The Bradenton Marauders were rained out on Sunday afternoon in St. Lucie.

Asheville Tourists �6, �West Virginia Power �3 (box)

Hunter Strickland got into trouble in the first two innings, and the Power could not catch up to the Tourists this afternoon in Charleston, West Virginia. �Strickland opened the game by giving up a walk, a single, and a 3-run home run before he could recored an out. �In the 2nd inning, he gave up a double, a single, and RBI grounder and an RBI double, and the Tourists were leading 5-0. �Strickland also gave up two singles in the 3rd, and one more in the 4th, though that runner was erased in a double play. �Strickland finally had a 1-2-3 inning in the 5th. �He finished his 5 innings having allowed 5 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks, with 4 strikeouts.

The Power managed only two hits and a walk over the first five innings, but did not ever really threaten to score. �In the 6th, SS Benji Gonzalez singled, then moved to second on a ground out. �He got as far as third base on a wild pitch, but got no further before the inning ended. �3B Jesus Brito also got to third after a double and a ground out in the 7th, but didn't score. �Finally, in the 8th inning, when Asheville starter Wes Musick finally sat down, C Ramon Cabrera led off with a single, 2B Adenson Chourio walked, and Gonzalez singled to load the bases. �CF Evan Chambers singled, driving in Cabrera and Chourio with the Power's first runs of the game. �1B Kyle Morgan was hit by a pitch to load the bases again, with one out. �Brito's sacrifice fly scored Gonzalez, to make the score 5-3.

Maurice Bankston pitched 2 scoreless innings for the Power, allowing one walk and striking out one batter. �Ryan Kelly pitched the last two innings. �He worked out of a first-and-third jam in the 8th inning (double and hit batter), but gave up a solo home run in the 9th inning. �Strickland was charged with the loss, his second of the season.

Gonzalez was the only Power batter to have two hits in the game, and Brito's double was the only Power extra-base hit of the game. �Morgan and Chourio also had singles.

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Erie SeaWolves �8, �Altoona Curve �2 (box)

The Curve posted only 6 hits in the game, and the SeaWolves doubled up their hits and made better use of the hits they made.

DH Jim Negrych got the Curve started in the top of the 1st, with a one-out single. �3B Jordy Mercer walked, and a wild pitch moved both runners up. �RF�Miles Durham brought in Negrych with a sacrifice fly to give the Curve an early 1-0 lead.

Starter Justin Wilson worked around two singles in the 1st inning and put the side down in order in the 2nd, but had some trouble in the 3rd. �A single and a double put runners on the corners, and an RBI ground out tied the game. �Wilson's wild pitch brought in the second runner to give Erie a lead they would not give up. �Wilson got through the 4th, picking a runner off second base. �In the 5th, two walks and a fielding error by Wilson on a sacrifice bunt loaded the bases. �A ground out brought in one run, and a single plated the second run. �When the runner from first went to steal second base, the runner from third scored on the throw down to second base. �That chased Wilson from the game, and he was eventually charged with the loss, going 4.2 innings and allowing 5 runs (4 earned) on 6 hits and 3 walks. �He also struck out 4 batters.

Derek Hankins relieved Wilson and ended the 5th inning. �But Hankins gave up a double and a 2-run homer in the 6th inning, to make the score 7-1. �A single and a double added another run in the 7th inning.

After the 1st inning, the Curve threatened in the 2nd inning, when C Hector Gimenez led off with a double and 1B Matt Hague single, moving Gimenez to third base. �That's as far as he got, though. �Two outs ended that inning, and the next 10 Curve batters after that also were retired in order. �Jordy Mercer walked in the 6th, but was left stranded. �Three Curve went down in order in the 7th, too. �Finally in the 8th, the Curve scored again. �LF Alex Presley led off with a single, and CF Gorkys Hernandez was hit by a pitch. �Jim Negrych grounded to short, and Hernandez was forced out at second, but Negrych made it to first base safely. �Mercer doubled, scoring Presley, but the Curve still left two runners on base.

Michael Dubee pitched the 8th inning for the Curve. �He gave up a single, but that runner was erased when a line drive right to Hague at first base let Hague make an unassisted double play.

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When the Pirates acquired Lastings Milledge last June, most of the trepidation expressed by fans and members of the media focused on his poor off-the-field reputation. I was chiefly worried about baseball-related issues, namely his poor defense and free-swinging ways at the plate. He is showing improvement in all aspects.

Another tight one with the Reds goes the Pirates way as the Bucs sweep behind three RBI from Jason Jaramillo and a strong outing from Paul Maholm. A 7-5 start isn't too shabby.

If turnabout is fair play, then the Reds should've hung on to win Saturday night. On Friday, the Pirates bullpen surrendered the lead only to watch the offense bail them out in the 9th. The Reds offense never got the chance on Saturday as the Pirates scored twice with two outs in the 9th to win again.

