Tag Archives: Jesus Brito
Allie’s Pro Debut; Miller’s 5th Win; GLC Pirates Begin
The Altoona Curve have a scheduled day off today (Monday), and the West Virginia Power are off for the first day of their All-Star Break. The All-Star Game will be played in Delmarva on Tuesday, with Brandon Cumpton, Jameson Taillon, and Dan Grovatt representing the Power.
Auburn Doubledays 7 , State College Spikes 6
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Pirates’ 2nd round draft pick from 2010, Stetson Allie, made his professional debut tonight, as the starting pitcher for the State College Spikes, though he did not factor into the decision. Allie struck out the first batter he faced, then gave up a single, struck out the next batter, and gave up an RBI double. A line out ended the inning. The second inning went better, as Allie retired three Auburn batters in order, including another strikeout.
The third inning was another tough one for Allie. A single and a walk opened the inning. After a fly out, both runners stole the next base, and a walk loaded the bases. Allie also walked the next batter, forcing in a run. That signaled the end of his evening. Cliff Archibald relieved Allie, but Archibald also walked in a run (charged to Allie), before getting the inning-ending double play. Allie was responsible for 3 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks, with 3 strikeouts, in 2.1 innings.
State College got onto the scoreboard with a run in the 3rd. SS Kirk Singer led off with a double, then DH Carlos Mesa singled, moving Singer to third. C Samuel Gonzalez’s RBI single brought in Singer, to cut the Auburn lead to 3-1. The Spikes tied the game in the 4th. 1B Walker Gourley led off with a single and moved to second base on a wild pitch, then to third on a ground out. Singer walked, then CF Taylor Lewis’ sacrifice fly scored Gourley. Singer stole second base, then scored on RF Justin Benscko’s RBI single.
Archibald went on to pitch the 4th and 5th innings, allowing a walk and a single, but keeping Auburn scoreless. Emmanuel De Leon relieved Archibald to begin the 6th inning, and gave up only a double in that inning. With two outs in the 7th, De Leon gave up a double and a 2-run homer. The Spikes got one of the runs back in the bottom of the inning, with a single by Benscko, a stolen base and a missed catch error to put Benscko onto third, and a sacrifice fly by Gonzalez.
De Leon started the top of the 8th by giving up a walk and a stolen base. After two outs, a single, a throwing error by Singer, and a double gave Auburn 2 more runs, for a 7-4 lead. Jesus Brito relieved De Leon and ended the 8th inning with a fly out. Singer tried to make up for his error with an RBI double after a single by 3B Brian Sharp, bringing the score to 7-5. Brito pitched a scoreless top of the 9th. The Spikes tried for another rally in the bottom of the 9th. With one out, Benscko singled, then advanced to second on a wild pitch, and to third on a second wild pitch. After a walk to Mesa, Gonzalez brought in Benscko with a sacrifice fly. But a strikeout ended the inning and the game without the Spikes being able to catch up.
Baker Homers In FSL All-Star Game; Curve Drops Double Header
More brief notes for Saturday, since we’re on the road….
Florida State League All-Star Game, played in Clearwater, Florida
FSL North 5, FSL South 3
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Three Marauders’ players got in on this game: C Ramon Cabrera, 1B Aaron Baker, and 2B Jarek Cunningham were all starters for the South squad. The North scored first, with a single, a triple, and fielding error in center field in the bottom of the 1st, for a 2-0 lead. The South tied it up in the top of the 4th, thanks to the Marauders. Cabrera led off with a single through to left field. After two outs, Baker brought in Cabrera with a 2-run homer to tie the game.
The North took the lead again in the bottom of the 5th. A walk, a stolen base, an RBI double, and an RBI single gave the North a 4-2 lead. The North added some insurance in the bottom of the 8th, on two singles and a double. The South had one last chance in the top of the 9th, which began with a lead-off single. Baker grounded out, moving the runner to second base, and another single put him on third. A sacrifice fly brought in the run, but a ground out ended the rally and the game.
