Tag: Kyle Morgan

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.

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.

Game 1: �Altoona Curve �3, �Harrisburg Senators �2 (box)

The Curve got the evening off to a good start in the first of two 7-inning games, as they made up for the rain-out on Wednesday. �C Kris Watts led the offense with 2 hits and SS Chase d'Arnaud drove in 2 of the Curve runs.

Harrisburg scored first, with a run in the 2nd inning on two singles, a wild pitch by Altoona starter Tim Alderson, and a sacrifice fly. �The Curve tried to respond in the bottom of the inning, when Watts and LF Anthony Norman both singled, and Alderson walked to load the bases. �All three were left on base when a line out ended the inning. �But the Curve got the job done in the 4th inning. �RF Alex Presley led off by beating out a bunt for a single. �Watts lined another single into left field. �3B Shelby Ford dropped down a sacrifice bunt, and when the Harrisburg third baseman threw wide of first base for an error, Presley raced around to score, leaving Watts on third and Ford on second. �An intentional walk to Norman brought up Alderson, who flied out for the first out of the inning. �Then d'Arnaud ripped a line drive into left field, scoring both Watts and Ford. �The Curve came close to getting another run, when CF Gorkys Hernandez flied out to right field, but instead of that being a sacrifice fly, Norman was thrown out at the plate after tagging up.

Alderson gave up another run in the top of the 5th, on a single, a stolen base, and another single. �He pitched a total of 6 innings and allowed those 2 runs on 7 hits and a walk, with 3 strikeouts. �Alderson earned his 5th win of the season, giving him a 5-2 record. �Danny Moskos earned his 14th save of the season by pitching a perfect 7th inning.

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Game 2: �Senators �1, �Curve 0 (box)

The second game was another story. �SS Chase d'Arnaud led off the bottom of the 1st with a walk. �He was immediately erased when CF Gorkys Hernandez bounced into a double play. �And that was it. �No more Curve base runners, no hits, no more walks, no one reaching on an error or being hit by a pitch. �Just another 19 outs, 21 all together (it was a 7-inning game, as part of the double-header). �Harrisburg starter Chuck James pitched 5 innings and struck out 7, including striking out 6 Curve batters in a row in the 3rd and 4th innings. �Reliever Cole Kimball pitched a perfect 6th including 2 more strikeouts. �Reliever Zech Zinicola pitched the 7th, another perfect inning with two strikeouts.

And, as if that weren't bad enough -- it was even worse for Curve starter Rudy Owens. He pitched 7 innings and allowed only one run on 7 hits, no walks, with one strikeout, and still suffered the loss (his 3rd of the season). �Owens worked around a single in the 2nd and a double in the 3rd to keep the game scoreless. �He gave up a double and hit a batter in the 4th, but still did not allow a run. �Harrisburg's only run came in the 5th, with 2 outs, on 3 consecutive singles. �Owens allowed one more single in the 6th, then removed that base runner with a double play. �Jimmy Barthmaier pitched a scoreless 7th inning, also allowing just one single and also eliminating that threat with a double play.

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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.

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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Two morning games today in the Pirates' organization. �Pat Irvine was brought up from extended spring training to take the place of catcher Josue Peley, who was traded away a few days ago. �Irvine was the Pirates' 33rd round pick in the 2009 draft. �He played at State College for the second half of 2009, but he split his time between third base and left field.... now he's a catcher.

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Lexington Legends �6, �West Virginia Power �3 (box)

The Power and the Legends were the first to get started this morning, and the Power bats woke up first. �CF Evan Chambers opened the game with a looping single into right-center field. �2B Jarek Cunningham dropped another single in, right in front of the Legends' center fielder, then a wild pitch moved both runners up a base. �DH�Aaron Baker grounded out to first base, allowing Chambers to score from third base. �LF Rogelios Noris was hit by a pitch, but a double play ended the inning. �The Power took advantage of an error by the Legends' second baseman, who bobbled the ball, then threw wide to first base in the 2nd inning, putting 3B Elevys Gonzalez on base. �RF Jose Hernandez drove Gonzalez in with a double lined into the right field corner. �After two innings, the Power were leading 2-0.