Toledo Mud Hens 3, �Indianapolis Indians 2 (box)

C Luke Carlin went 3-for-4 and 1B Steve Pearce hit a huge solo home run, but the Indians' offensive burst came too late, as the Mud Hens beat the Tribe at Victory Field tonight.

The Indians could not muster much of an offense for the first 5 innings, as only four batters reached base. �The Indians also were making a habit of leaving runners stranded at third base, which is never a good idea. �1B Steve Pearce had the first Tribe hit in the 2nd inning, a very long shot to the wall at the 418' mark in left center field -- the deepest part of Victory Field. �The ball dropped right into the pocket way way out there, and Pearce rounded second and charged for third, sliding in just before the throw with a triple (photo). � Two strikeouts ended the inning, though, with Pearce still standing there at third.

Luke Carlin was the one left on third in the 3rd inning. �He led off with a single into left field, and moved to second base when SS Argenis Diaz dropped down a sacrifice bunt just in front of the plate. �Carlin stole third base, drawing no throw from the Mud Hens' catcher. �RF Brandon Jones walked, but a strikeout and a pop up to first base ended that inning.

Indians' starter Chris Jakubauskas (photo) was also using strikeouts to get himself out of jams in the first few innings of the game. �Toledo DH Will Rhymes opened the game with a little looping hit that dropped in just barely fair behind the third base bag. �Strikeouts of SS Brent Dlugach and RF Brennan Boesch put Jakubauskas into a much better position, and after a walk, he got CF Casper Wells to ground to third base to end the inning. �Jakubauskas retired the side in the 2nd inning, including 2 more strikeouts. �He gave up a one-out walk in the third, but again two strikeouts ended the inning. �Jakubauskas was not able to utilize the strikeout in the 4th inning, and that's when he got into trouble. �1B Jeff Larish walked, and after a fly out, LF Jeff Frazier smacked a double off the upper half of the new scoreboard in left field, moving Larish to third. �2B Max Leon zapped a liner right back to the mound, where Jakubauskas was able to stick his glove up and knock the ball down. �He quickly picked the ball up, turned to glare over towards third and then towards second, to keep those base runners from moving, then fired over to first base to get the out on Leon. �The next batter, C Mike Rabelo, brought both runners in with a double to the wall in the right-center alley, giving the Mud Hens a 2-0 lead.

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Erie SeaWolves 6, �Altoona Curve 5 (box)

DH Jim Negrych did his best to be the hero for the Curve in the afternoon game against the SeaWolves in Erie. �He tied the game with a 2-run homer in the 8th inning. �He hit a key 2-run double in the top of the 9th to give the Curve the lead. �But Erie's C Max St. Pierre was having a better day. �On St. Pierre's 30th birthday, he hit two home runs, including a walk-off blast in the bottom of the 9th to give the SeaWolves the win.

With Rudy Owens on the mound for his second start of the season, Erie took an early 2-run lead in the 3rd inning. �Owens had allowed only one hit over the first two innings, but the 3rd began with three consecutive singles, including one by St. Pierre, to bring in one run. �An RBI grounder brought in the second run. �C Kris Watts ended the inning when he threw out a runner trying to steal second base.

The Curve threatened in the top of the 3rd when LF Alex Presley and 2B Shelby Ford opened the inning with back-to-back walks. �A bunt moved them both up a base. �CF Gorkys Hernandez bounced to short for a fielder's choice, and Presley appeared to slide in under the tag at the plate, but was called out. �Altoona did�get one of the runs back in the top of the 5th, when 1B Matt Hague led off the 5th inning with the first Curve hit of the game, a double down the left field line. �He went to third on a ground out, and Ford was hit by a pitch, making it runners on the corners. �SS Jose De Los Santos grounded to second base, for what should have been a double play. �But the speedy De Los Santos beat out the relay throw to first base, and the Hague scored from third base.

St. Pierre's first home, a solo blast, run led off the 5th inning, to give the SeaWolves a 3-1 lead. �That lead lasted until the top of the 8th, when the Curve finally got another hit. �Gorkys Hernandez led off with a single, deflected off the glove of the Erie pitcher. �Jim Negrych hit a long fly ball down the right field line... but as the crowd held their breath, the ball drifted foul just at the last second. �Negrych came right back with another long ball, this one to right center where it had no chance of drifting foul. �This bomb was a 2-run homer to tie the game, Negrych's first homer of the season.

Ross Ohlendorf was placed on the 15-day disabled list today, retroactive to April 12th. He is eligible to return on April 27th. ...

Toledo Mud Hens 7, �Indianapolis Indians 4 (box)

The Mud Hens spoiled the Indianapolis Indians' home opener at Victory Field with a 4-run 8th inning, taking advantage of four errors committed by the Indians themselves. �3B Pedro Alvarez and DH Brandon Moss both homered for the Indians, but the homers couldn't overcome the errors.