Cabrera played 3.5 innings before being replaced by another catcher. He went 1-for-2, with a ground out in his other at-bats. Cunningham played 5.5 innings before letting another second baseman get into the game. He grounded out and popped out in his two plate appearances. Baker played the whole game, and went 1-for-2 at the plate, with two walks.
2011 Prospect Watching: E Gonzalez, Davis, and Brito
Continuing to look at the third basemen in the Pirates’ minor league organization:
Elevys Gonzalez — Bats Both / Throws R, 5′ 11″, 175 lb
Gonzalez is a Venezuelan native who made some big improvements in 2010. He appeared to be headed for a return trip to State College to begin the season (he’d played 13 games there in 2009), but due to injuries further up the ladder, Gonzalez was instead assigned to A level West Virginia in May. He embraced the challenge, hitting .303 in 9 games there, with a homer and 2 RBI. He dropped down to .195 in June, but by the end of the month, he was getting more playing time, and in July he had the average back up to .300, with 7 RBI. At first Gonzalez was splitting his playing time between second base, third base, and shortstop, functioning as the Power’s utility infielder. But by August, he was playing regularly at third base, as Jesus Brito struggled defensively there. More time on the field translated to more plate appearances and better hitting for Gonzalez — .289 with 2 homers and 16 RBI in August. He finished the season with a flourish at the plate, with 3 homers in the last 5 games, and 3 hits in the last game. Overall for the season, Gonzalez hit a solid .275, with 9 doubles, 4 triples, 6 homers, and 31 RBI. The 21-year-old should be ready for A+ Bradenton for 2011, where he will likely play more third base, but also spend some time at second and short.
Bixler Returns; Krol Saves #21
The Pittsburgh Pirates have reaquired infielder Brian Bixler (photo) from the Cleveland Indians’ organization.� Bixler, who was originally drafted by the Pirates in the second round of the 2004 draft, played in the Pirates’ organization for all of his career until he was traded to Cleveland in January 2010 for infielder Jesus Brito. Bixler did not make the Cleveland major league team out of spring training, and he was removed from their 40-man roster.� He has been playing for AAA Columbus, and has appeared in several games against the Indy Indians.� For the Clippers, the 27-year-old Ohio native has been hitting .278 with 13 doubles, one triple, 3 homers, and 27 RBI.� That’s about the same average but with a little less power than he showed with the Indy Indians in 2009.� Bixler has not been able to take his AAA level success up to the major league level.� In a total of 68 games with the Pirates, Bixler hit .178 with 7 doubles, one triple, and 5 RBI, and struck out 62 times.� Bixler will join the Indy Indians after the All-Star break.
The Indy Indians are off for their All-Star break.� The AAA All-Star game will be played on Wednesday in Lehigh Valley.� The game will not be on ESPN2 as in past years, but will be televised on the MLB network.� It will also be on-line on milb.com.�� More Monday action in the Pirates’ minor league organization:
Richmond Flying Squirrels� 6,� Altoona Curve� 3….. suspended (box)
They got into the 4th inning before rain halted play in Altoona this afternoon.� The Curve got busy in the bottom of the 1st, with a double by 3B Shelby Ford, and an RBI single by 2B Jordy Mercer. Mercer stole second, then went to third on walks to C Kris Watts and LF Brandon Jones. RF Miles Durham drove in both Mercer and Watts with a line drive single into left field.� Durham also stole second, but was left there when the inning ended.
Starter Tim Alderson retired the side in the top of the 1st, but struggled after that.� The Squirrels came right back in the top of the 2nd to tie the score.� The inning began with three consecutive singles, which brought in one run.� A throwing error by 1B Matt Hague loaded the bases, and another single drove in two more runs.� A sacrifice bunt moved two runners into scoring position — and provided the first out of the inning.� A hit batter loaded the bases again, but an infield fly rule pop out and a grounder force out ended the inning.� The second inning did not go any better.� A double, a walk, and a double opened the inning, bringing in 2 runs.� After two ground outs, another double drove in the Squirrels’ 6th run.� Alderson was relieved by Dustin Molleken to begin the top of the 4th, and Molleken retired the side in order.
