Tag Archives: Jarek Cunningham
Morgan Homers Twice; Welker Saves #4
The Indianapolis Indians had a scheduled day off today.
Reports are that 1B/OF Steve Pearce, who is working his way back from a sprained ankle, played in an extended Spring Training game today in Bradenton. �He went 1-for-5 at the plate.
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West Virginia Power �5, �Hickory Crawdads �3 (box)
The Power snapped their losing streak with a win in Hickory tonight, led by DH Kyle Morgan and his two home runs. �After two quiet innings, Morgan got things started in the top of the 3rd with a solo home run over the right-center field wall. �SS Benji Gonzalez followed the homer with a single, then stole second base (his 9th steal of the season). �A double by CF David Rubinstein plated Gonzalez, and a single by 2B Jarek Cunningham brought in Rubinstein. �Cunningham also stole second base (his 3rd of the year).
The Crawdads tied it up with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. �Kyle McPherson had the first batter reach on an error by 3B Jesus Brito, then gave up back-to-back singles to load the bases. �A double cleared the bases, and those 3 runs tied it up.
But the Power were not done. �Both RF Jose Hernandez and Morgan blasted solo homers (not back-to-back) in the 4th inning, and the Power had the lead again.
That was all the scoring in the game. �Brito and Cunningham were the only Power batters to reach base over the remaining 5 innings, both on walks. �The Crawdads did not fare any better –�McPherson retired the next 11 batters he faced over the 4th through the 7th innings. �He gave up a 2-out triple in the 7th, but got the next batter to strike out. �Ryan Kelly pitched a perfect 8th inning, and Duke Welker pitched a perfect 9th, including two strikeouts. �McPherson was credited with his 5th win, and Welker with his 4th save.
Hughes Struggles In Curve Loss
New Britain Rock Cats �8, � �Altoona Curve �7 (box)
A 9th inning rally by the Curve came up short, as the Curve fell to the Rock Cats on Saturday. �The final inning was a wild one, and by the time it was done, the two teams had combined for 30 hits — 18 by the Rock Cats and 12 by the Curve.
Curve starter Jared Hughes gave up 6 runs on 12 hits over 4.2 innings and suffered the loss, giving him an 8-3 record for the season. �The Rock Cats scored their first run in the top of the 1st, on a lead-off double, a sacrifice bunt, and an RBI single. �The Curve came right back at them, tying the game in the bottom of the frame. �SS Chase d’Arnaud tripled, then scored on 3B Josh Harrison’s sacrifice fly.
New Britain kept going against Hughes. �Two singles and two grounders brought in a run in the 2nd inning, to give New Britain a 2-1 lead. �Hughes gave up a lead-off single in both the 3rd and 4th innings, and both times a double play erased the runner. �He was not so lucky in the 5th inning. �A double and a single complicated by a throwing error by 2B Jordy Mercer brought in a run. �A wild pitch moved the second runner to third base, and he scored on a sacrifice fly. �A single and two doubles, plus a fielding error by LF Alex Presley brought in two more runs, and the score was 6-1. �Hughes was done for the evening, with Tony Watson coming on to finish the inning. �Watson went on to pitch 3 more scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits while striking out 3 batters.
After their run in the 1st inning, the Curve batters found the going tough. �They went down in order in three of the next four innings, though they did get back-to-back singles by 1B Matt Hague and Mercer with two outs in the 4th. �Both were left on base. �D’Arnaud doubled in the 6th inning, and reached as far as third base, but after CF Gorkys Hernandez walked, a double play and another ground out ended the inning. �Presley also had a single in the 7th and was also left on base.
Dustin Molleken took the mound for the Curve in the top of the 9th. �He gave up two singles, then a double, which brought in both of the base runners, to give New Britain an 8-1 lead. �The bottom of the 9th began with a pinch-hit appearance by James Skelton, who was just promoted from A+ Bradenton to fill the roster spot vacated by Jim Negrych when he was moved up to Indianapolis. �Skelton led off with a single. �He scored when another pinch-hitter, Anthony Norman, tripled on a liner into right field. �Norman scored on Mercer’s double, and Mercer scored on C Hector Gimenez’s single. �With the score bumped to 8-4, the Rock Cats brought on a new pitcher, who started by getting Presley to bounce into a double play. �But the Curve were not down yet. �RF Miles Durham doubled, and he came around to score on DH Shelby Ford’s single. �A fielding error put d’Arnaud on first and Ford on second base. �Hernandez brought both of them in with the second triple of the inning, and the Curve were within one run of tying the game, at 8-7. �That was as far as they got, though, as Skelton struck out in his second at-bat in the inning.
Curve Pound Rock Cats; Power Shut Out
The Bradenton Marauders began their All-Star break today. �The Florida State League All-Star Game will be played on Saturday at 7:35 pm. �It is not being broadcast on milb.tv this year.
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Altoona Curve �10, �New Britain Rock Cats �2 (box)
Like the Indy Indians, the Curve overpowered their opponents tonight. �Altoona recorded 17 hits on the way to 10 runs. �SS Chase d’Arnaud led the onslaught by going 4-for-5 at the plate, and both 3B Josh Harrison and 1B Matt Hague contributed 4 RBI.
