Tag Archives: Zach Foster
Losses At All Levels
The Indy Indians lost today, as did all of the other affiliates who were playing — the Power also won, splitting a double header.
Tomorrow MLB will hold the 2010 Draft… stay tuned!
New Hampshire Fisher Cats �5, �Altoona Curve �3 (box)
Like yesterday, the Curve had an early 3-run inning to take the lead, but also like yesterday, they gave up runs in the late innings and lost to the Fisher Cats. �And like the Indy Indians today, the Curve faced a former teammate — Ronald Uviedo, who was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays last week, made the start for the Fisher Cats. �Uviedo was a reliever while pitching for the Curve, so he will need to get stretched out — he was limited to just 3 innings today. �Uviedo retired his old mates in order in the 1st inning, but gave up two walks, to LF Alex Presley and DH Jim Negrych in the 2nd. �The walks were followed by a booming home run by RF Miles Durham, to give the Curve 3 runs. �Uviedo also walked 3B Josh Harrison in the 3rd inning, but left him on base.
Jared Hughes had the start for the Curve. �He begin the bottom of the 1st inning with three straight singled, loading the bases with no outs. �A grounder to short for a force out at second brought in one run, but they did not get a double play. �Instead, Hughes struck out the next batter and ended the inning with an easy grounder to first.
That 3-1 score held for the next 5 innings. �Counting those three outs after the three singles in the 1st, Hughes retired 17 Fisher Cats batters in order, taking him to the 6th inning with two outs. �That’s when he loaded the bases again, on a single, a walk, and a single, before bearing down to get out of the jam with a fly out.
After Uviedo finished the 3rd inning, the Curve got a walk by C Hector Gimenez in the 4th, and SS Chase d’Arnaud was hit by a pitch in the 5th, but neither scored. �They came close in the 6th, when Josh Harrison led off with a double. �A passed ball had Harrison moving, but he was caught in a run-down on the third base line, and eventually tagged out.
New Hampshire added a run in the bottom of the 7th off reliever Tony Watson. A double and two ground outs did the trick, and the Curve lead was cut to 3-2. �The Curve got the run back right away, when d’Arnaud led off the top of the 8th with a triple, then scored on a wild pitch. �Two more Curve batters got on base in the inning, with a walk to CF Gorkys Hernandez and 1B Matt Hague being hit by a pitch, but a double play ended the inning without further runs scoring.
The Fisher Cats did their damage in the bottom of the 8th. �With Watson still on the mound, a double and a ground out put a base runner on third. �Jimmy Barthmaier relieved Watson, but he walked the only batter he faced. �Danny Moskos came on next, and he gave up an RBI single to tie the game. �A throwing error on the play moved the runners to second and third base. �Another single drove in both runners to give the Fisher Cats the winning run plus an insurance run. �The Curve tried to rally in the 9th, when Gimenez walked and Negrych singled, but two strikeouts ended the game.
Gimenez Homers Twice; Anderson Is Player Of The Week
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”
Wins for Alderson and Baker, Three Hits For Rubinstein
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.
Gimenez And Brito Homer Two Days In A Row; Morris Wins #2 For Curve
The Indianapolis Indians had a scheduled off day on Wednesday, but the rest of the minor league organization was going strong, beginning with an early game in West Virginia:
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Lexington Legends �5, �West Virginia Power �4 (box)
The Power and the Legends played a late-morning game for the second time in two days. �Today, though, it was the Legends who came out on top, scoring 5 runs on 10 hits, and breaking a 4-4 tie with a run in the top of the 8th. �The Power scored their 4 runs on only 5 hits.
2B Elevys Gonzalez recorded 3 hits in the game, and he put the Power onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the 1st inning, with a 2-run homer following a walk by CF Evan Chambers. Lexington tied the score in the top of the 3rd with two runs on a single and two doubles. �Both Elevys Gonzalez and SS Benji Gonzalez took the lead back again in the bottom of the inning. �Benji walked and advanced to second base on a balk. �Elevys singled, moving Benji to third base. �Both Gonzalezes executed a double steal, with Benji stealing home to break the tie. �Walks to 1B Aaron Baker and C Ramon Cabrera loaded the bases, but the Power could not push another run across.
