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Wild Pitch Gives Away The Win In The 11th

Norfolk Tides� 2,� Indianapolis Indians� 1 (box)

IMG_4292A run scored on a wild pitch in the top of the 11th inning made the difference tonight at Victory Field, as the Norfolk Tides slipped by the Indians by a score of 2-1.� The win gives the Norfolk a 3-5 win of the 8-game� season series.

Pitchers were the big story of the game.� Tides' starter Rick VandenHurk pitched 8 innings and allowed only one run on 3 hits and a walk, and all three of those hits came in the 3rd inning.� VandenHurk retired the first 7 Tribe batters of the game.� Then with one out in the 3rd, SS Pedro Ciriaco (photo) sliced a single off the tip of his counterpart's glove and into left field for a single.� 2B Brian Friday followed with another single.� Ciriaco took off for second base with the pitch, and when SS Robert Andino moved to cover second base, Friday slipped a grounder right through the spot where Andino had been.� Ciriaco's aggressive running put him on third base.� LF Kevin Melillo came through with the third consecutive single, a short fly into left field.� Melillo's counterpart, Nolan Reimold made the running dive, but the ball fell in just a quarter of a step in front of him, allowing Ciriaco to score from third base.

The Indians ran themselves out of further run scoring chances in that inning.� 3B Akinori Iwamura flied out to short left field for the second out.� Brian Friday, who had advanced to third on Melillo's hit, tried to take the Tides by surprise with a tag-up even though the fly out was short.� Unfortunately, the Tides were not as surprised as Friday had hoped they'd be.� The throw in from Reimold, to 3B Scott Moore, and on to C Adam Donachie, reached the plate when Friday was still three steps away, and he was easily tagged out.

That was all the scoring for the Indians.� VandenHurk, a Dutch native, retired the Indians in order in the 4th and 5th innings.� He walked Brian Friday to begin the 6th, then retired the next 9 Indians in order.

Solid Starts From Locke, Adcock, Miller, and Cain

Minor League action with the Pirates' affiliates on Thursday... lots of good pitching

Altoona Curve� 5,� Trenton Thunder� 3 (box)

The Curve came from behind to take this game from Trenton, despite being out-hit 8-7.� Starter Jeff Locke had trouble in the 1st inning, when 3 runs scored on a double, three singles, a wild pitch, and a throwing error by C Hector Gimenez on a stolen base play.� After that inning, Locke settled in, scattering four hits over the next 5 innings, while striking out 6 batters.

The Curve batters had only 2 hits over the first 3 innings, but they got going in the 4th to put one run on the board.� LF Andrew Lambo walked, and 1B Matt Hague singled.� A ground out to second by Gimenez moved both runners into scoring position, and 2B Jim Negrych picked up an RBI when his groundout scored Lambo.� DH Yung Chi Chen got the 5th inning off to a good start with a triple into left field.� He scored on CF Anthony Norman's sacrifice fly.� A fielding error in left field put Norman on first base, but he was caught stealing moments later.� SS Chase d'Arnaud kept the rally going with a walk, and he was successful in stealing second.� 3B Josh Harrison was hit by a pitch, and a wild pitch moved d'Arnaud to third and Harrison to second.� Lambo's grounder to second brought in d'Arnaud from third, and the score was tied at 3-3.

Jared Hughes took over for Locke for the final three innings.� He held the Thunder to just a walk in the 7th, retiring the other 9 batters he faced, with the help of some outstanding outfield work, particularly by Norman, and an infield gem by Negrych.� The Curve threatened in the 6th, when RF Miles Durham singled and Chen walked with 2 outs, but both were left on base.� Harrison began the 7th inning with a walk, and with two outs, he stole second base.� That put him into scoring position, so that when Hague took a 3-0 pitch into left field for a double, Harrison was able to score the go-ahead run.� Gimenez was intentionally walked to get to Negrych, who obligingly grounded to second base for what should have been the final out of the inning.� But the Trenton second baseman made a fielding error -- Negrych was safe at first, and Hague scored an insurance run.

