Tag: Aaron Baker

Richmond Flying Squirrels �2, �Altoona Curve �1 (box)

Three singles in the bottom of the 11th inning gave the Squirrels the walk-off win on Thursday night in Richmond. �Reliever Ronald Uviedo, who had allowed runs to score in only one of his previous 8 appearances for the season, gave up the singles in the 11th and suffered his second loss.

The Curve scored first, way back in the top of the 1st inning. �With one out, CF Gorkys Hernandez singled, 2B Josh Harrison walked, and 1B Matt Hague brought Hernandez in with an RBI single. �Richmond responded with a run off starter Derek Hankins in the 4th, scoring on a double and two ground outs.

The scoreboard filled up with a lot of donuts after that. �The Curve went down in order for three consecutive innings, until SS Chase d'Arnaud walked in the 5th. �He stole second base and went to third on a wild pitch, but got no farther. �Harrison walked in the 6th but was eliminated in a double play.

In the 7th, the Curve got close. �C Kris Watts doubled and moved to third base on a wild pitch. �Pinch-hitter Jim Negrych lined out to left field, and when Watts tried to tag up and score, he was thrown out at the plate. �They loaded the bases in the 10th, on a single by 3B Jose De Los Santos (in his first game back since being involved in a collision with Gorkys Hernandez on Monday), an intentional walk to pinch-hitter Jordy Mercer, and a single to short by d'Arnaud. �But Hernandez bounced into an inning-ending double play, and the threat ended. �Hague and RF Miles Durham had back-to-back singles in the 11th, but both were left on base.

Meanwhile, Derek Hankins was also pitching well. �He scattered 4 singles and a walk over the other 5 innings he pitched besides the 4th. �He left after 6 innings, with the game tied. �Tony Watson relieved Hankins, and he pitched 3 shutout innings, allowing three singles and a hit batter. �A timely double play got him out of a jam in the 7th, when he had runners on first and second with one out. �Ronald Uviedo replaced Watson to begin the 10th. �Uviedo gave up a two-out single and a walk, then ended the inning with a strikeout. �But when he returned in the top of the 11th, the Squirrels ended the game quickly.

Matt Hague and Miles Durham each had two hits for the Curve. �Watts' double in the 7th was the Curve's only extra base hit. �LF Alex Presley's hitting streak came to an end at 19 games (2nd longest in Curve history) when he went 0-for-4, but he did continue his on-base streak with a walk in the 1st inning.

Altoona Curve 5, �Richmond Flying Squirrels 2 (box)

Ross Ohlendorf made the most of his rehab start with the Curve on Wednesday. �He set down the first 7 batters he faced, then gave up a walk. �Ohlendorf tried to pick off that runner and made a throwing error, which allowed the runner to move to second base, but he left the runner stranded on second. �In the 4th, Ohlendorf gave up back-to-back singles with one out, but he kept them from scoring too. �He started the 5th inning by giving up a hit on a ball that barely got away from the plate, and C Hector Gimenez made a throwing error on the play, allowing the runner to reach second base. �That was all for Ohlendorf for the night, and Jared Hughes came on to finish the inning, still not letting the runner score.

Richmond's only runs came in the 6th inning, when Hughes gave up a single, an RBI double, and an RBI single. �Hughes also made a throwing error on a pick-off attempt in the 7th, but didn't let that runner score. �He gave up a walk and a single in the top of the 9th, and was relieved by Danny Moskos. Moskos ended the game with two strikeouts, earning his 6th save. �The win was credited to Hughes -- his 5th of the season, in his first non-start appearance of the season.

Hector Gimenez was the offensive star of the game, going 4-for-4 with a double, two homers, and 3 RBI. �CF Gorkys Hernandez and 1B Matt Hague had two hits each. �The Curve scored 2 runs in the top of the 1st (without Gimenez's help). �SS Chase d'Arnaud opened the game with a double lined into left field. �Hernandez's single put runners on the corners. �3B Jordy Mercer brought in d'Arnaud with a sacrifice fly, and 2B Jim Negrych brought in Hernandez with a single.

Gimenez's first hit was a double in the 2nd inning, when he was left stranded. �He singled in the 4th and was again stranded. �In the 7th, Gimenez blasted a solo homer over the left field wall. �In the top of the 9th, LF Alex Presley singled, and Gimenez followed with his second homer, this one sailing over the right field wall for 2 runs.

Alex Presley's single extended his hitting streak to 19 games (the team record is 21). �(He waited until the 9th inning to do it -- just for the suspense.) �RF Miles Durham did not have a hit, stopping his hitting streak at 8 games. �Gorkys Hernandez was back in the line-up after having been involved in a collision with Jose De Los Santos on Monday. �De Los Santos has not played again since the collision.