Power starter Jason Erickson had kept the Legends from scoring in the 4th and 5th innings, but in the 6th, he gave up a solo homer to tie the score. �He walked the next batter after the home run, and was relieved at that point by Gabriel Alvarado. Alvarado gave up back-to-back singles to the first two runners he faced, and the batter Erickson had put on base came around to score, giving the Legends a 4-3 lead.
3B Jesus Brito homered for the second time in two days to lead off the 7th inning and tie the score again, at 4-4. �But in the top of the 8th, with Zach Foster on the mound, two singles and a fielding error by RF David Rubinstein put runners on second and third bases. �An RBI ground out brought the go-ahead run across the plate.
The Power had a chance to tie the score again in the 8th, when Baker walked, then moved to second base on a passed ball. �Cabrera’s single brought Baker racing around third base and heading for the plate, but he was thrown out by the Legends’ left fielder. �Rubinstein got as far as third base in the 9th inning, on a walk, a stolen base, and a ground out, but that inning ended before he could go any further.
Elevys Gonzalez also singled in the 5th inning, but was erased in a double play. �Foster was charged with the loss, his first of the season.
Gourley Debuts As Marauders Lose; McPherson Strikes Out 10
One early game in the rest of the Pirates’ minor league organization on Wednesday, and two later games:
Dunedin Blue Jays �2, �Bradenton Marauders �1 (box)
The Blue Jays broke a tie that had lasted 5 innings with a run in the bottom of the 9th to take the win over the Marauders on Wednesday afternoon. �Both teams scored a run in the 4th inning. �C Eric Fryer supplied the Marauders with their run on a solo homer in the top of the 4th. �In the bottom of the inning, starter Brian Leach got two outs, then gave up a run on a walk and two singles.
Dunedin starter Joel Carreno held the Marauders in check for 5 of his 6 innings, while striking out 9 batters and allowing 9 hits. �The Marauders got a runner as far as third base in the 5th, when SS Walker Gourley, making his 2010 debut, led off with a single. �2B James Skelton also singled, moving Gourley to third base. �But a strikeout and a double play ended the inning without a run scoring. �The Marauders put at least one runner on base in 5 other innings, but never got a runner as far as third base.
Brian Leach also went 6 innings, scattering 3 hits and 3 walks, with 4 strikeouts. �He worked around a single base runner in 3 other innings besides the 4th. �Tom Boleska took over for Leach in the 7th. �He gave up a single and hit a batter in the 7th, and gave up a single to Dunedin DH Travis d’Arnaud in the 8th, but did not let those runners score.
Boleska got into trouble in the bottom of the 9th. �With one out, he gave up a double, then intentionally walked the next batter. �He suffered the loss when an RBI single plated the winning run. �Eric Fryer posted two singles for the Marauders besides his homer. �1B Calvin Anderson singled twice, and CF Austin McClune also singled. �Tony Sanchez had a pinch-hit appearances but struck out.
Ford Homers From Both Sides, Hughes With 7th Win
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.
Curve Shut Out, West Virginia Powers Up
Harrisburg Senators 7, �Altoona Curve 0 (box)
It was a tough afternoon in Altoona on Wednesday, as the Curve were held to just 3 hits in this shutout. �1B Matt Hague, RF Miles Durham, and LF Alex Presley were the only Curve batters to get hits, and all three were singles. �SS Chase d’Arnaud and Hague also reached base on walks. �The singles came in the 2nd (Durham), 4th (Hague), and 5th (Presley) innings, and all three runners were left on base when the innings ended. �D’Arnaud walked to lead off the 6th inning, but was erased in a double play. �Hague walked in the 7th, and he was also eliminated in a double play. �The Curve never had a base runner reach second base, nor did they ever have more than one runner on base in any one inning.
Curve starter Justin Wilson pitched 5 scoreless innings to begin his outing. �He allowed only one batter over the minimum in the first three innings (a walk). �Another batter who walked to open the 4th inning was picked off base. �Wilson gave up two singles in the 4th, but left them stranded. �The Senators finally scored against Wilson in the 6th inning, on a hit batter, a stolen base, and an RBI double. �Wilson went 6 innings total, allowing that one run on 3 hits, with 6 strikeouts, but without run support, his strong outing turned into a loss.