Bucs agree to terms with 23rd rounder

Pirates Prospects reported today that the Pirates have come to agreement with their 23rd round draft pick, first baseman Jared Lakind.

Game 113: Bucs Bats Quieted by Correia

When I saw that James McDonald was pitching, I got a smile on my face in the hopes that he could pitch well again. He wasn't terrible. He just wasn't all that good. Kevin Correia, on the other hand, was fantastic.

The underrated Zach Duke

With Zach Duke posting a 5.32 ERA and preparing for his third and final year of arbitration, some fans have called for the Pirates to cut ties with the veteran starter after the season. Their position is that he should be traded to the highest bidder or non-tendered if there are no adequate offers, freeing those dollars for a potential free agent pitcher. This would be an unwise decision.

VSL Season Wrap-up Part One: The Position Players

For the fifth consecutive season the VSL Pirates have taken the regular season title. They finished the season this past Sunday with a 48-20...

Presley and Moss Lead Indians Over Tide

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Indianapolis Indians� 7,� Norfolk Tides� 4 (box)

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OF Alex Presley (photo -- making a tricky catch in center field) and DH Brandon Moss combined for 5 RBI and each member of the Tribe line-up had at least one hit as the Indians beat the Norfolk Tides for the second day in a row at Victory Field this afternoon.� Starter Brian Burres earned his 5th win with the Indians with 6 innings of work, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks.

The Indians were the first to get onto the scoreboard, with an unearrned run in the 2nd inning.� RF Mitch Jones worked a walk from Tides' starter Tim Bascom, then LF John Bowker doubled into the right center field alled, sending Jones to third.� Jones had stopped at third base, but when he saw the throw in from Tides' RF Rhyne Hughes skip past the cutoff man, 2B Paco Figueroa, and roll into the infield grass away from everyone, Jones headed for the plate -- and was almost able to walk there.� The run was ruled unearned because even though the next batter, 1B Jonathan Van Every, hit a fly ball into left field for an out, it was felt that the fly was too shallow into left field for a runner to tag up and score from third.

IMG_4259Brian Burres (photo) breezed through the first two innings, allowing only a walk to LF Nolan Reimold to lead off the 2nd inning.� Then the Tides scored one run in the top of the 3rd inning.� Burres got the first out, then gave up back-to-back singles to Hughes and to Figueroa.� He loaded the bases with a 4-pitch walk to 3B Scott Moore, who had homered in each of the last two games.� SS Robert Andino tied the score with a sacrifice fly, scoring Hughes.� Burres and the Indians were lucky that it was only a sacrifice fly, because LF John Bowker caught the fly ball at the left field wall, leaning up against the new scoreboard -- it was not very far from being a grand slam.� The inning ended when C Jason Jaramillo made a snap throw down to first base, catching Moore off the bag.� A brief run-down ensued, going 2-3-6-4 (Jaramillo to Van Every to SS Pedro Ciriaco to Friday), and Moore was tagged out in the middle of the baseline.

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Gimenez Homers For Curve; Marauders Drop Both Ends Of Double Header

Wednesday evening in the Pirates' lower minor league organization.... The GCL Pirates were rained out this afternoon, and the West Virginia Power have a scheduled day off.

Trenton Thunder� 3,� Altoona Curve� 2 (box)

The Curve came within one out of being shut out in this evening's game.� After 8 scoreless innings, DH Jim Negrych worked a one-out walk in the bottom of the 9th.� After a pop out, C Hector Gimenez blasted a 2-run homer over the center field wall, finally putting the Curve on the scoreboard.

Negrych was the only Curve batter to have 2 hits in the game.� He and 1B Matt Hague both singled in the 2nd inning, though Hague was erased in a double play.� Negrych also singled in the 7th, and was left on base.� The Curve had base runners in all but two innings, and had 7 batters left on base.� LF Andrew Lambo, RF Miles Durham, and CF Anthony Norman also had singles in the game.