Power starter Brandon Holden also got off to a good start, retiring the Legends in order in the 1st inning, and allowing only a walk in the 2nd -- then he threw out the runner trying to steal second to end the inning. �The Legends loaded the bases against Holden in the 3rd inning with one out -- on a walk, a single, and a fielding error by SS Benji Gonzalez. �But Holden induced a double play to end the inning, with a ground out to 2B Cunningham, who stepped on second base, then threw on to 1B Kyle Morgan to end the inning without a run scoring.

The Legends got to Holden in the 4th inning. �A lead-off single was followed by a strikeout, but then a double brought in the first Lexington run. �Another single drove in the second run of the inning, to tie the game. �Lexington added three more runs in the 5th, as they took advantage of mistakes by the Power. �A lead-off double by 2B Jose Altuve and a single by SS Miguel Arrendell put runners on the corners. �When Arrendell tried to steal second base, new Power catcher Pat Irvine�made a throw to second base, but his throw went into center field for an error, allowing Altuve to score and Arrendell to reach third base. �CF Evan Chambers' throw back to the infield, presumably aiming for third base, went sailing into the stands, and Arrendell also scored. �After another single, Holden was relieved by Jhonatan Ramos. Ramos had trouble too, hitting a batter, and giving up a single, which brought in the third run of the inning (charged to Holden). �A throw in to the plate was on-target but but the runner slid to the outside edge of the plate and eluded Irvine's tag. �A passed ball put runners on second and third, but the next batter tapped a grounder to first, which 1B Morgan fired back to the plate, and this time Irvine was able to apply the tag to prevent the run from scoring.

After scoring in the 2nd, the Power were able to put runners on base in 4 of the next 5 innings. �Jarek Cunningham and Benji Gonzalez singled, Jose Hernandez singled twice, and Kyle Morgan doubled, but none of them could come around to score. �The Power scored again in the 8th, when Aaron Baker led off with a double down the left field line, barely fair. �He advanced to third on Rogelios Noris's ground out, and then scored on Morgan's RBI ground out. �Pat Irvine was up next, and with a count 3-0 on him, the rain that had been going on for some time became much harder, and the game was halted for a rain delay. �The rain didn't last long, though, and play was resumed, with Irvine getting robbed of what should have been a double down the right field line, thanks to an excellent run and dive by the Legends' RF JD Martinez.

Ramos pitched two more scoreless innings, giving up three more singles. �Zach Foster came on to pitch the bottom of the 8th. �He gave up a solo homer to Altuve, to keep the Legends three runs ahead. �The Power could not respond in the top of the 9th, and the Legends had the win. �Brandon Holden was charged with the loss, his fourth of the season. �Hernandez went 3-for-4 for the Power, and Cunningham had 2 hits.

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The Curve also had a morning game.... �"Read More"

Holiday weekend play in the Pirates' minor league organization:

Tampa Yankees �14, �Bradenton Marauders �5 (box)

The Marauders were boarded and sunk by the Yankees on Sunday afternoon in Bradenton. �Two late-inning rallies kept them from being shut out, but were not nearly enough for the Marauders to catch up.

The Yankees hit starter Hunter Strickland hard, beginning in the 2nd inning, when the first four batters reached base: �two singles, a walk, and a hit batter forcing in a run. �A sacrifice fly brought in a second run, and another single gave the Yankees a 3-0 lead.

It got worse in the 3rd inning. �With out out, Strickland gave up a ground-rule double, and an RBI single. �When the runner from first base stole second, 2B James Skelton could not keep hold of C Eric Fryer's throw, and the runner was safe at second base. �A walk and a single loaded the bases, and another single drove in the second run of the inning. �Melkin Laureano relieved Strickland at that point, but Laureano gave up a walk to drive in a run, and then a bases-clearing double for three more runs. � Laureano was responsible for only one of those runs (earned), and only one of the five runs that Strickland allowed in the 3rd inning was earned.