Things fell apart for reliever Corey Hamman, who took over to begin the 7th inning. �It began with a walk and a 2-run homer. �Hamman got the next two batters to strike out, but a wild pitch on strike three put the second of those on base. �After another walk, a 3-run homer gave Harrisburg a 6-0 lead. �Mike Dubee relieved Hamman to finish the inning, then pitched a scoreless 8th. �Danny Moskos pitched the 9th inning, and gave up one more run on a double and a single. �A hit batter and another single had a Harrisburg batter rounding third and heading for the plate, but RF Durham and 2B Josh Harrison got the ball right on target to C Hector Gimenez, who�tagged the runner out at the plate.
Wins For Molleken, Adcock and Erickson; Saves for Moskos, Krol, and Foster
The Indianapolis Indians lost, but the rest of the Pirates’ affiliates won on Saturday.
Altoona Curve �9, �Erie SeaWolves �7 (box)
A 6-run 2nd inning boosted the Curve to an early lead, and a late-inning rally kept them on top for a win at home on Saturday. �The Curve sent 11 batters to the plate in the 2nd, collecting 8 hits for their 6 runs. �DH Jim Negrych got the fun started with a single through the hole into right field. �2B Josh Harrison and LF Alex Presley both doubled, and RF Miles Durham added another single, and two runs were in before an out had been recorded. �After a fly out, SS Chase d’Arnaud singled, bringing in both Presley and Durham, and a fielding error accounted for the second run (so only one RBI for d’Arnaud) and moved d’Arnaud to third. �Three more consecutive singles, by CF Gorkys Hernandez, 3B Jordy Mercer, and 1B Matt Hague, and another run came in. �That brought it back to Negrych, who this time brought the 6th run in with a sacrifice fly, before a ground out by Harrison ended the inning.
Starter Tim Alderson elected to work entirely out of the stretch as he worked on mechanics. �He�kept the SeaWolves from scoring over the first three innings, but gave up one run in the 4th on a single and an RBI double. �He ran into more trouble in the 5th, giving up a single, a double, a sacrifice fly, and another double, and then another single, for 3 runs. �Alderson was relieved at that point, just one out away from qualifying for the win, having surrendered 4 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks over his 4.2 innings, with 6 strikeouts. �He was replaced by Dustin Molleken, who gave up another single, but the throw in from Durham in right field put the runner from first out at third base to end the inning. �Curve 6, SeaWolves 4.
Erie moved within one run of the Curve in the 7th, when Molleken gave up a double, a wild pitch to move the batter to third base, then a sacrifice fly. �The Curve responded in the bottom of the inning with 3 more runs to maintain a bigger lead. �Hernandez led off with a double, and Hague walked. �A grounder by Negrych forced Hague out at second, but left runners on the corners with two outs. �Harrison brought both Negrych and Hernandez in with a line drive double into left field, and he moved to third on the throw in to the plate. �That meant that he was able to score on a wild pitch, and the Curve had a 9-5 lead.
Jeff Sues came in fro Molleken to begin the 8th inning, and he was greeted by a solo home run by Erie 1B Michael Bertram. �Sues got two outs, then gave up a single, a wild pitch, and another single. �Danny Moskos finished the inning for Sues with a fly out. �Moskos had to work around a fielding error by SS d’Arnaud and 2B Harrison in the 9th, but still kept Erie from scoring, to earn his 7th save of the season. �Molleken was credited with the win, his first of the season.
Gorkys Hernandez had a 3-hit night for the Curve, with a double and one RBI. �Jim Negrych, Josh Harrison, and Alex Presley each had 2 hits for the Curve.
Owens: 6 No-Hit Innings, 11 Strikeouts
Altoona Curve 9, �Richmond Flying Squirrels 1 (box)
Rudy Owens shot down the Flying Squirrels on Tuesday night with 6 no-hit innings and 11 strikeouts. �He was one walk away from a perfect game — after mowing down 17 straight Squirrels, Owens walked Richmond relief pitcher Craig Whitaker. �Owens was clearly not pleased with himself with that walk, but he held on to strike out the next batter. �He was relieved after the 6 innings due to the pitch count. �He had thrown 97 pitches at that point, and his limit was 100. �Owens struck out the side in the 1st inning, one in the 2nd and 5th, and two in the 3rd, 4th, and 6th. �He got a little help from his friends, of course, with SS Chase d’Arnaud and 1B Matt Hague making two critical fielding plays in the 5th and 6th respectively.
Reliever Jeff Sues earned his 4th save of the season with three strong innings of work. �He gave up an unearned run in the 7th, when the lead-off batter reached on a fielding error by 3B Jordy Mercer, and two singles followed. �Mercer made another error in the 8th, but Sues worked around it, and kept that runner from scoring.