The Curve went down in order in the 2nd.� Mercer and Watts both singled in the 3rd, though neither scored.� The bottom of the 4th began with a walk to Durham and a single by CF Anthony Norman, moving Durham to third.� Molleken’s sacrifice bunt moved Norman to second base, and that’s how things stood when play was halted.� The game will be resumed on August 26th.
After the game, Alderson was reassigned to A+ Bradenton.� He had made 17 starts for the Curve, and in 86.2 innings, Alderson had allowed 105 hits and 54 earned runs (5.30 ERA).� He had 26 walks and 57 strikeouts, and batters hit .307 against him. His record:� 7-5.
Jeff Locke is being promoted from Bradenton to Altoona — a pitcher swap.� Locke has a 9-3 record with the Marauders.� He also has 17 starts, for 86.1 innings, allowing 82 hits and 42 earned runs (3.54 ERA).� Locke has walked 14 and struck out 83, and batters hit .248 against him.
Morris Loses In Pre-Futures Start; Power Win In 10
Thursdays’ action in the Pirates lower minor league organization:
Binghamton Mets �4, �Altoona Curve �3 (box)
It only took two innings to get all the scoring done in this game, as Bryan Morris suffered his 4th loss with the Curve in what will be his last start before the All-Star break and his participation in the Futures Game. �Morris didn’t get past the 2nd inning, as he gave up all 4 Mets’ runs on 6 hits. �Morris got the first batter he faced to ground out, but then immediately got into trouble with a single and a ground-rule double, putting two runners in scoring position. �A ground out allowed the runner from third base to score. �A hit batter put runners on the corners, and two singles followed, with a second run scoring. �Morris struck out the last batter of the 1st inning and the first batter of the 2nd inning. �Then he gave up a solo home run, and the Mets had a 4-0 lead. �A walk, a single, and a wild pitch followed the home run, but Morris was able to leave them on base as the inning ended. �I suspect he had run into problems with his pitch count as well, because Derek Hankins came out to pitch the 3rd inning.
The Curve batters came back with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the 2nd. �2B Jordy Mercer led off with a line drive double, and he scored when 1B Miles Durham and LF Anthony Norman hit back-to-back singles. �Bryan Morris sacrifice bunted Durham and Norman into scoring position, and both of them scored on SS Chase d’Arnaud’s RBI single. �The Curve were behind by just one run, 4-3.
But the Curve couldn’t erase that narrow margin. �They put runners on base in all but one of the remaining innings, but none of them could come around to score. �Nine base runners were left stranded. �Two runners were left on base in the 3rd, when 3B Josh Harrison singled and RF Brandon Jones walked. �Mercer doubled again in the 6th, and Norman walked, again leaving two runners on. �In the top of the 9th, the Curve’s final effort, CF Gorkys Hernandez singled with two outs, but a fly out ended the game.
Derek Hankins pitched 6 scoreless innings after Morris hit the showers. �He retired the first 6 batters he faced in order, including striking out the side in the 4th. �He hit a batter in the 5th, but immediately erased him with a double play. �Another double play got Hankins out of a walk-and-single jam in the 7th. �Anthony Claggett pitched the final inning. �He gave up a single, but that runner was thrown out trying to steal second base.
Duke Pitches In Altoona
The Bradenton Marauders and the GCL Pirates were both rained out on Monday.