Laureano gave up 3 more runs in the 5th inning, on a double followed by back-to-back home runs. �He struck out the next three batters in a row, but the Yankees were up 12-0. �Tom Boleska was next out of the bullpen for the Marauders. �He retired the Yankees in order in the 6th, but gave up another 2-run homer in the 7th to increase Tampa's lead to 14-0. �Mike Colla and rehabbing Jimmy Barthmaier each pitched an inning to finish it up for Bradenton, and they were the most effective pitchers -- each retired three batters in order.

It might have been easy for the Marauders to give up. �They had managed only a walk and a single by DH Tony Sanchez over the first four innings. �They had put two runners on base in the 5th, on singles by 1B Calvin Anderson and 3B Adenson Chourio. CF Robbie Grossman and pinch-hitter Anthony Norman both singled in the 6th, but none of those runners were able to come around to score.

Finally, in the 8th inning, the Marauders were able to crack the scoreboard. �SS Brock Holt led off with a single, and Grossman reached base on a fielding error. �Norman, who had remained in the game in left field, was hit by a pitch to load the bases. �Eric Fryer brought in Holt with a sacrifice fly, and Anderson's second single of the game scored Grossman. �14 - 2 is still better than 14 - 0.

The Marauders rallied again in the 9th, this time with two outs. �Holt and Grossman started it again with back-to-back singles. �Norman was hit by a pitch again, to load the bases. �Sanchez doubled, clearing the bases, and the Marauders had climbed to 14 - 5. �Fryer walked and Anderson singled for the third time in the game, loading the bases again, but RF Eric Huber struck out to end the game.

Saturday night in the lower minor leagues:

Altoona Curve �7, �Reading Phillies �3 (box)

Four runs in the 4th inning gave the Curve the edge and propelled starter Tim Alderson to his 4th win of the season. �Alderson pitched 6 innings and allowed just one run on 4 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 5 batters.

The Curve scored a run in the bottom of the 1st, on a lead-off walk by SS Chase d'Arnaud, singles by CF Gorkys Hernandez and 3B Josh Harrison, and a grounder by 1B Matt Hague that became a double play (no RBI for Hague). �The Phillies' run came in the 2nd inning. �Former Indy Indian 3B Tagg Bozied began the inning with a single, and went to second on a wild pitch. �A walk and a grounder put Bozied on third base, and another single drove Bozied across the plate to tie the score.

The big 4th inning began with a single by LF Alex Presley. A passed ball put Presley on second. �After a walk by RF Miles Durham, Alderson dropped down a sacrifice bunt that went for a fielder's choice as Presley made it to third base before the throw. �With the bases loaded, Chase d'Arnaud walked, forcing in Presley with the go-ahead run. �Gorkys Hernadez's sacrifice fly plated Durham, and Josh Harrison's double into right field scored both Alderson and d'Arnaud.

C Hector Gimenez blasted his third home run in three games with a 2-run shot in the 7th, following a single by Hague.

Alderson allowed 2 hits and 2 walks over the last 4 innings he pitched. �Jack Taschner, with the Curve on a rehab assignment, pitched the 7th inning. �He retired the first two batters, then gave up a single, a walk, and an RBI single for one run. �The inning ended on a pop out.

Mike Dubee pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 8th. �Danny Moskos pitched the 9th, and allowed a run on two singles, a hit batter, and a sacrifice fly.

Josh Harrison and Alex Presley each had a double and a single for the Curve, and both Harrison and Gimenez contributed 2 RBI.

Akron Aeros �5, �Altoona Curve �2 (box)

The Curve turned the second double play in their history today, in an early game in Akron. �In the 6th inning, with reliever Derek Hankins on the mound,�Akron's LF Cristo Arnal led off with a single, and former Curve and Indy Indian C Miguel Perez was hit by a pitch. �CF John Drennen lined right to SS Chase d'Arnaud, who made the catch, quickly stepped on second base, and fired to Matt Hague at�first base for the third out. �(The first triple play by the Curve came on May 3, 2001 at home in Altoona, against the Harrisburg Senators. �It was a 2-6-3 play: �C JR House to SS Shaun Skrehot to 1B Chris Peterson.)

