Of course, things are worse than they seem. The Pirates got drilled again. But the real story is that Neil Walker was drilled in the back of the head by the thigh or knee of Ryan Church and had to leave the game. Hopefully it isn't anything that'll keep him out too long.

Indianapolis Indians 9, Toledo Mud Hens 8 (box)

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The Indianapolis Indians came back from a 5-run deficit tonight at Victory Field, led by two big hits and 5 RBI by 1B Jeff Clement (photo) and 3 hits each by DH Brandon Moss and 2B Jim Negrych. Six runs in the 6th inning made the difference, and the Tribe held off the Mud Hens' rally in the 9th to hold onto the win in front of a full house of 14,537 fans.

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Mike Crotta started the game with a quick first inning, but the Mud Hens attacked in the 2nd. DH Ryan Strieby led off with a double into right field, and 3B Jeff Larish lined a single into left field, moving Strieby to third. After a strikeout, Crotta walked RF Casper Wells to load the bases. LF Jon Weber drove in both Strieby and Larish with a double that skittered down the left field chalk line, barely fair. C Jeff Kunkel made it 4-0 with a triple off the wall in right-center field. Tribe CF Jonathan Van Every could not run back fast enough, and the ball sailed over his head and bounced off the wall and away from Van Every. Both Wells and Weber scored as Van Every was busy tracking down the ball. Finally, a ground out and a pop out in foul territory ended the inning.

The Mud Hens added another run in the 3rd inning. 1B Jeff Frazier started the inning with a double down the left field line that tipped the end of 3B Steve Pearce's (photo) glove as he made a desperate dive. A ground out to first moved Frazier to third base, and another double, this one down the right field line by Larish, brought Frazier in to score. Crotta continued to struggle in the 3rd inning. He walked Weber on four pitches to open the inning, and once again proved that it's a bad idea to walk the lead-off batter. It came back to haunt him, when Kunkel's slow grounder moved Weber to second base, and 2B Will Rhymes' line drive double into center field plated Weber.

The Indians were already behind 5-0 going into the bottom of the 3rd inning, when they got onto the scoreboard. With one out, Brandon Moss dropped a bloop single over the head of Toledo 2B Will Rhymes. Jim Negrych followed with his second single of the game, a liner into left field, and since he was off and running, Moss made it to third on the hit. Steve Pearce was robbed of an RBI hit when his prospective line drive into left field ended up in the mitt of 3B Jeff Larish. Jeff Clement did the honors instead, plating both Moss and Negrych with a line drive that rattled around in the right field corner. C Erik Kratz walked, but both he and Clement were left on base when LF Alex Presley, making his AAA debut, lined out too.

The Pirates promoted closer Daniel Moskos and outfielder Alex Presley to Triple-A Indianapolis yesterday. Starting pitcher Trent Stevenson was also promoted from the Gulf Coast League to State College of the short season New York-Penn League.

The Pirates have signed their 24th round draft pick, first baseman Justin Howard out of the University of New Mexico.

LHP Danny Moskos and OF Alex Presley have been promoted from Altoona to AAA Indianapolis. They were in the process of driving to Indy this evening (Thursday) and are expected to be ready to play on Friday for the Indians. The rest of the teams in the Eastern League will be happy to see these two depart. Moskos has been the league's dominant closer, with a league-leading 17 saves and a 1.45 ERA over 31 innings. He has allowed 21 hits and 9 walks, with 30 strikeouts, and opponents have hit only .191 against him. On the other side of the coin, Presley has been hitting everyone in the Eastern League. His .350 batting average leads the league (teammate Hector Gimenez is next with a .331 average), and he has piled up 86 hits, 13 doubles, 7 triples, 6 homers, and 47 RBI.

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Altoona Curve 7, Portland Sea Dogs 4 (box)

The Curve exploded for 5 runs in the bottom of the 7th on Thursday afternoon, to complete a sweep of the 3-game series against Portland. The Sea Dogs began the game with 6 consecutive singles off Curve starter Jared Hughes. That brought in 3 runs, and brought out pitching coach Tom Filer to the mound. Whatever Filer said to Hughes worked, because Hughes struck out the next batter and ended the inning with a double play. Hughes gave up only 2 more hits over the next 6 innings -- a double in the 3rd and a solo home run to former Curve Ray Chang in the 5th. He got two more double plays to negate a walk and a hit batter, and after the home run, Hughes retired the remaining 7 batters he faced in order.