The Indians got onto the scoreboard first. �After his teammates went down in order in the 1st inning, 3B Pedro Alvarez led off the 2nd inning with his first hit at Victory Field, a single through the hole on the right side of the infield. �Neil Walker, in his first pro appearance as a first baseman, worked a walk, moving Alvarez to second base. �Brandon Moss dropped down the perfectly placed sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. �C Erik Kratz pushed Alvarez across the plate with an RBI ground out to short.

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Jeremy Powell made another spot start for the Indians, and did a reasonable job over 4 innings of work. �Powell gave up a splintered-bat single and a walk in the first inning, but left both runners on base. �He also gave up a lead-off walk in the 2nd inning, but SS Argenis Diaz made a slick double play,�scooping the ball just two steps from second base, and making that force himself before firing on to Walker at first.

The first error of the game came there in the 2nd inning, when former Indy Indian C Robinzon Diaz grounded towards third base. �Alvarez went to his left a couple of steps, but the ball slid just under his glove and into left field and was ruled an error -- it might have ticked his glove as it went by, but I couldn't tell from where I was sitting. �That error turned out to be moot, luckily. �The next batter, 3B Danny Worth, grounded another ball right to Alvarez, and on his second try, he made a nice throw to second base for the force out.

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Here was the plan tonight: Open gym at the newly reconstructed gym at my church (first time I've played ball in four years and it showed). Get home in time to watch the last 4 or so innings on Fox Sports Ohio. It all worked to perfection. And then the walks set in.

Bradenton Marauders 14, �St. Lucie 5 (box)

The Marauders posted 14 hits and 14 runs on their way to an overwhelming victory of the St. Lucie Mets in Bradenton on Friday night. �SS Brock Holt, who joined the team late out of spring training due to injury, celebrated his first game of the 2010 season by going 3-for-5 with a double and 4 RBI. �DH Tony Sanchez went 3-for-4, and had a single, a double, and a homer, plus 3 RBI. �LF Quincy Latimore had "only" 2 hits, but his grand slam gave him 4 RBI. �Only 1B Calvin Anderson had a tough night, as he went hitless and committed 3 fielding errors at first base.

After a quiet 1st inning, Tony Sanchez and Quincy Latimore got the party started in the bottom of the 2nd with back-to-back singles. �Two outs later, C Eric Fryer singled, scoring Sanchez. �2B Greg Picart walked to load the bases, and Brock Holt picked up his first two RBI with a line drive single into center. � Three doubles, by CF Starling Marte, Sanchez, and 3B Jeremy Farrell added two more runs in the 3rd inning. �In the 4th, RF Robbie Grossman singled, stole second, and stole third. �A walk to Marte and Sanchez being hit by a pitch loaded the bases for Latimore. �His grand slam gave the Marauders a 9-1 lead.

A St. Lucie fielding error and singles by Holt and Marte (RBI) contributed one run in the 5th inning. �Then Bradenton added 4 more runs in the 7th. �Fryer led off with a double, Picart reached base on a fielding error, and Holt doubled both of them in. �Sanchez's 2-run homer capped the night for the Marauders.

Aaron Pribanic made the start for Bradenton. �He sailed through the first two innings, and Calvin Anderson's first fielding error was no big deal. �In the 3rd inning, a single, a double, and a passed ball by Eric Fryer gave the Mets one unearned run. �Anderson made another error in the 4th inning, but a double play eliminated that problem. �In the 5th inning with one out, Pribanic gave up a double and a 2-run homer, and he was relieved by Tyler Cox. Cox finished the 5th with a strikeout, then retired the next six batters he faced, including 3 more strikeouts. �That earned him his 3rd win of the season. �Diego Moreno gave up a lone single in the scoreless 8th inning. �Noah Krol took the mound for the 9th, when St. Lucie made a last desperate effort to catch up. �Krol gave up a walk and a double to begin the inning. �With two outs, a wild pitch let the runner from third base score and the runner from second move up to third. �Anderson's third fielding error allowed the next run to score, though it clearly did not make much difference in the outcome. �A ground out ended the game.

With Holt joining the team, a roster spot needed to be opened up. �INF Gift Ngoepe was reassigned to State College to make room, which means he will return to extended spring training right there in Bradenton.

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West Virginia Power 5, �Asheville Tourists �4 (box)

The Power celebrated their home opener with a win over the Tourists, as DH Kyle Morgan's single in the bottom of the 7th inning brought the go-ahead run across the plate. �The Tourists scored in the top of the 1st inning, with a double, a stolen base, and a sacrifice fly off Power starter Quentin Miller. Miller pitched only one inning -- not sure why he was pulled.