Unfortunately, the triple play could not make up for a lack of offense, as the Curve batters managed only 4 hits and 2 runs in the game, ending their 8-game winning streak. �After going down in order over the first two innings, the Curve scored both of their runs in the 3rd inning, with the help of three Akron errors. �C Kris Watts led off with a double. �DH Miles Durham singled into center field, moving Watts to third, and Durham moved up to second base when the Aeros' first baseman missed the catch on the throw in from the outfield for an error. �The second error occurred on d'Arnaud's ball to second base, and it let both Watts and Durham score, as d'Arnaud was safe on first. �2B Josh Harrison also reached base on an error, advancing d'Arnaud to third base, but they did not advance further before the inning ended.

After two more 1-2-3 innings, the Curve put two runners on base in the 6th, on CF Gorkys Hernandez's single, and Hague being hit by a pitch. �They were also both left on base. �Altoona loaded the bases in the 7th on walks to Watts and Durham, and d'Arnaud being hit by a pitch, but two strikeouts ended that threat. �The last Curve hit was by LF�Jose De Los Santos in the 9th, who was also left stranded.

Jared Hughes made the start for the Curve. �He gave up one run in the bottom of the 1st inning, on a lead-off double, a ground out, and a sacrifice fly. �He gave up singles in both the 2nd and 3rd innings, but erased both runners with a double plays, one started by d'Arnaud (6-4-3) and one started by Hague at first base (3-6-1).

Hughes could not get out of a jam in the 4th inning, though. �A walk, a wild pitch, and two singles led off the inning and brought in one run. �Hughes got two outs, but then gave up back-to-back doubles, bringing in three more runs. �Hughes exited having allowed 5 runs on 8 hits and a walk over 3.2 innings. �Derek Hankins finished the 4th inning, then pitched 4 more scoreless innings, scattering 3 hits, 2 walks, and the hit batter.

["Read more" for the Marauders' and the Power games]

Akron Aeros �2, �Altoona Curve �0 (box)

CF Gorkys Hernandez had the Curve's only hit on Tuesday night as three Akron pitchers combined for the one-hit shut out. �Aeros' Scott Barnes earned the win with 5.1 hitless and scoreless innings, then Steven Wright followed with 1.2 more hitless and scoreless innings. �Omar Aguilar pitched the final two innings, and he also kept the Curve scoreless, but Hernandez led off the 8th with his hit. �Hernandez got as far as third base on two ground outs, but he was left there 90 feet away from scoring. �The catch for the Aero pitchers was that they allowed a total of 8 walks. �The Curve had at least one base runner on in 6 of their 9 innings because of all the walks. �They even loaded the bases on three walks in the 6th, but could not push a run across the plate.

Curve starter Justin Wilson pitched 5.2 innings and allowed both of the Aeros' runs on 5 hits and a walk, while striking out 6 batters. �Wilson worked around two singles and a throwing error by C Hector Gimenez in the 1st inning, then got a strikeout to slide out of a jam with runners on the corners in the 2nd. �He retired the next 11 batters in order before giving up a walk and a 2-run homer in the 6th. �Tony Watson came on in relief of Wilson after the homer. �Watson finished the 6th with a fly out, then gave up a lone single in each of the next two innings. �Ronald Uviedo pitched the 9th inning and also gave up a lone single.

The big news on Sunday afternoon in the Pirates' minor league organization is that the team has promoted righty starter Bryan Morris from Bradenton to AA Altoona. �Morris won his 3rd victory for the Marauders yesterday, and has been mowing 'em down in the Florida State League. �In 44.2 innings, Morris has allowed 37 hits but just 8 runs, and only 3 of those runs are earned. �He has allowed just 7 walks, while striking out 40 batters. �He has also not allowed a home run. �He leads the FSL with an ERA of 0.60, and his WHIP is 0.99. �The Florida State League has hit .220 against him. �He is first in the FSL with those 44.2 innings pitched, and his WHIP is 4th highest in the league.