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Altoona �Curve �6, �Binghampton Mets �1 (box)
Things went well for�Zach Duke as he made a rehab start with the Curve. �He needed only 29 pitches to get through his scheduled 3 innings, allowing one run on 3 hits, no walks, with one strikeout. �The game began with a double, a ground out to move the runner to third, then an RBI single. �Duke ended that first inning with a double play. �He gave up a single in the 2nd, but another double play erased that runner, and Duke retired the side in order in the 3rd.
That was the only run the Mets had in the game. �Justin Wilson took over when Duke was done, and he pitched 4 shutout innigs, scattering 4 hits and a walk, to record his 7th win of the season. �Ramon Aguero pitched the 9th inning, also scoreless, with a walk and 2 strikeouts.
The Mets’ pitching staff was not so fortunate. �The Curve batters posted 15 hits, with each position player except LF Brandon Jones collecting at least one hit. �1B Matt Hague had his third 3-hit game in 5 days, and RF Miles Durham also had 3 hits. �The Curve responded to the Mets’ 1st inning run with 2 of their own, on a single by SS Chase d’Arnaud, a double by CF Gorkys Hernandez, a sacrifice fly by Hague to bring in d’Arnaud, and a double by C Hector Gimenez which scored Hernandez.
The Curve put at least one runner on base in each of the next four innings, though did not get any of them around to score. �In the 6th, they added one run when 2B Shelby Ford smacked a ground-rule double, and scored on Durham’s RBI single. �Another double-single combination, from Hague and Gimenez respectively, added a run in the 7th inning. �They picked up two more runs in the 8th, on a rally started by Durham when he singled and stole second base. �Pinch-hitter Anthony Norman and Hernandez also singled, driving in Durham. �After a pitching change, 3B Josh Harrison’s RBI single brought in Norman to give the Curve their 6th run.
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Marte Begins Rehab; Spikes’ Rookies Shine In Pro Debut
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GCL Pirates 10, �GCL Yankees �1 (box)
The Pirates beat up on the Yankees this afternoon, and faced an old friend. �John Van Benschoten made a rehab start for the Yankees, and the Pirates did not treat him very nicely. �RF�Gregory Polanco singled and stole second base, and LF Exicardo Cayonez walked on Van Benschoten in the 1st inning, though he kept them from scoring. �3B Eric Avila began the 2nd inning with a solo homer off Van Benschoten, and C Joey Schoenfeld also walked.
Once Van Benschoten left (after 2 innings), the Pirates continued to pound at the Yankees. �They scored another run in the 3rd in two errors and an RBI single by Cayonez. �They added 3 more runs in the 4th. �After a walk to 1B Dylan Child, rehabbing CF Starling Marte, working his way back after hand surgery, singled. Child scored on 2B Jorge Bishop’s double, and Marte came in on a wild pitch. �Polanco’s RBI single brought in Bishop.
Colton Cain began the game by giving up one hit over his first two innings, then allowed a run on two singles and two walks in the 3rd inning. �He started the 4th inning and got two outs, then walked a batter, and was relieved by Yeyber Sanchez. Sanchez finished the 4th, then pitched a scoreless 5th, allowing two hits. �James Archibald made his pro debut with three ground outs in the 6th inning. �Bryce Weidman, Dovydas Neverauskas, and Fraylin Campos all added a scoreless inning for the Pirates.
The Pirates scored 2 more runs in the 7th. �Avila was hit by a pitch, then stole both second and third bases, and scored on DH�Luis Solano’s single. �A fielding error allowed Solano to score. �Back-to-back singles by Child and CF�Junior Sosa began the rally in the 9th. �two passed balls loaded the bases, and a ground out scored Child. �Cayonez doubled, driving in two more runs, to give the Pirates a total of 3 in the inning and 10 in the game.
Starling Marte went 2-for-4 for the day, with one run scored. �Cayonez was 3-for-5 with a double and 3 RBI, and Avila was 2-for-3 with 2 runs, a homer, and an RBI.
