Monthly Archives: June 2010
Breakdown of Pedro’s mechanical breakdown
Obviously, Pedro Alvarez has struggled tremendously since arriving from Triple-A Indianapolis. He has just seven hits and four walks in 51 plate appearances, to go along with 22 strikeouts. He is swinging at more than a third of all pitches outside the strike zone, a stunning statistic considering his history of strong patience at the plate. So what exactly is causing these issues for the Bucs’ hyped prospect?
Brad Lincoln's First Four Starts
What is it about Brad Lincoln and his first four starts at a level? In 2009 he opened the season in AA, posting a 4.26 ERA, a 7.6 K/9, and… Read more
Curve Win In Late Innings, Power and Spikes Fall
Wednesday’s action in the Pirates’ lower minors…
The Bradenton Marauders vs. Ft. Myers Miracle, along with a few other Florida State League games, have been postponed due to weather.
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Altoona Curve �6, �Binghamton Mets �3 (box)
Two late-inning rallies gave the Curve the edge over the Mets tonight, and earned Justin Wilson his 6th win of the season. �Wilson allowed 2 runs on 4 hits in his 6 innings of work, while striking out 6 Mets. �Wilson gave up a single and a walk in the 1st inning but left both stranded, then went on to retire the side in the next two innings. �The first Mets’ run came in the 4th with two outs, on a double and a single. �A solo home run gave the Mets their second run in the 5th.
The Curve bats were quiet until the top of the 4th inning, when they loaded the bases with a single by SS Chase d’Arnaud, a walk to 1B Matt Hague, and a single by 2B Jordy Mercer. All three were left on base, though, when a fly out ended the inning. �D’Arnaud singled again to lead off the 6th, and this time the Curve were more effective. �CF Gorkys Hernandez followed with a single, and a double by 3B Josh Harrison brought d’Arnaud in to score. �Hernandez scored the tying run on an RBI ground out by Hague, and Harrison came in on a sacrifice fly by Mercer. �The Curve were up 3-2.
For the third time in the game, in the 8th, d’Arnaud led off an inning with a single. �Hernandez was hit by a pitch, and Harrison’s sacrifice bunt moved the runners up one base each. �Hague was intentionally walked to load the bases. �A wild pitch brought in d’Arnaud. �Mercer grounded to short for a fielder’s choice, as Hernandez was thrown out at the plate. �But singles by C Hector Gimenez and RF Miles Durham grought in Hague and Mercer respectively, and the Curve had increased their lead to 6-2.
Tony Watson relieved Justin Wilson to begin the 7th inning. �Watson retired 6 batters in order, but began the bottom of the 9th by giving up a double and two singles, to bring in a run. �Watson got the next two batters to strike out, then was replaced by Diego Moreno. Moreno struck out the only batter he faced, ending the game and earning his first save of the season.
Five Curve players were named to the Eastern League All-Star team: �LHP Rudy Owens, RHP Derek Hankins, 1B Matt Hague, 2B/3B Josh Harrison, and C Hector Gimenez. That game will be played in Harrisburg on Wednesday, July 14th.
Five Curve All-Stars
The Eastern League All-Star teams have been announced, and five Curve players will represent Altoona on the Western Division squad. � The EL All-Star game will be played in Harrisburg, PA on Wednesday July 14th.
C Hector Gimenez, the veteran presence on the Curve, is leading the league (now that Alex Presley has been promoted to Indianapolis) with a .327 batting average, and a .627 SLG, and he is second in the league in on-base percentage (.407). �He also leads the Curve with 11 home runs, and he has 16 doubles and 40 RBI.
2B/3B Josh Harrison has a .313 average (second highest on the team) and 22 doubles, one homer, and 42 RBI. �He hit .348 in the month of April and .337 in June.
1B Matt Hague is hitting .295 (third highest on the team), with 12 doubles, 6 home runs, and 43 RBI for the Curve. �He has been rock-solid at first base.
LHP Starter Rudy Owens has a �7-3 record, a 2.75 ERA, and a league-best WHIP of 0.95. �Opponents are hitting .211 off him, third best in the league. �In his 15 starts, Owens has pitched 88.2 innings and has given up 67 hits and struck out 67 batters.
RHP Derek Hankins has pitched in both starting and a relieving roles for the Curve. �His ERA is best in the Eastern League at 1.60, and his WHIP is third best at 1.06. �Opponents hit only .212 off him. �He has earned a 5-1 record with 2 saves, and has 36 strikeouts in a total of 62 innings pitched.
Pittsburgh Pirates Prospect Watch 6/29/10
INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (AAA) Indianapolis lost to Columbus 7-3. Charlie Morton went 3.1 innings, allowing five runs, four earned, on seven hits, with three walks and three strikeouts. Steven Jackson went… Read more
Ejections Abound In Indians’ Loss
Columbus Clippers �7, �Indianapolis Indians �3 (box)
A 5-run 4th inning by the Columbus Clippers made the difference tonight at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio, as the Indians could not catch up after having three members of their team ejected from the game. �Manager Frank Kremblas, pitcher Corey Hamman, and DH Brian Myrow were all ejected by home plate umpire Derek Crabill.