The Curve posted 13 hits on their way to 9 runs. �LF Shelby Ford, who has been struggling over the past month, led the way by going 3-for-3 at the plate. �That doubled his hit total for the season, and lifted his average to .188. �D’Arnaud and Ford started the scoring in the 1st inning, when d’Arnaud singled and Ford doubled, moving d’Arnaud to third. �Mercer’s RBI ground out brought in the run.
D’Arnaud and Ford got another rally started in the 3rd inning, this time reversing the hits — d’Arnaud doubled and Ford singled. �Mercer again brought a run in, this time with a sacrifice fly to score d’Arnaud. �Ford stole second, and he scored on 2B Jim Negrych’s single up the middle.
The Curve sent 10 batters to the plate in the 4th inning, as they added on 5 runs. �CF Alex Presley led off with a walk, and stole second base. �C Hector Gimenez doubled Presley in, then moved to third base on Owens’ sacrifice bunt. �D’Arnaud brought in Gimenez with a sacrifice fly. �That cleared the bases with two outs, but the Curve got going again. �Ford singled and Mercer reached base on a fielding error by the Richmond third baseman. �Hague doubled, scoring both Ford and Mercer. �Negrych walked, and then RF Miles Durham singled to bring in Hague. �Matt Hague doubled again in the 9th inning, and added one more run to the Curve total when Durham singled again.
Chase d’Arnaud, Matt Hague, Miles Durham, and Alex Presley each had two hits in the game. �Presley’s hitting streak is now at 18 games. �The Altoona team record in 21. �Durham’s hitting streak is now at 8 games.
Ross Ohlendorf will be making a rehab start with the Curve on Wednesday night.
Shutout Innings: Baker 6, Hankins 5
Some nice shutout pitching (at least for a few innings) on Saturday evening:
Altoona Curve �9, � Harrisburg Senators �2 (box)
Starter Derek Hankins pitched 5 shutout innings in his start in Harrisburg. �He scattered two doubles and two walks over those 5 innings, and struck out 2 batters. �Tony Watson relieved Hankins to begin the 6th inning, and he also kept the Senators scoreless for the next two innings. �Watson got into some trouble in the 8th, though, giving up a double, a walk, and a single to the first three batters of the inning, loading the bases. �Watson got the next batter to strike out, but then was replaced by Jeff Sues. Sues gave up a sacrifice fly, and then a single, both scoring one run. �Those runs were charged to Watson. �Sues finished the 8th inning with a ground out. �He got two ground outs in the 9th, allowed a walk, then struck out the last batter of the game.
Meanwhile, the Curve batters were busy piling up 15 hits and 9 runs. �LF Alex Presley, who is hitting .471 over his last 10 games and is 8-for-15 in his last 3 games, led the charge by going 4-for-5 tonight, all singles, for 3 RBI. �C Hector Gimenez had 2 doubles and a single, and both 1B Matt Hague and 2B Josh Harrison had two singles each. �Each position player in the starting lineup had at least one hit. �The scoring started slowly, with one run in the 2nd inning. �RF Miles Durham tripled with two outs, then scored on Presley’s first single. �They added two more runs in the 4th, when singles by Hague and Harrison, along with a missed catch error on a pick-off attempt, put runners on the corners. �A balk scored Hague, and Presley’s second single scored Harrison. �Presley was out at second as he tried to stretch it into a double.
The Senators tried changing pitchers to begin the 6th inning, but it didn’t help them. �3B Jordy Mercer led off with a single and moved to second base on a wild pitch. �Matt Hague’s single scored Mercer. �A walk to Durham and Presley’s third single scored Hague with another run. �Gimenez’s double brought in Durham and Presley, and gave the Curve a 7-0 lead. �Walks to pinch-hitter Jim Negrych and CF Gorkys Hernandez loaded the bases, but a fly out ended the inning and left the three runners stranded.
A double by SS Chase d’Arnaud and an RBI single by Hernandez made it 8-0 in the top of the 8th. �The Senators scored twice in the bottom of the frame, but by then it was too little too late. �The Curve added one more for good measure in the top of the 9th. �With two outs, Durham walked, and Presley beat out a grounder to short for his fourth hit. �Gimenez’s second double brought in Durham with the Curve’s 9th run.