The Power bats came to life in the bottom of the 2nd, when LF Rogelios Noris hit a two-out single, and 3B Jesus Brito got the first of three hits in the game, an RBI triple. �RF Wes Freeman walked, and a passed ball let Freeman get to second base, but it wasn't far enough away from the plate to let Brito score from third. �The Power added another run in the 3rd, when SS Benji Gonzalez led off with a walk, and 2B Jarek Cunningham doubled him over to third base. �This time when the Asheville catcher missed for another passed ball, Gonzalez was able to score from third. �1B Aaron Baker grounded to second, but a quick throw to the plate cut down Cunningham as he tried to score. �Gonzalez and Cunningham both singled again in the 5th, and a wild pitch had Gonzalez standing on third base again. �This time Baker was able to pick up the RBI with a sacrifice fly.

Brito, who had also singled in the 4th inning, made it 3-for-3 with a single in the 6th inning, following Noris' lead-off double. �Another fielder's choice on a grounder by C Josue Peley brought in Noris to give the Power a 4-1 lead. �Another scoring opportunity was missed, though, when Brito was out at the plate in a double steal attempt.

Jason Erickson had taken over for Miller in the 2nd inning. �Erickson scattered 3 hits over 4 scoreless innings, striking out 2 batters. �Marc Baca retired the Tourists in order in the 6th, but got into trouble in the 7th. �The inning began with a ground-rule double, a "regular" double, and another ground-rule double, and the Tourists were within one run of the Power, 4-3. �A walk and a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third bases. �An RBI ground out to short brought in the tying run, and gave Baca a Blown Save. �A hit batter and a stolen base made it runners on first and second. �A long fly ball to the alley in right-center could have meant another two runs, but an amazing diving catch by CF Evan Chambers ended the rally.

That Blown Save turned in to a win in the bottom of the 7th. �Baca was still the pitcher of record when�Chambers was hit by a pitch. �Aaron Baker bounced a ground-rule double over the right field wall, moving Chambers to third base. �Then Kyle Morgan's single up the middle drove in Chambers with the go-ahead run. �Baker also tried to score from second base, but was out at the plate on the throw in from center field. �The one run was enough, though. �Melkin Laureano gave up a walk in the top of the 8th, but did not allow a run to score. �Zachary Foster got four outs in the top of the 9th to earn his first Save. �He struck out three batters in a row, but strike three on the third batter was a wild pitch, allowing the batter to reach first base. �Jarek Cunningham made a diving catch of a pop fly behind second base to end the game.

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Altoona Curve rained out

The Altoona Curve and Erie SeaWolves were rained out in Erie, PA on Friday night. �That game will be made up as part of a double header on May 22nd. �The two teams will play their regularly scheduled (single) game on Saturday, beginning at 1 pm.

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NOTES:

Former Pirate farmhand Danny Bomback has signed a contract with the Pittsfield Colonials of the (independent) Can-Am League.

Charlie Morton allowed eight runs in his first start of the season. He allowed six more runs in his second start. On the surface, it may have looked like more of the same, but Morton showed some quantifiable improvement in his second appearance.

Altoona Curve �13, �Erie SeaWolves 5 (box)

The Curve exploded for 7 runs in the top of the 9th inning, to take the first game in their series against the SeaWolves in Erie. �The Curve went into the 9th already leading 6-5. �They sent 11 batters to the plate in the 9th, beginning with a single by LF Alex Presley, and SS Chase d'Arnaud being hit by a pitch. �Both moved up one base on a throwing error, and Presley scored on DH Jim Negrych's RBI single. �RF Miles Durham doubled, scoring d'Arnaud, and an intentional walk to C Hector Gimenez loaded the bases. �CF Gorkys Hernandez brought in Negrych with an RBI single. �Then 2B Josh Harrison and 1B Matt Hague greeted a new reliever with back-to-back doubles, each plating two more runs.

Altoona had begun the game with 2 runs in the top of the 1st, when d'Arnaud and Negrych opened the game with two walks, and Gimenez scored both with a 2-RBI double. �Durham's 3-run homer in the 3rd inning followed another walk to Negrych and a single by 3B Jordy Mercer. Hague added a solo home run in the 4th inning.

Tim Alderson started for the Curve and gave up a solo home run to the first batter he faced in the bottom of the 1st. �He gave up another homer in the 5th, after a single and a walk. �Alderson pitched 5 innings, allowing those 4 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks, with 2 strikeouts, to earn his first win of the season. �Dustin Molleken pitched 2.1 innings, and he gave up the SeaWolves' final run in the 7th, on a single and a triple. �The runner on third was thrown out at the plate on a subsequent fielders' choice play, when SS d'Arnaud threw to Hector Gonzalez at the plate for the tag out. Danny Moskos earned his first save with 1.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, and striking out 2 batters.

The Curve are now 7-1 for the season -- their best start in franchise history.