Starter Bryan Morris won his 3rd game for the Curve, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits in 6 innings. �He walked 2 batters and struck out 6. �Morris gave up one run in the top of the 1st on a walk, a stolen base, a throwing error by C Hector Gimenez on the stolen base attempt, and an RBI double. �New Britain also scored a run on a walk and a double in the 5th.
The Curve answered the run in the top of the 1st with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning. �CF Gorkys Hernandez tripled, and scored on Josh Harrison’s sacrifice fly. �A double by Matt Hague, a ground out to move the runner over by 2B Jordy Mercer, and a sacrifice fly by Hector Gimenez gave the Curve a 2-1 lead in the 4th inning.
New Britain tied the game again with their run in the top of the 5th, but the Curve broke the game open in the bottom of the frame. �DH Shelby Ford and SS Chase d’Arnaud both singled and Hernandez was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. �Harrison’s double plated both Ford and d’Arnaud, and a sacrifice fly by Hague brought in Hernandez. �A single by Mercer and a walk to Gimenez loaded the bases again, but all three were left on base when a fly out ended the inning.
The Curve put up another 3-spot in the next inning. �Four consecutive singles began the inning — by RF Miles Durham, Ford, d’Arnaud, and Hernandez (RBI). �Harrison hit another sacrifice fly to score Ford. �D’Arnaud came in on an RBI ground out by Hague. �The final two Curve runs came in the 8th, on a 2-run homer by Hague, following a double by Harrison.
Derek Hankins pitched two perfect innings for the Curve, with two strikeouts. �Jeff Sues finished the game with a perfect 9th inning, with one strikeout.
Cunningham, Noris, and Baker Homer in Power Loss
Some early games today in the lower minors:
Asheville Tourists �11, �West Virginia Power �5 (box)
All of the Power’s scoring was done with home runs today, and even that wasn’t enough to catch up to Asheville. �They did not score at all in the first 6 innings, despite getting a reasonable number of runners on base — 2 walks to CF Evan Chambers and DH Kyle Morgan, one�walk to C Pat Irvine, two doubles by Chambers and one by LF Rogelios Noris, a single by 2B Jarek Cunningham.
The Power were behind 7-0 going into the top of the 8th, when they finally got some runs. �Noris walked, and 1B Aaron Baker blasted his 7th home run of the season to put the Power onto the scoreboard. �They added 3 more runs in the 9th, when SS Benji Gonzalez doubled, then Cunningham and Noris smacked back-to-back home runs. �That was not nearly enough, though.
Nate Baker pitched 5 innings in his start for the Power, and he allowed 5 runs on 6 hits and a walk. �A single, a wild pitch, and two ground outs brought in the first Asheville run in the 1st inning. �Two singles, a double, a triple, a wild pitch, and a double steal all contributed to bring in 3 runs in the 2nd. �Another triple plus a sacrifice fly added a run in the 5th, and the Tourists had a 5-0 lead. �Gabriel Alvarado relieved Baker to begin the 6th inning. �He retired the side in order, for the first time in the game, in the 6th, but then gave up 2 more runs in the 7th, on a single, an RBI double, a walk, and two more singles. �Jhonatan Ramos took over on the mound in the 8th, and he got into trouble quickly, as the first four batters reached base safely — double, single, walk, and double. �The double plated 2 runs, and after two outs, another double drove in 2 more runs, and the Marauders were down 11-2. �Not even a 9th inning rally could change their fate.
OverPowering the Tourists
The Altoona Curve had a scheduled day off today, and the Bradenton Marauders and Brevard County Manatees were rained out, so the Power were the only ones in the lower part of the organization in action. �The Marauders and Manatees will play a double header on Tuesday, beginning at noon.
Four Power players were named to the South Atlantic League �2010 North Division All-Star Team: � LHP Nathan Baker, C Ramon Cabrera, OF David Rubinstein, and 1B�Aaron Baker, who was named to the team as the DH. � �The All-Star Game will be held on June 22nd in Greenville.
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West Virginia Power �12, �Asheville Tourists �4 (box)
LF Rogelios Noris led the way with 3 hits and 3 RBI as the Power scored 9 runs in the late innings to send the Tourists packing.
Asheville had the early lead, scoring 3 runs in the 1st inning off Power starter Brandon Holden. �A single, a stolen base, back-to-back doubles, and back-to-back singles brought in the 3 runs, all with just one out. �Holden got it out of his system in that inning, though. �He retired the Tourists in order over the next three innings, gave up a single in the 5th but caught that runner stealing, then retired the side in order to finish up in the 6th inning. �Holden did not allow any walks, and struck out one batter in his 6 innings.
The Power had only one batter reach base over the first three innings. �C Ramon Cabrera reached base on a fielding error in the 2nd, but was left stranded. �1B Aaron Baker scored the first Power run with a solo homer in the 4th inning. �Rogelios Noris singled and Cabrera walked after the home run, but a double play ended the inning with the Power trailing 3-1.
