Cannonballs coming: Solid outing for Mitch Keller

— Mitch Keller had a solid outing as Indianapolis (70-62) beat Louisville, 5-3. Keller allowed three runs over six innings, but all were unearned. A two-out wild throw by Jose Osuna let two runs score in the first and another wild throw, by Eric Wood, let in a run in the sixth. Keller did allow eight hits and it took him 99 pitches to get through six. He walked one and fanned six. Osuna wiped out the error by tying the game in the bottom of the first with his eighth home run. He went 2-4. Kevin Kramer also went 2-4 with a homer, his 14th. (He’s now batting 301/358/480, but what is that compared to having major league tenure?) Eric Wood added his 11th home run and third in three games. Jason Martin continued struggling, going 0-2 and departing for Jordan Luplow, who drove in the go-ahead run with a pinch-hit single. Max Moroff was 1-4 with a double* and three strikeouts. Nick Burdi threw a scoreless inning, striking out one and allowing just an infield single.

*Moroff’s double gave Indy 295 as a team. That’s the most in baseball, including the majors. In fact, only a few teams in organized ball have anywhere near that many. Other than the Red Sox, no major league team is closer than roughly 30 to Indy’s total. Despite being near the bottom of the International League in dingerz, Indy leads the league in slugging, and also in batting by about a dozen points. They’re second in runs.

— Eduardo Vera had an outstanding start as Altoona (74-56) shut out Richmond, 3-0. The Curve have won eight of their last nine and 24 of their last 35. Vera went seven and two-thirds, allowing just two hits and three walks. He fanned nine. Cole Tucker went 3-3 with a walk and Christian Kelley hit a two-run home run, his eighth homer of the season. Ke’Bryan Hayes was 1-4, Bryan Reynolds 0-4, and Will Craig and Stephen Alemais each 0-3.

— A bullpen meltdown left Bradenton (55-68) with an 8-6 loss to Dunedin in the first game of a doubleheader. Mike Wallace gave up one run over six innings, and left with a 5-1 lead. Angel German, though, retired only one of seven batters he faced, with all six of the runners scoring. Jordan Jess contributed by letting all three of his inherited runners score, plus one of his own. Hunter Owen had a big game for the Marauders, going 3-4 with his 17th home run. Adrian Valerio was 2-4 and Jared Oliva 0-3 with a walk.

The Marauders won game two easily, 11-6. They had a ten-run lead until Evan Piechota gave up five in the seventh. Owen had another big game, going 2-4 with his 18th home run and three RBIs. He’s now homered in four straight games. (To give some context, Owen will be 25 in a month, and has 18 walks and 114 strikeouts.) Casey Hughston was 3-4 with two triples, Raul Siri 3-4 with a double, Adrian Valerio 2-4 with a double, and Lucas Tancas 2-3 with a double. Adam Oller started and went five, allowing one run on just two hits. He walked none and struck out five.

— West Virginia (66-59) beat Rome, 7-2. Hunter Stratton gave up a run in five innings on four hits and three walks. He struck out four. Logan Stoelke, one of the few 2018 draftees who isn’t struggling badly, retired one batter, walked the next and left with an arm injury. Robbie Glendinning hit his second home run. Rodolfo Castro and Cal Mitchell each went 2-5. Connor Kaiser was 1-5 with three strikeouts.

— Daniel Amaral singled up the middle to drive in the winning run in the bottom of the tenth as Morgantown (27-41) walked off against Auburn, 5-4. The Black Bears had blown a 4-3 lead with two out in the top of the ninth. Fabricio Macias and Edison Lantigua each went 3-4. Macias is batting .388 with Morgantown. Amaral, Zack Kone and Brett Kinneman were all 2-5. Lantigua and Kinneman had doubles. Starter Mike LoPresti gave up three runs on seven hits in five innings.

— Bristol (29-36) lost to Elizabethton, 9-4. It could have been a lot worse, as four Pirate pitchers allowed 19 hits and seven walks. Lizardy Dicent at least threw two scoreless innings. Brendt Citta and Chase Lambert each went 2-3. Jonah Davis was 0-4 with a walk.