First, the Indians had to finish up yesterdays' game -- suspended due to rain. �Then they had to play a 7-inning game for today.

Gwinnett Braves �4, �Indianapolis Indians �3 � (suspended, now finished) (box)

Home runs were the key in the first part of this game, which was started on Monday night -- read more about it here. Gwinnett's Barbaro Canizares started the scoring with a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 1st. �Indians' LF Brandon Moss knocked a solo homer in the top of the 2nd, and Braves' Alex Romero answered with a solo blast to lead off the bottom of the inning.

The Braves were leading 3-1 going into the bottom of the 4th. �Starter Daniel McCutchen (photo) got into trouble quickly, when LF Matt Young bounced a weird hop off 2B Argenis Diaz's shoulder for an error. �Alex Romero walked, putting runners on first and second, as the rain got serious. �A double steal moved the runners to second and third. �SS Brandon Hicks came to the plate and had a 1-2 count on him when the game was halted.

McCutchen finished with 3 innings of work, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits and 4 walks. �Two of those hits and runs came on homers. �McCutchen threw 58 pitches, 30 for strikes.

When the game resumed on Tuesday, Anthony Claggett took over for McCutchen, inheriting two runners on base and a 1-2 count on Hicks at the plate. �Claggett threw two balls, but then got Hicks to ground out easily to Pedro Alvarez at third, with the runners forced to hold their positions. �C Clint Sammons bounced to first base, where 1B Brian Myrow scooped and fired back home, where C Erik Kratz tagged out the lead runner Young at the plate. �Claggett ended the inning with a strikeout, escaping the jam without letting a run score.

The Braves scored again in the 5th inning. �CF Jordan Schafer lined a single into center field, and when Claggett tried to pick him off first base, the throw hit Schafer. �After taking a few minutes to make sure he was ok, Schafer popped up and stole second base on the next pitch. �A sacrifice bunt by 3B Wes Timmons moved Schafer to third base, and a single lined into left field brought him home. �Braves up, 4-1.

The Indians rallied in the top of the 6th. �CF Jon Van Every led off with a walk. �He moved to second base, then on to third, on ground outs by Argenis Diaz and Brian Myrow. �Pedro Alvarez smacked a double to deep center field, to plate Van Every. �Erik Kratz (photo) followed with a single slipped through the hole and into left field, and Alvarez raced around third to score. �That put the Tribe within one run of the Braves, at 4-3. �The rally ended when RF Brandon Jones grounded out.

Anthony Claggett also pitched the 6th inning, allowing only a walk. �He came out to begin the 7th inning, and got a strikeout, before turning the ball over to Justin Thomas. Claggett�finished with 3.1 innings of work, allowing one run on 2 hits and a walk, with 4 strikeouts. �Thomas finished the 7th inning with two quick outs, a strikeout and a fly out. �Brian Bass came on to pitch the 8th, working around a lead-off single to keep the Braves scoreless again.

After their two runs in the 6th, the Indians managed only one base runner for the rest of the game. �Manager Frank Kremblas decide not to use a pinch-hitter for Anthony Claggett. �Batting for himself, Claggett worked the count full then took a walk. �He moved to second base on a wild pitch, but was left there at the end of the inning. �The Indians went down in order in the 8th and 9th innings, including three strikeouts.

Argenis Diaz was the only Tribe batter to have 2 hits in the game (both singles). �Daniel McCutchen was charged with the loss, his second of the season with the Tribe.

Indians' Hitting Gem of the Game: �Brandon Moss's (photo) solo home run, which put the Indians on the scoreboard in the 2nd inning.

Indians' Defensive Gem of the Game: �In the bottom of the 3rd inning, with one out and Joe Thurston on first base, Barbaro Canizares bounced a slow roller to Pedro Alvarez at third. �Alvarez grabbed it on the second hop, then fired to second base, where 2B Brian Friday made the pivot and threw on to first base for the inning-ending double play, which cut short the Braves' rally.

�

�

�

Curve pitcher Tim Alderson was named the Eastern League's Pitcher Of The Week, for the week of May 24 - 30. �Alderson won two starts during that week, on the 24th and the 29th. �In 13 innings of work, he gave up only one run on 8 hits and 3 walks, with a total of 10 strikeouts. �His ERA for the two games was 0.69. �Overall, Alderson has a 4-2 record and a 4.75 ERA in 10 starts for the Curve.