Starter Tony Watson pitched 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits, no walks, with 4 strikeouts, suffering only his second loss of the season.� The second Trenton batter of the game homered, then three consecutive singles following the home run added another run in the 1st inning.� A single and a triple in the 3rd inning brought in Trenton's only other run.� Watson retired the last 10 batters he faced in order.� Anthony Claggett pitched 2 scoreless innings for the Curve, allowing a single but immediately erasing the runner with a double play.� Mike Dubee retired the side in order in his one inning of work.

Game 112: Padres Topple Pirates Behind Ludwick’s Dingers

Recent acquisition Ryan Ludwick had been just 5-28 as a Padre. He had no homers even though seven of his first eight games were played outside of Petco Park. That changed as he belted two solo homers in a Padres win.

Indians Turn The Tide

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Indianapolis Indians� 10,� Norfolk Tides� 6 (box)

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Joe Martinez made his home debut and his first start for the Indianapolis Indians tonight at Victory Field, and he earned his first win as the Tribe halted a 3-game losing streak by beating the Norfolk Tides.� Each team recorded 12 hits in the game, and the two teams traded the lead back and forth before the Indians settled in with a big enough lead to hold on.

The game began in an unfortunate way for Norfolk.� They had one base runner in the top of the inning, when DH Michael Aubrey doubled, but he was left on base.� Then with one out in the bottom of the inning, Tides' starter Chris George was hit by a screaming line drive off the bat of the second batter he faced, 3B Akinori Iwamura. The ball hit George on his upper body, though it was not clear exactly where (UPDATE: it hit him in the elbow, and x-rays were negative), and ricocheted all the way over to where his first baseman Brandon Snyder was positioned, allowing Snyder to easily make the out at first.� George was clearly hurting, and he walked right off the field, not even trying to throw a practice pitch.� The Tides brought in reliever Jim Miller to take over for George.� CF Alex Presley greeted Miller with a single into right field, but Presley was thrown out trying to steal second base.

Over the next three innings, the scoring was fast and furious.� Norfolk got onto the scoreboard with 2 runs in the top of the 2nd.� After a quick ground out, Snyder grounded sharply to first base, but the ball skipped off 1B Doug Bernier's glove and up and over his left shoulder, and Snyder was safe on the error.� For the second night in a row, 3B Scott Moore hit a 2-run homer over the right field wall in the 2nd inning, bringing in Snyder, and the Tides had a 2-0 lead.

LF John Bowker got one run back for Joe Martinez with his own home run.� His blast, his first since joining the Indians, sailed just inside the right field foul pole, and landed in the back of the beer garden patio behind the right field corner.

Jakubauskas Begins Rehab (Again); Power Get Over-Powered

Action for the Pirates' lower minor affiliates on Tuesday...� The Bradenton Marauders were rained out.� They'll play a double header against Palm Beach today.

GCL Phillies� 5,� GCL Pirates 0 (box)

The Phillies dominated the Pirates for the second day in a row, adding 12 hits today to their 19 hits yesterday.� Righty pitcher Chris Jakubauskas made his first appearance in a game in months but suffered the loss with a 3-inning start for the Pirates.� He gave up one run on 3 hits and 2 walks.� The run scored in the 3rd inning. on a single, a wild pitch and an RBI ground out.� Kevin Kleis also gave up one run in his 2 innings of work, on two singles with a stolen base in the 5th.� Rinku Singh made his longest appearance to date, going 4 innings and allowing 3 runs on 6 hits.� Two runs scored in the 6th, on two doubles, a hit batter, a walk, and a wild pitch.� A single and a double added another run for the Phillies in the 8th.

The Pirates were held to 5 hits -- a double by DH Justin Howard, and singles by CF Junior Sosa, 3B Eric Avila, C Elias Diaz, and 1B Dylan Child. The Pirates came closest to scoring in the 6th, when Howard doubled and Avila followed with a single into left field.� Howard tried to score from second on the throw, but was tagged out at the plate.� That was also the only inning in which more than one Pirate was on base at the same time.

Bucs deal Carlin to Indians

Paul Hoynes reports that the Pirates have traded Triple-A catcher Luke Carlin to the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named later.
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