CF Evan Chambers tied the game in the 5th inning with another home run. �He brought RF Jose Hernandez in with him, and the score was 3-3.
The Power took the lead in the 7th. �SS Benji Gonzalez led off with a single, then stole second base for his 8th swipe of the season. �After a walk and a fly out, Baker walked, and Noris brought both Gonzalez and Noris in with a double into left field. �Noris stole third (his first stolen base of the season), and he scored easily when Cabrera singled. �The inning ended when Cabrera was thrown out trying to steal second base, but the Power had taken a 6-3 lead.
The top of the 8th brought a Power explosion, as 10 batters came to the plate, scoring 6 runs. �After a strikeout, Hernandez began the fun with a walk, and DH Kyle Morgan doubled, moving Hernandez to third. �A line out back to the pitcher made the runners hold their positions, but that meant that all of the scoring happened with 2 outs. �Chambers walked to load the bases. �2B Jarek Cunningham singled up the middle, scoring Hernandez and Morgan (2 runs). �A passed ball moved the runners up to second and third. �Baker walked, but ball four was a wild pitch, so Chambers scored from third (3). �A new relief pitcher didn’t help Asheville’s situation — Noris greeted the new pitcher with a double, plating Cunningham (4). �A single by Cabrera and a missed catch error at first base brought in Baker and Noris (6) to complete the scoring. �Power up 12-3.
Mike Williams took over for Holden on the mound for the final 3 innings. �Williams pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 7th. �A missed catch error by 1B Baker and a fielding error by CF Chambers put two runners on in the 8th. �A single gave the Tourists one more run, but a fly out and a pick-off/caught stealing ended the inning. �Williams worked around a single in the 9th but kept the Tourists from scoring again, and he was awarded his first save of the season.
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Hernandez Homers, Owens Wins #6
Friday night business…. the State College Spikes (Short-season A level) begin their season two weeks from today. �The Gulf Coast League Pirates, who will share McKechnie Field with the Marauders, begin their season on June 21st.
While the team rosters have not been formally announced yet, there have been some player moves: �C/INF Andrew Walker and INF Anthony Norman have been moved from the Marauders to the State College roster. � LHP Eliecer Navarro has been moved onto the Marauders’ roster from the GCL Pirates’ roster. �Also, Marauders’ INF Greg Picart has been reactivated from the disabled list (hand injury).
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Altoona Curve �6, �New Hampshire Fisher Cats �1 (box)
The Curve began their series in New Hampshire with a win, boosting their lead in the Eastern League Western Division to 9 games over Bowie, Harrisburg, and Richmond, who are all tied for second place.
SS Chase d’Arnaud and CF Gorkys Hernandez got the Curve off to a good start with back-to-back singles in the top of the 1st. �3B Josh Harrison grounded into a double play which erased Hernandez but moved d’Arnaud to third base, and 1B Matt Hague’s single through the hole into left field scored d’Arnaud with the first run of the game. �They added another run in the 2nd on a one-out triple by LF Alex Presley and a double by DH Shelby Ford.
The game picked up some controversy in the 4th inning, when Fisher Cats’ 3B Shawn Bowman led off with a long fly ball that seemed to fly over the left field wall… but then bounced back onto the field of play. �Home run or a bounce off the top of the fence? �The umpires ruled it a homer, and Curve manager Matt Walbeck was ejected when he argued a little too vociferously. �Walbeck got his revenge in the 5th, when CF Danny Perales hit another long fly, this one to right field, for what he thought was a game-tying home run. �But while Perales had slowed to a home-run trot, the umpires ruled that this ball had hit the wall and so was still in play. �Curve RF Miles Durham threw the ball in to the infield, catching Perales by surprise between second and third bases, where he was tagged out after a brief run-down.
After that, it was all Altoona. �The Curve loaded the bases in the 6th on walks to Hague and 2B Jordy Mercer, and a single by C Hector Gimenez. Presley’s RBI ground out brought in Hague, and Durham walked to load the bases again. �Ford greeted the New Hampshire reliever with a line drive into center field, driving in both Mercer and Gimenez to give the Curve a 5-1 lead. �After another grounder force out, Hernandez walked, loading the bases for the third time in the inning. �The third time was not a charm, though, as a fly out ended the inning.
Hernandez added an insurance run in the top of the 9th when he led off with his first home run of the season. �The Curve recorded 12 hits, including 2 each from d’Arnaud (single and double), Hernandez (single and homer), Gimenez, Presley (single and triple), and Ford (single and double).
Rudy Owens earned his 6th win for the Curve, going 6.1 innings and allowing only that solo home run plus 4 other hits and 3 walks. �He did not have more than one Fisher Cats’ base runner on base at one time until the 7th inning, when he struck out the first batter, then gave up a walk and a single. �That was the point at which he was relieved by Derek Hankins. Hankins threw a wild pitch to move the runners to second and third bases, then walked a batter to load the bases with two outs. �But he got a ground out to first to end the inning without letting any of those three runners to score. �Hankins allowed just one single over the next two innings, as he earned his first save of the season.