this week, he probably won’t pitch again, so for purposes of posterity it’ll be like he was never there.

— Indianapolis (68-60) dropped a 2-1 game to Columbus. The loss dropped the Indians out of first place, although they still hold a slim lead for the wild card. Brandon Waddell threw six shutout innings, giving up seven hits and a walk, while fanning eight. He left with a 1-0 lead, but A.J. Schugel gave up the tying run while pitching the seventh. Nick Burdi then gave up the losing run while pitching the last two innings. Max Moroff, Jacob Stallings and Kevin Kramer all went 1-4. Jose Osuna was 1-3.

— Altoona (70-55) edged Harrisburg, 3-2. Luis Escobar gave up two runs on six hits and a walk in six and a third innings. He struck out four. Logan Hill (pictured) either scored or drove in all the runs, going 3-3 with a double and his 17th home run. Stephen Alemais went 2-4 and Bryan Reynolds 1-4. Cole Tucker and Will Craig each went 0-4.

— Bradenton (54-66) lost to Charlotte, 8-3. Pedro Vasquez continued to struggle, giving up five runs, four earned, in six innings. Jared Oliva, who’s missed most of the past two weeks, returned and went 3-4 with a double. Hunter Owen hit his 15th home run and Adrian Valerio went 1-4.

— Osvaldo Bido got hammered as Morgantown (25-39) lost to Batavia, 9-3. Bido gave up seven runs in the first two innings. He ultimately lasted four and two thirds, allowing eight runs, six of them earned. Argenis Romano struck out six over four and a third innings in relief while allowing one run. Jhoan Herrera had two of the Black Bears’ six hits.

— Bristol (29-32) lost the first game of its doubleheader with Kingsport, 7-6. The Pirates took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth, but after the first two batters reached against starter Colin Selby, Luis Nova walked all three batters he faced and Allen Montgomery let all those runners score, plus one of his own. The Pirates could come back with only two in the seventh. Three players accounted for all seven of the Pirates’ hits: Patrick Dorrian went 2-2 with a three-run home run, his first homer since being promoted to Bristol; Zac Susi was 3-3; and Mikell Granberry went 2-4. Jonah Davis and Mason Martin each went 0-4. Selby allowed three runs on five hits and two walks in five-plus innings, while striking out one.

The Pirates got blown out in the second game, 13-6. Steven Jennings had a rough start, giving up nine runs, three of them unearned, in two and a third innings. He gave up seven hits and two walks, and struck out four. The Pirates had only two hits, but drew seven walks, most of them in the fourth inning, when they scored all their runs. Brendt Citta was 1-2 with a double. Mason Martin was 0-4 and Jonah Davis 0-3 with a walk.

— The DSL Pirates1 (32-37) lost to the Dodgers Guerrero, 10-8. The Pirates scored four in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game, 8-8, but lost in the ninth. Julio Rosario (19) pitched well in relief, throwing three and two-thirds scoreless innings and fanning seven. Yoyner Fajardo (19) and Darwin Baez (17) each went 3-5 with a double. Norkis Marcos (17) was 2-4 with a walk and a double, Emilson Rosado (17) 2-4 with a walk, and Daniel Rivero (17) 2-5.

— The DSL Pirates2 (26-43) lost to the Giants, 10-5. Eduar Ramirez (17) went 3-4 with a walk three RBIs. He’s batting 311/404/429. Yeison Ceballa (17) was 2-4 and Tilsaimy Melfor (17) 1-3 with a double and a walk. Four Pirates’ pitchers struck out 11, but they walked 13.