(Photo: �Frank Kremblas chats with an umpire in Indianapolis)
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The game had begun hopefully for the Indians. �2B Akinori Iwamura started the game with a single into center field, though two outs later he was thrown out trying to steal second base, ending the inning. �C Erik Kratz doubled off the top of the wall in right-center field with two outs in the 2nd inning, then went to third on a wild pitch. �Brian Myrow lined a single into center, and that brought in Kratz with the first run of the game.
Tribe starter Charlie Morton got out of a jam in the bottom of the 1st. �LF Michael Brantley led off the frame with a single, but SS Josh Rodriguez followed by bouncing into a 6-4-3 double play (SS�Argenis Diaz to 2B Aki Iwamura to 1B Jeff Clement). �2B Luis Valbuena doubled into left field and 3B Jared Goedert walked, but a strikeout ended the inning for Morton and left the two Clippers on base. �Morton gave up another double, to C Lou Marson, and a walk to CF Jose Constanza in the 2nd inning, but also got out of that inning with both runners still on base.
An error by Morton (photo) contributed to an unearned run in the 3rd as the Clippers tied the score. �With one out, Valbuena smacked a grounder into center field, and when Morton tried to pick Valbuena off first, his throw went wild, allowing Valbuena to reach third base. �That made it easy for a single by 1B Jordan Brown to bring in the tying run.
Then disaster struck in the bottom of the 4th. �RF Nick Weglarz led off the inning with a long fly ball for a home run over the right-center field wall, to give the Clippers a 2-1 lead. �After a ground out, Constanza blooped a single into center field. �Constanza stole second base, then went on to steal third base, not even drawing a throw. �A fielder’s choice grounder to short was fielded by Argenis Diaz, but the throw to the plate was not in time, and Constanza scored, while Brantley was safe at first. �That was all for Charlie Morton, who had thrown 85 pitches (55 strikes) in just 3.1 innings, and allowed 7 hits and 3 walks. �He would ultimately be responsible for 5 runs (4 earned). �It was a disappointing start for Morton, after an outstanding effort in his last start.
Game 77: Lilly, Soriano Power Cubs Past Buccos
There’s an old saying in baseball: “every team will win 50 games and lose 50 games. What matters is what you do in those other 62 games.” Loss #51 came the way so many others have this year – some shaky defense and not enough offense.
Game 77 Live Blog: Pirates at Cubs
Lineups: Pirates: 1. Jose Tabata, LF 2. Andy LaRoche, 2B 3. Andrew McCutchen, CF 4. Garrett Jones, 1B 5. Lastings Milledge, RF 6. Pedro Alvarez, 3B 7. Ryan Doumit, C 8. Ronny Cedeno, SS 9. Jeff Karstens, P Cubs:… Read more
Videos from last night's Altoona Game
Brad at This is Getting Old was in attendance for the Altoona Curve game last night, and has several videos posted of Bryan Morris, Josh Harrison, and Chase d’Arnaud. Check… Read more
Marauders and Spikes Win Big
Bradenton Marauders �11, �Ft. Myers Miracle �1 (box)
The Marauders scored early, then poured it on with two late-inning rallies to take a big win over Ft. Myers tonight. �Starter Aaron Pribanic earned his 4th win for the Marauders with 6 innings of work, allowing one run on 7 hits, no walks, and 2 strikeouts. �He scattered 4 of the hits over the first 5 innings, then gave up the lone run in the 6th, on a double and an RBI single, plus one more single. � Mike Colla earned his first save with 3 scoreless innings, in which he scattered 3 hits and a walk, while striking out 4 batters.
The Marauders began scoring in the 2nd inning. �CF Austin McClune walked, then scored on 3B Adam Davis’ double. �A wild pitch moved Davis to third base, and after a walk, SS Greg Picart brought in Davis with an RBI single. �McClune also walked to led off the 4th inning. �Davis was hit by a pitch, and DH James Skelton moved both runners up one base with a sacrifice bunt. �Picart’s RBI ground out brought McClune across the plate. �In the 5th, it was RF �Robbie Grossman who led off with a walk. �Singles by C Eric Fryer and LF Quincy Latimore brought in Grossman, and Bradenton was up 4-0.
Two errors by the Miracle got the Marauders’ 8th inning rally started. �Picart reached on a fielding error and a throwing error let 2B Jose De Los Santos reach base on a sacrifice bunt and moved the runners to third and second bases. �Picart scored on a wild pitch, then C Eric Fryer walked and stole second base. �Latimore’s grounder fielder’s choice brought in De Los Santos, and McClune’s single plated Fryer. �Those three runs gave the Marauders a 7-1 lead.
The 9th inning brought another rally, again started with a lead-off single. �It was Skelton who walked, then Picart singled and De Los Santos grounded into a force out at second, which was probably hoping to be a double play, but De Los Santos is too speedy. �The grounder force out brought in Skelton. �Grossman doubled and Fryer tripled, for two more runs, then 1B Calvin Anderson doubled, driving in Fryer with the 4th run of the inning.