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West Virginia Power �8, �Delmarva Shorebirds �4 (box)

The Power turned on their power in the 4th inning, scoring 5 runs on their way to a 14-hit afternoon. �Righty starter Victor Black made his 2010 debut with a 4-inning start, and struck out 7 batters.

The Power got onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the 1st. �2B Jarek Cunningham got started with a solo home run. �DH Aaron Baker followed the homer with a walk, and LF Rogelios Noris and C Ramon Cabrera loaded the bases with back-to-back singles. �After a fly out, 1B Kyle Morgan brought in Baker with another single.

Victor Black gave up only two walks over the first three innings, while striking out 5 batters. �He gave up his first single in the 4th, then hit the next batter with a pitch. �The third batter of the inning smacked a 3-run homer, giving Delmarva a 3-2 lead. �Black finished the inning with a ground out and two more strikeouts, to end his afternoon.

In the bottom of the frame, the Power sent 8 batters to the plate. �3B Elevys Gonzalez singled, and went to second on SS Adenson Chourio's sacrifice bunt. �Gonzalez stole third base, and after CF Evan Chambers walked, a wild pitch moved him to second base. �Another wild pitch on strike three to Jarek Cunningham loaded the bases. �Aaron Baker brought in Gonzalez and Chambers with a single into right field. �Then Rogelios Noris made it 7-3 with a 3-run homer over the left field wall.

Marc Baca pitched a scoreless 5th inning for the Power. �Jason Erickson took the mound for the next three innings. �He gave up a solo homer in the 6th, but the Power got the run back in the 7th. �RF David Rubinstein led off with a single, and went to second on a passed ball. �He scored on Kyle Morgan's second RBI single of the game.

Erickson retired the side in the 7th. �He gave up a lead-off single in the 8th, but erased that runner with a double play. �Duke Welker pitched the 9th and worked around a throwing error at second base by Cunningham, striking out the final two batters of the game for a scoreless inning.

Rogelios Noris went 3-for-5 with a 3-run homer, while Jarek Cunningham, David Rubinstein, and Kyle Morgan each had two hits.

Altoona Curve �9, � Richmond Flying Squirrels �2 (box)

Jared Hughes earned his 7th win, the most of any pitcher in the Eastern League, as the Curve beat the Flying Squirrels in Richmond on Saturday evening. �Hughes allowed two runs (one earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 4 batters. �He breezed through the first two innings, then gave up the earned run in the 3rd, on a hit batter, a single up the middle, and an RBI ground out. �Hughes then retired 9 more Squirrels in order, before giving up a double in the 6th. �A ground out moved the runner to third base, and a throwing error by 3B Josh Harrison let the runner score. �Hughes allowed two singles and a walk in the 7th inning, but a double play got him out of that jam.

1B Shelby Ford provided the big part of the Curve's offensive attack. �He went 3-for-5 for the night, with a single and two home runs, accounting for 5 RBI. �Ford homered from both sides of the plate -- from the right side in the 4th and from the left side in the 7th. �Ford also singled in the 2nd inning, but was left stranded. �He put the Curve onto the scoreboard for the first time in the 4th inning, when he homered over the left field wall after a walk by RF Miles Durham. C Hector Gimenez also knocked a 2-run homer in the 5th inning, following 2B Jim Negrych's single.

The Curve went into the 7th inning with a 4-2 lead, and that was when they exploded for 5 more runs. �SS Chase d'Arnaud led off with a walk, and moved to third base when CF Alex Presley singled up the middle. �Negrych plated d'Arnaud with a ground out to first base. �Gimenez singled to put runners on the corners, and Harrison's ground out brought in Presley. �Durham was hit by a pitch, then Ford blasted his second home run, also bringing in Gimenez and Durham.

Relievers Mike Dubee and Danny Moskos each pitched a scoreless inning to finish the game for the Curve. �Gimenez and Durham each had two hits for the Curve. �D'Arnaud and Presley both singled and walked twice, with a stolen base for d'Arnaud.

Who was the last Curve batter to have 5 RBI in one game? �It was Ford, on August 8th of last season.