Presley is now hitting .369, second-best in the Eastern League. �2B Josh Harrison is third with a .359 average.

LHP Corey Hamman has been reassigned to the Curve from the Indianapolis Indians.

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.

Altoona Curve �6, � �Harrisburg Senators �1 (box)

Washington Nationals' #1 Prospect Stephen Strasburg was scheduled to make one last AA start on Sunday afternoon, before heading over to AAA Syracuse. �The Curve wanted to make sure Strasburg learned one more lesson at the AA level before being promoted. �That lesson: �sometimes you have to take a loss. �The Curve were not all that cowed by Strasburg the first time they faced him, back on April 11th, and they were not any more impressed today. �After going down in order in the top of the 1st, the Curve began the top of the 2nd with a walk by 1B Matt Hague, followed by three consecutive singles by 2B Jim Negrych, RF Miles Durham, and LF Alex Presley. Negrych just beat out the throw from the shortstop for an infield single. �Durham floated a little single over the head of the Senators' center fielder. �Presley's single through the right side of the infield�brought Hague and Negrych in to score with the throw in from the outfield not even close, and the Curve had a 2-1 lead. �C Kris Watts walked, again loading the bases. �Strasburg got his mound opponent Justin Wilson to strike out. �SS Chase d'Arnaud grounded to short, and it looked like Strasburg was going to get out of the inning with a double play. �Watts was forced out at second, but Senators' 2B Michael Martinez threw wildly to first base, and the ball skittered away, as two runs came across the plate, and d'Arnaud was safe at first. �The Curve took a 4-1 lead.

The Curve kept poking at Strasburg, and made him work for his outs. �In the 3rd inning, 3B Jordy Mercer led off with a walk, and Hague singled. �After a fly out, a double play got Strasburg out of the inning. �Strasburg retired the side in the 4th, but began the 5th by hitting d'Arnaud with a pitch. �Singles by CF Gorkys Hernandez and Mercer loaded the bases, but again Strasburg got a timely double play. �Hague grounded to third, and the Senators started a 5-2-3 double play, forcing d'Arnaud out at the plate. �That was the end of Strasburg's afternoon. �He finished with 4.2 innings, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts, and was charged with the loss. �Strasburg has allowed 9 runs (4 earned) in his 5 starts -- 8 of those, including all of the earned runs, have been by the Curve.

Starter Justin Wilson gave up a run to the Senators in the bottom of the 1st, on a single, a walk, and an RBI single that slipped just past d'Arnaud. �Wilson worked around runners on base in each of the next three innings, but allowed only that one run over 4 innings, on 4 hits and 3 walks, with 2 strikeouts. �Mike Dubee, just returned to the Curve from Indianapolis, pitched the next three innings for the Curve. �Dubee retired 9 batters in order, with one strikeout. �That earned him his first win. �Ronald Uviedo followed Dubee by retiring all 6 batters he faced, also with one strikeout.

The Altoona Curve had a scheduled day off on Thursday.

Palm Beach Cardinals 6, �Bradenton Marauders 2 (box)

The Cardinals held the Marauders to just 5 hits and 2 runs in Bradenton on Thursday. �Two of those hits were by CF Robbie Grossman, and SS Brock Holt, RF Austin McClune, and 2B Greg Picart had one hit apiece. �The Marauders did pick up 4 walks too.

The Marauders had runners on base in 4 of the first 6 innings, but didn't get a runner past second base in any of those innings. �In the 7th, with two outs, Austin McClune and Greg Picart hit back-to-back singles. �The Cardinals changed pitchers, and Brock Holt greeted the new reliever with a double into right field, scoring both runners, including Picart all the way around from first base. �That was all Bradenton could get though, as they went down in order in the 8th, and had three batters strike out around a walk in the 9th.

Starter Brian Leach had trouble right away in the top of the 1st. �He gave up a lead-off single, a walk, and a 3-run homer, to give the Cardinals an early 3-run lead. �Leach gave up walks in each of the innings he pitched, for a total of 7 walks in 4.1 innings. �He worked around the walks in the 2nd and 3rd, and worked around two walks in the 4th. �The 5th inning began with 2 walks, then a single to load the bases. �The next Cardinal batter grounded to third, and 3B Jeremy Farrell fired back to C Tony Sanchez to force out the lead runner, but Sanchez made a throwing error on the relay to first base, and that allowed a run to score. �A double into center field brought in two more runs, to give Palm Beach a 6-0 lead.