The Curve batters struggled along for the first 6 innings. SS Chase d'Arnaud scored in the bottom of the 1st on a walk, two stolen bases, and an RBI double by 3B Josh Harrison. 2B Shelby Ford added a solo home run to begin the 3rd inning. Harrison tripled and 1B Matt Hague walked after Ford's home run, but both were left on base. LF Alex Presley was the Curve's only base runner over the next three innings, with a single to begin the 4th, but he was caught stealing.

Trailing 4-2 and with Hughes still the pitcher of record on the losing side going into the bottom of the 7th, the Curve got busy. Presley beat out a grounder to short for an infield single, and RF Miles Durham brought him in with a triple. C Kris Watts walked. Ford lined a single into left field, bringing in Durham. D'Arnaud loaded the bases by beating out a bunt single. Harrison's double into right field scored both Watts and Ford. After a pitching change, Hague grounded to first, and d'Arnaud scored the 5th run of the inning.

The Curve threatened again in the bottom of the 8th, loading the bases on Presley's third single of the game and walks to Durham and Watts. But Presley was thrown out at home on a grounder, and two strikeouts ended the inning.

Hughes earned his 10th win of the season. Tony Watson earned his 2nd save with two scoreless inning of relief. He struck out the side in the 8th, and got two more strikeouts in the 9th.

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The Pirates offense got off to a quick start. The bullpen ended the game on a low note. The end result was a loss for the Pirates and the eleventh straight win for Texas.

Indianapolis Indians �9, �Durham Bulls �1 (box)

Message to the Pirates: �The Real Charlie Morton has been found -- he's safe and sound, and was last seen pitching a 2-hit complete game at Victory Field tonight. �Are you going to want him back soon?

Morton (photo) dominated the Bulls, throwing 109 pitches (77 strikes) over 9 complete innings. �He faced only 3 batters over the minimum -- two hits, one hit batter, and one walk, minus one double play. �He began the game totally focused, getting 6 straight outs, including two strikeouts in the 2nd inning.

The only Bulls' run came in the 3rd inning. �Morton walked 3B Angel Chavez to open the inning, then he hit former Indy Indian (2005-06) JJ Furmaniak on the shoulder (or maybe the shoulder of his jersey), moving Chavez to second base -- two on and no out, and Morton was looking like he had lost that focus he'd just had in the previous two innings. �CF Fernando Perez tapped a 1-1 pitch right back to Morton on the mound, and Morton whirled and fired to SS Argenis Diaz, covering second base, to start a double play, 1-6-3 (Morton to Diaz to Jeff Clement) (photo below). �That put Chavez on third base, but somehow, it seemed to refocus Morton and get him charged up again. �LF Desmond Jennings hit a slow roller towards third base, and Steve Pearce, playing third for the second time in his career, charged in to make the pick-up. �The speedy Jennings was nearly at first base already, and Pearce should have just held the ball, but he didn't. �Instead, he threw across his body, and the ball sailed wide of first base, heading down toward the Bull's pen. �Chavez scored from third base, and Jennings was credited with a hit and an RBI, then advanced to second base on Pearce's error.

Still, that did not disrupt Morton's rediscovered concentration. �He got SS Omar Luna to ground to first base to end the inning. �Then he retired the Bulls in order in the 4th inning, including a second strikeout of C Alvin Colina.

The only other hit Morton allowed came in the 5th. �With one out, Angel Chavez bounced a single past the diving 2B Jim Negrych and into right field. �Chavez was forced out at second base when JJ Furmaniak grounded to Negrych. �Negrych bobbled the ball for a split second, but it was long enough so that the relay throw from Argenis Diaz covering second to first base was not in time, leaving Furmaniak safe at first. �CF Fernando Perez also grounded to Negrych, who ended the inning with a little flip to second base, forcing out Furmaniak.

That was the last time the Bulls had a base runner. �Morton retired the next 12 batters in order, striking out the last batter, Justin Ruggiano. �He buzzed through the last 4 innings, not letting the Bulls hit any balls very hard, or making his teammates behind him have to make many tough plays to get the outs. �The toughest out was the 2nd in the 9th, when Omar Luna dropped a little dribbly ball, not a bunt, along the first base line about half way down. �C Erik Kratz had to scramble over, make a sliding stop to grab the ball, then make the throw to first without hitting Luna in the basepath, for the out. �Morton needed only 4 pitches to get through the 6th inning, and 9 pitches in both the 1st and the 5th.