Reliever Ronald Uviedo, who has made 16 appearances for the Curve this season, was traded today to the Blue Jays in return for starter Dana Eveland, who will be joining the Pirates' rotation. �Uviedo was on the Pirates' 40-man roster, so trading him opens up a space on the 40-man roster for Eveland. �Uviedo has an 0-2 record with the Curve, no saves, and a 3.22 ERA in 22.1 innings. �He has allowed 13 hits, 8 runs (3 homers), and 12 walks, while striking out 28 batters.

Altoona Curve �4, �New Britain Rock Cats �1 (box)

Jared Hughes pitched 7 strong innings, allowing only one run on 5 hits and a walk, while striking out 6 batters, to earn his Eastern League-leading 8th win of the season. �Hughes gave up the run in the 1st inning. �A lead-off single, a stolen base, a sacrifice fly, and an RBI ground out gave the Rock Cats their only tally of the game. �Hughes gave up a double in each of the next two innings, and a single in the 4th, but each time worked around the base runner to keep the Rock Cats from scoring. �The last single plus the walk came in the 6th inning, but again Hughes bore down and ended the inning with the runners still standing there. �He finished off his night with two strikeouts in the 7th inning.

The Curve put runners on base in each of the first 4 innings, but could not push them around to score. �Two singles by CF Gorkys Hernandez, walks by 1B Matt Hague and RF Miles Durham, and a double by LF Alex Presley were not enough to bring in any runs. �Finally in the 3rd, the Curve tied the score at 1-1 when C Kris Watts led off with a double, moved to third on SS Chase d'Arnaud's single, and scored on Hernandez's sacrifice fly. �A walk to DH Jim Negrych and a single by Hague loaded the bases, but all three were left on base when the inning ended.

D'Arnaud got the go-ahead RBI in the 6th. �Presley and Durham led off with back-to-back singles. �A bunt by Watts went a little awry, and Durham was out at second, but Presley made it safely to third and Watts was safe on first. �That set up d'Arnaud, who lined a double into left field, scoring Presley, for the 2-1 lead.

The Curve tacked on two insurance runs in the top of the 9th. �Negrych reached second base on a throwing error by the Rock Cats' third baseman Juan Portes. �Hague walked, then 2B Jordy Mercer grounded to third base. �Portes made the force out of Negrych at third, but then made a throwing error, and Hague ended up on third, with Mercer safe on second. �A wild pitch allowed Hague to score, and a single by 3B Josh Harrison brought in Mercer.

Jeff Sues pitched a scoreless 8th inning for the Curve, retiring the side in order. �Danny Moskos finished things off by striking out the side in the 9th, earning his 12th save of the season.

The Curve have a school-day special in New Britain tomorrow, with the game beginning at 10:30 am.

Gwinnett Braves �3, �Indianapolis Indians 1 �-- bottom of the 4th (box)

�

Yes, it's happened again. �For the fourth time in less than two weeks, the Indians have had to stop in the middle of a game -- suspended due to rain again.

The Indians and Braves traded home runs as this 4-game series got started under threatening skies in the suburbs of Atlanta.

Jon Van Every (photo) was traded back to the Pirates this morning after being designated for assignment by the Boston Red Sox, and he wasted no time returning to the Indians. �He was put right into the starting line-up and was busy patrolling center field this evening. �He has not been doing much in the way of baseball activities for the past 10 days or so, though, so it isn't a big surprise that he struck out in his first two times at bat.

In the bottom of the 1st inning, Tribe starter Daniel McCutchen got two fly outs on the first two batters he faced, then walked 2B Joe Thurston and gave up a 2-run homer to 1B Barbaro Canizares to give the Braves a 2-0 lead. �McCutchen seemed a little rattled, or maybe a little angry, and he walked the next batter, LF Matt Young. �But he turned the anger right back at the Braves, as he picked Young off first base to end the inning.

LF Brandon Moss got one of the runs right back in the top of the 2nd, with his own home run, which sailed over the right-center field wall. �Gwinnett's RF Alex Romero returned the favor in the bottom of the frame, with a lead-off homer, to keep the Braves ahead by 2 runs, 3-1.

The Indians could not get much going over the next two innings. �SS Argenis Diaz singled for the second time in the 3rd inning, and when he saw RF Romero fumble the ball in right field, Diaz decided to try for second base. �But Romero recovered quickly and his throw to second base was right on target, and Diaz was tagged out at second.