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Spikes’ Walk-Off Win; Welker Makes A+ Debut
Bradenton catcher Eric Fryer, who was hit in the face by a pitch on Thursday night, has broken facial bones around his eye. �That will require surgery to fix — get the bones properly aligned and stabilized. �He’s going to be out of action for at least several weeks and possibly for the rest of the season. �This is the same type of injury that Paul Maholm had years ago, though his injury occurred when he was hit in the face by a line drive while on the mound.
Friday night’s action:
State College Spikes �5, �Williamsport Crosscutters �4 (box)
Late inning rallies gave the Spikes the walk-off win over Williamsport. � The Spikes got on the scoreboard in the 3rd inning when C Matt Skirving singled and SS Gift Ngoepe blasted his first home run of the season, a 2-run homer. �Williamsport tied it up in the top of the 5th. �The first run, off starter Tyler Waldron, came on a double and a single. �A throwing error and a sacrifice fly brought in an unearned run to tie the score.
Waldron pitched 5 innings and allowed the two runs (one earned) on 6 hits, no walks, with 3 strikeouts. �He was relieved by Trent Stevenson, who pitched the next 3 innings. �He gave up a run in the 6th, on a single, a stolen base with a throwing error, and a double, to give the Crosscutters the go-ahead run. �The Spikes caught up and tied the score again in the bottom of the inning. �Singles by Ngoepe and LF Adalberto Santos and a walk to 3B Chase Lyles loaded the bases. �1B Gerlis Rodriguez drove in Ngoepe with a sacrifice fly.
Williamsport took the lead yet again in the top of the 7th with an unearned run. �A throwing error by Stevenson put the lead-off runner on base, and he scored on a triple. �Rodriguez tied it up again in the bottom of the 8th with a solo home run.
Justin Ennis took the mound for the Spikes for the 9th, and he mantained the tie with a scoreless inning, allowing only a walk while striking out two batters. �That gave the Spikes the chance in the bottom of the inning. �The first two Spikes’ batters struck out. �CF�Kyle Saukko kept the inning going with a line drive into left field for a single. �A passed ball put Saukko on second base. �Ngoepe worked a walk, and a wild pitch put both runners into scoring position. �2B Walker Gourley grounded towards first base, and when he was safe on a fielding error, Saukko scored to win the game.
Spikes Lose Home Opener; Extra Inning Wins For Curve And Marauders
Saturday’s games for the Pirates’ lower minor league affiliates
Williamsburg Crosscutters �5, �State College Spikes �3 (box)
A full house sell-out in State College went home disappointed tonight, as the Spikes lost their home opener. �The Crosscutters scored 2 runs off starter Zack Dodson in the 2nd inning, on a walk, a single, a double, and a sacrifice fly. �Dodson gave up only one other hit in 3 more innings of work, and erased that runner with a double play.
The Spikes tied the score with a run in the bottom of the 2nd and another run in the 3rd. �A walk to 1B Gerlis Rodriguez open the inning. �A single by DH Kelson Brown, and a fielding error on CF Justin Bencsko’s ball to first base loaded the bases for the Spikes. �C Miguel Mendez drove in Rodriguez with an RBI ground out. �Another fielding error put SS Walker Gourley on second base to begin the 3rd. �He scored on 3B Chase Lyles’ line drive single into left field.
Mitch Fienemann took over from Dodson to begin the 4th. �After getting two outs, He gave up a single, a stolen base, and an RBI single to take a 3-2 lead. �The Spikes tied it up again in the bottom of the inning, on a double by Mendez, a passed ball, and a single by LF Melvin De La Cruz.
But the Crosscutters kept hammering at Fienemann, scoring a run in the 7th on two singles and a double, and another run in the 8th on four singles. �Sandobal Septimo finished the 8th for Fienemann, then pitched a scoreless 9th, despite giving up a double and a single.
Chase Lyles had two singles for the Spikes, and Justin Bencsko also had a single. �The Spikes collected 6 hits, while the Crosscutters posted 14 hits.
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.
