Pittsburgh Pirates Prospect Watch 4/21/10

Posted by on April 22, 2010 | 2 Comments

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (AAA)

Indianapolis lost to Columbus this afternoon by a score of 6-1.  Jeremy Powell got the start due to the shortage in the Indianapolis rotation at the moment.  Powell went four innings, allowing five runs on six hits, thanks to two home runs.  Brian Bass allowed one run on three hits in three innings of relief, with two walks and no strikeouts.  Justin Thomas pitched two perfect innings to close things out, with two strikeouts.

Neil Walker and Steve Pearce continued their hot hitting at the start of the 2010 season.  Walker went 2-for-3 with a walk, while Pearce went 2-for-4.  Brian Myrow went 2-for-4 with two doubles and the only run of the game for Indianapolis.  Jose Tabata went 0-for-4, ending an 11 game hitting streak.  Tabata is batting for a .302 average on the young season.

ALTOONA CURVE (AA)
Tim Alderson struggled with his start today, allowing six runs, five earned, on seven hits in 4.2 innings.  However, the bullpen, and a strong effort from the Altoona offense, bailed him out, with Altoona winning 9-6.  Tony Watson came on in relief of Alderson, pitching 3.1 shutout innings with only one hit allowed and six strikeouts.  Watson, who got his first win of the season today, now has an 0.87 ERA on the season in a relief role.  Jeff Sues pitched a one hit, shutout inning to get his third save of the season, with one strikeout.

Altoona’s offense had a lot of contributors.  Kris Watts went 1-for-2 with a homer, two RBIs, two walks, and three runs.  Chase d’Arnaud and Josh Harrison each went 2-for-5, with d’Arnaud hitting two doubles, and both players scoring a run.  Jim Negrych went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a walk.  Matt Hague went 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

BRADENTON MARAUDERS (A+)
If you’ve read this site for any decent amount of time, you probably know about the BUCCO Fans Jeff Locke curse.  That curse took a new turn tonight.  I was following the Bradenton game on Gameday when I realized I didn’t know who was pitching.  Bradenton was up 4-0 at the time, after five innings.  I scrolled down to see that Locke was the pitcher, and that in his five innings he had allowed one hit, two walks, and struck out ten.

Immediately after seeing this, the results of the sixth inning started to come in.  Throwing error by Jeremy Farrell to put a runner on first, leading off the inning.  Another throwing error by Farrell, putting runners on first and second.  A fielder’s choice to second base, with no outs resulting in the play, followed that.  Then Locke allowed his second hit of the game, a double, bringing in two runs.  Coincidence?  I think not.

Locke finished the evening with five innings, two hits allowed, three unearned runs, two walks, and ten strikeouts.  Bradenton gave him plenty of support, giving him the win by a 7-3 score.  Eric Fryer gave Bradenton a big boost, going 1-for-3 with a three run homer.  Jeremy Farrell went 2-for-4, with his two hits coming before his errors in the sixth.  Brock Holt and Rodolfo Cardona each went 2-for-4, with Holt hitting a triple and scoring two runs.

Michael Felix came on for a perfect inning to bail out Locke, although Felix did allow one runner to score on a groundout.  Casey Erickson pitched two perfect innings, striking out two, while Noah Krol pitched a perfect ninth inning with a strikeout to cap things off.

WEST VIRGINIA POWER (A)
West Virginia lost 6-4 to Greenville tonight.  Kyle McPherson got the start, allowing three runs on four hits in 3.1 innings, with two walks, a strikeout, and a home run.  Jason Erickson got the loss, allowing two runs on three hits in 2.2 innings, with a walk and two strikeouts.  Melkin Laureano pitched two shutout innings, allowing no hits, one walk, and striking out two.  Zach Foster allowed an unearned run in the ninth inning on one hit.

Kyle Morgan got
West Virginia on the board with a solo homer in the second inning.  Morgan went 1-for-4 on the night, with the homer being his second of the season.  Jesus Brito tied it at three in the fourth inning with a two RBI double.  Brito went 1-for-3 on the night with a walk.  Jarek Cunningham went 2-for-4 with a run, raising his average to .353 on the season.

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About Tim Williams

Tim is the owner and editor in chief of Pirates Prospects. He started the site in January 2009, and turned it into his full time job during the 2011 season. Prior to starting Pirates Prospects, Tim worked with AccuScore.com, providing MLB, NHL, and NFL coverage to various national media outlets, including ESPN Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Sports, and the Wall Street Journal. He also writes the annual Prospect Guide, which is sold through the site. Tim moved to Bradenton in 2013, and will be providing live coverage all year of the Bradenton Marauders, GCL Pirates, instructs, mini camp, Spring Training, and lunches at Mixon's Fruit Farms.
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2 Responses

  1. salempirate
    May 13, 2012 at 7:24 am

    No doubt Mercer would take his lumps if called up, but it would present a glimpse of hope on his good days. Problem is, the Bucs want to make everyone a utility player, which wouldn’t solve the Barmes problem. Without regular playing time at SS, the problem lingers and Mercer’s future remains unknown.

    • piratemike
      May 13, 2012 at 9:23 pm

      The reason the Pirates make everybody a utility player is because that is all they are.