Daniel McCutchen (photo) gave up a single to Thurston in the 3rd, but he got the better of Canizares this time, inducing him to ground into a double play. �3B Pedro Alvarez made an excellent scoop of the grounder on the second hop, then fired to second base to begin an around-the-horn double play, Alvarez to 2B Brian Friday to 1B Brian Myrow.

McCutchen was getting into trouble in the 4th inning when the rains came. �Matt Young reached base when his bouncer to short took an unusual hop, skipped off Argenis Diaz's shoulder, and dribbled over behind second base, for an error on Diaz. � Alex Romero worked the count full, then walked, and both runners pulled off a double steal to put runners on second and third base. �McCutchen had a 1-2 count on SS Brandon Hicks in the pouring rain, when the umpires sent the players off the field and called for the tarp.

The rain had not let up after more than 90 minutes, and the game has been suspended. �It will be resumed on Tuesday at 6:05 pm, and the full 9 innings will be played. �Then Tuesday's regular game will follow, and that will be a 7-inning game. �This is not going to help the Indians, particularly their bullpen. �The Tribe had been hoping that McCutchen would be able to pitch deep into this game, sparing the bullpen. �The relievers will get the day off, but doing it this way doesn't help much, since they'll have to make it up with two games tomorrow.

�

Go Tribe!

�

(photos by Nancy)

�

West Virginia Power �8, �Hickory Crawdads �1 (box)

The Power turned on the power in three consecutive innings, taking a big lead after 5 innings in West Virginia on Monday. �That served them well, because rain halted the game after those 5 innings, and after a delay, the 5 innings were declared good enough, giving the Power the win.

Starter Jason Erickson pitched all 5 innings, allowing just one run on 4 hits, no walks, with 5 strikeouts. �He worked around a fielding error by 3B Jesus Brito in the 1st inning, and retired the side in two more innings. �The only Hickory run came in the 3rd, on a lead-off double and an RBI single. �Erickson also gave up two singles in the 4th, but a ground ball got him out of the jam.

Crawdads' starter Joe Wieland also went all 5 innings, but he did not have as nice a day as Erickson. �After allowing only one hit, a single by 1B Aaron Baker, in the first two innings, Wieland was bombarded in the next three innings. �With one out in the 3rd, SS Benji Gonzalez tripled, CF Evan Chambers singled to deep short, scoring Gonzalez, Baker singled again, and RF David Rubinstein doubled, driving in both Chambers and Baker, and the Power took a 3-1 lead.

LF Rogelios Noris led off the 4th inning with a solo home run. �Wieland got one out, then gave up a single to DH Jose Hernandez. Gonzalez's ground out moved Hernandez to second, and Hernandez scored from there on Chambers' second RBI single of the game. �Power up, 5-1.

Wieland came out again in the 5th inning, and was greeted by 2B Jarek Cunningham's line drive single into left field. �Wieland got two outs, but then C Ramon Cabrera doubled, plating Cunningham. �Noris followed with his second homer of the game, and his 8th of the season, this one for 2 runs. �That was all, as the rains halted play.

Power back-up catcher Josue Peley is on his way to the Red Sox organization. �He was traded this morning for OF Jonathan Van Every.

The offense is still stagnant. The pitching was stellar. More of the same from Ross Ohlendorf, please.

While Jose Tabata is certainly having an encouraging year at Indy, a .786 OPS at Triple-A should not be considered big numbers. He is hitting .316, but it is mostly empty batting average. Many fans expect him to be called up to Pittsburgh within a few weeks and inject some offense into the Pirates lineup. I just don’t see that happening.

The Pirates have announced a trade involving two minor league players. �OF Jon Van Every, who started the season with the Indianapolis Indians, is returning to the Pirates' organization. �Van Every had been in the Boston organization for the 2008 and 2009 seasons, but he signed a minor league contract with the Pirates for 2010. �He played in 10 games for the Indians in April, hitting .314 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, and 4 RBI. �Van Every was traded back to the Red Sox, where he played in 21 games for Boston. �He hit only .211 there, with one double, one homer, and one RBI. �Van Every was designated for assignment this week, and the Pirates decided to have him back.

�

In return, C Josue Peley from the West Virginia Power is on his way to the Red Sox' organization. �Peley was the Pirates' 35th pick in the 2006 draft. �He has been playing for West Virginia since 2008, where he has never hit much. �His .179 average this season is about the same as his average for the past two years. �He has played in 19 games so far this season, with 4 doubles and 6 RBI.