The Pirates have called up two relief pitchers from the Indianapolis Indians: �Steven Jackson and Justin Thomas.

Jackson (photo) is already on the Pirates' 40-man roster. �The right-hander pitched in one game for the Pirates, on May 28th, when he went 1.2 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit, with 2 strikeouts. �In 22 relief appearances for the Indians, Jackson has pitched 31 innings and given up 12 runs (10 earned) on 34 hits and 11 walks, with 18 strikeouts. �He got off to a slower start in April, when he allowed 9 runs (7 earned) on 18 hits in 13.1 innings (4.73 ERA, and .320 opponents' batting average). �But things improved in May, with just 3 runs on 12 hits in 13 innings. �That meant a 2.08 ERA and opponents batting .240 against him. �So far in June, in 5 appearances, Jackson has allowed 4 hits and no runs, in 4.2 innings.

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The lefty Thomas will need to be added to the 40-man roster. �He has been consistent all season long, making 24 relief appearances for the Indians. �He has 3 wins and 3 saves to his credit. �Thomas allowed 4 runs (3 earned) in 5 relief appearances in April, then cut back to 1 run allowed in May (12 appearances) and 1 run in June (7 appearances). �His ERA in May was 0.60, and in June it stands at 0.93, with a 1.30 overall ERA. �In a total of 34.2 innings, he has allowed 19 hits and 3 walks, with 34 strikeouts. �Opponents hit .157 against him.

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The Pirates also removed pitcher Dana Eveland from the 40-man roster today, and designated him for assignment. �They have 10 days to trade or release him, and if he passes through waivers, then he can be assigned to Indianapolis. �Eveland just joined the Pirates recently, coming to the Pirates from Toronto in exchange for minor league pitcher Ronald Uviedo.

Wednesday's action in the rest of the Pirates' minor league organization. �The West Virginia Power had the day off, wrapping up the South Atlantic League's All-Star break

Altoona Curve �8, �Portland Sea Dogs �1 (box)

Bryan Morris pitched into the 7th inning in his 4th win of the season, allowing only one run on 6 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 4 for the Curve. �The first batter Morris faced doubled to open the gam, and Portland's second batter lined a single into center field, complicated by a fielding error by CF Gorkys Hernandez, to score a run. �Morris gave up a walk, but ended the inning with 2 strikeouts, and put up zeros after that. �He retired the next 7 batters, before allowing two singles in the 4th, then getting out of that jam with a double play. �He breezed through the 5th and 6th innings, then gave up a single and a walk in the 7th, and was relieved by Jeff Sues. Sues finished the 7th inning, but loaded the bases in the 8th on a walk and two singles (one by former Curve Ray Chang). �He got out of that mess with two pop outs (all three of the outs that inning were pop outs). Diego Moreno, fresh off the Disabled List, pitched the 9th inning, allowing a walk amid three strikeouts.

The Curve batters provided Morris with plenty of run support, beginning with 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st. �With one out, the next 5 batters reached base on hits. �Singles by Gorkys Hernandez and 3B Josh Harrison were followed by a double by 1B Matt Hague, which brought in two runs. �2B Jordy Mercer singled, scoring Hague. �C Hector Gimenez doubled, moving Mercer to third base. �LF Alex Presley bounced to first base for a fielder's choice, as Hague was tagged out at the plate. �Gimenez scored the fourth run of the inning on a passed ball. �RF Miles Durham got in on the act in the 4th inning with a 2-run homer, after a walk by Presley. �Gimenez led off the 6th with a solo homer, then Presley scored on a double and a fielding error on DH Shelby Ford's ball to first.

With today’s DFA of Dana Eveland, a trade that appeared suspect at the time now looks even worse. Essentially, the Pirates traded Ronald Uviedo for three non-descript appearances by Eveland. It seems like they simply threw away a minor asset. However, maybe there is more to this situation than what meets the eye.

The Pirates designated Dana Eveland for assignment today. The move leaves the team with two openings on the active roster. Corresponding transactions will be made this afternoon.

There was nothing pretty about this one. Paul Maholm got hammered. Dana Eveland got hammered as the first man out of the pen. Ken the Lemonade Vendor was in the area on vacation (a big JFK conspiracy buff, Ken was touring the route that JFK's motorcade took that fateful day in November) and he was quickly signed and inserted into the game. Alright, that last part didn't happen.