According to John Russell, Neil Walker will receive the majority of playing time at second base moving forward. This pushes Aki Iwamura to the bench. With Iwamura out of the lineup, Andrew McCutchen has moved back to the leadoff spot.

The Braves pitching kept the Pirates hitters down again. Not really anything unusual or anything to brag about. It'd be like some C list actress saying she used to date Charlie Sheen. That list is long.

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.

Sunday afternoon action for the Indians -- completing last night's suspended game (third one in 10 days) and then the regularly scheduled game.

Charlotte Knights �8, �Indianapolis Indians �4 (box)

When we left our heros (read more about the beginning of the game here), the Knights had just taken a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the 5th inning. �1B Brian Myrow gave the Indians their first 2 runs in the top of the 1st with a 2-run homer. �A single by 3B Pedro Alvarez and an RBI double by RF Brandon Moss added another run in the top of the 4th.

Jeremy Powell (photo) made the start for the Tribe, and had pitched 4.1 innings, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits and a walk, with 2 strikeouts when the game was suspended due to power outages. �Powell had allowed only one hit in the first 3 innings, but that one hit was a solo homer by Knights' DH Stefan Gartrell in the 2nd inning. �Powell got into trouble in the 4th inning, when he gave up a walk, a single, and a 2-RBI double to LF Jordan Danks, all coming with 2 outs in the inning.

The score was tied at 3-3 when the lights went out the first time. �That delay lasted only a short time, and the Indians threatened in the top of the 5th when play resumed. �A missed catch error by the Charlotte first baseman put CF Jose Tabata on second base, and Tabata stole third. �But he remained there as a strikeout, a walk, and another strikeout ended the inning. �Jeremy Powell was able to come back out and begin the bottom of the 5th, but the first batter, 2B Luis Rodriguez, homered to give Charlotte a 4-3 lead. �Powell got one out and had 2 strikes on the next batter, CF Buck Coats, when the power went out again.

Of course, neither starting pitcher returned when the game resumed this afternoon. �Brian Bass (photo) took the mound for the Indians, inheriting a 1-2 count on Buck Coats. �Bass needed just one pitch to get Coats to swing at strike three (strikeout credited to Bass). �Then he needed just one more pitch to get former Pirate farmhand SS Brent Lillibridge to pop out, ending the inning.

The Knights got the best of Bass in the 6th inning, though. �1B Dayan Viciedo led off with a line drive into center field on the first pitch he saw from Bass. �RF Josh Kroeger walked, and Gartrell moved both runners up a base with a sacrifice bunt. �Danks singled into right field, scoring Viciedo. �Bass got a strikeout, but a sacrifice fly by Rodriguez scored Kroeger from third base. �3B Javier Colina singled also, driving in Gartrell, and the Knights had increased their lead to 7-3.

Corey Hamman took over for Bass for the last two innings. �He allowed only one hit, but that hit was a solo home run by Brent Lillibridge in the 7th, to give Charlotte an 8-3 lead. �Hamman worked around a hit batter in the 8th inning, striking out a total of 3 batters over the two innings.

Charlotte replaced their starting pitcher with Noblesville, Indiana native (and 2001 Indiana "Mr. Baseball") Wes Whisler. �Whisler had been struggling in some recent appearances, particularly during the month of May, but he did not have much trouble with the Indians. �He retired the first 10 Tribe batters he faced in order, taking him into the top of the 9th. �With one out in the 9th, the Indians started a rally against Whisler, putting four batters in a row on base. �C Luke Carlin started with an infield hit to deep short, then Brandon Moss and SS Doug Bernier followed with two more singles. �Bernier's single scored Carlin. �2B Argenis Diaz worked a walk to load the bases. �The Knights took that opportunity to relieve Whisler and bring in reliever Greg Aquino. �Aquino faced only Jose Tabata, and on a 2-2 pitch, got Tabata to bounce to short, where Lillibridge started a 6-4-3 double play, cutting short the Tribe rally and ending the game.

Jeremy Powell was charged with the loss, his 5th of the season. �Doug Bernier and Brandon Moss each had two hits, a single and a double, and one RBI in the game.

�

Indians' Hitting Gem of the Game: �Brian Myrow's home run in the top of the 1st, his 4th blast of the season.

Regularly scheduled game -- click "read more"

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.