Mike Felix relieved Leach and finished the 5th inning. �He pitched the next two innings and gave up 3 walks, but two timely double plays kept the Cardinals from scoring again. �Mike Colla retired the side in order in the 8th, and Diego Moreno pitched a scoreless 9th, allowing a double.

As expected, the Pirates have called up righty�Jeff Karstens from Indianapolis to help them with their pitching woes. �Karstens will have to be added to the 40-man roster -- he was removed from it back in November. �Over the past few weeks, Karstens had made 4 relief appearances for the Indy Indians, �for a total of 11 innings, allowing 11 runs (10 earned) on 15 hits. �He also made one start, last Thursday, and pitched 5 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits.

In order to make room, Rule 5 Draft pick OF John Raynor has been designated for assignment. �If Raynor clears waivers, he will have to be offered back to the Marlins. �The Pirates are hoping they can work out a deal to keep him, like they did for Evan Meek a couple of years ago.

One late morning/early afternoon game today:

West Virginia Power 6, �Kannapolis Intimidators 1 (box)

The Power won the series over Kannapolis 3 games to one with today's early-bird win. �Gabriel Alvarado made the start for the Power, and pitched 4 solid innings, allowing one run on 3 hits and 2 walks. �The run he gave up was a lead-off homer to Kannapolis RF Nicholas Ciolli, to begin the 2nd inning. �Alvarado worked around a base runner in each inning, but did not allow any of those batters to score. �He struck out one and erased one of the runners with a double play. �Ciolli had another hit off Alvarado in the 4th, and a third hit off Zach Foster in the 8th, accounting for 3 of Kannapolis' 4 hits.

The Power answered the run in the bottom of the 2nd with 3 runs on 3 doubles in the top of the 3rd. �CF Evan Chambers walked with one out, and moved to third base when LF David Rubinstein doubled. �3B Jesus Brito brought Chambers in with a sacrifice fly. �Back-to-back doubles by 1B Aaron Baker and DH Rogelios Noris plated two more runs, giving the Power a 3-1 lead.

The Power were quiet over the next four innings, getting only one hit -- a single by Aaron Baker, who was then caught stealing second base. �In the 8th, they utilized singles and errors instead of doubles to do their scoring. �With one out, Rubinstein and Brito both singled, and when the Kannapolis centerfielder made a fielding error, Rubinstein was able to make it all the way around to score. �Brito was left on second base, and a wild pitch moved him up to third. �Baker singled next, scoring Brito, and another fielding error, this one in left field, put Baker on third base. �Noris lifted a sacrifice fly, and Baker came in with the third run of the inning. �Power up, 6-1.

Duke Welker relieved Alvarado for the 5th inning. �He walked three and struck out three (S,W,W, S,W,S), but gave up no hits or runs. �In the eyes of the official scorer, that earned him his first win of the season. �Maurice Bankston pitched the next two innings and allowed only a walk. �Zach Foster gave up a walk and Ciolli's third hit in the 8th, but left both runners on base, then retired the side in order to finish up the 9th.

�

West Virginia Power 8, �Kannapolis Intimidators 1 (box)

The West Virginia Power powered up, recording 17 hits on their way to 8 runs, to beat the Intimidators in Kannapolis on Monday night. �The West Virginia starter Kyle McPherson was also showing his Power, going 7 innings and allowing just one runs on 5 hits and a walk, with 3 strikeouts. �McPherson, in his best outing of the season, worked around a double in each of the first two innings. �In the 4th inning, he gave up a lead-off single followed by another double, and this double scored a run. �A Kannapolis runner reached base in the 6th on a throwing error by SS Benji Gonzalez, and another reached on a single in the 7th, and was erased by a double play.

Meanwhile, each member of the Power lineup had at least one hit, and C Ramon Cabrera led the charge by going 4-for-5, with a triple and 2 RBI. �1B Kyle Morgan had a single and two triples, and DH Aaron Baker homered and doubled. �They started with 2 runs in the 1st inning. �A walk by 3B Jesus Brito, a double by Baker, and a throwing error by the Kannapolis pitcher brought in two unearned runs.

The 4th inning began with a single by LF Rogelios Noris and Morgan's first triple, for an RBI. �Morgan scored on Cabrera's single. �Two more singles, by CF Evan Chambers and 2B Jarek Cunningham loaded the bases, and a walk to Brito forced in the third run of the inning. �Power up 5-0.

The Power put two runners on base in each of the 5th and 6th innings, but did not bring any of them around to score. �The 7th began with Morgan's single, and he scored on Cabrera's triple. �Gonzalez plated Cabrera with an RBI single. �Aaron Baker added one more run in the 8th with his solo home run. �Morgan tripled for the second time after the homer, but was left on base

McPherson's win was his first of the season. �Ryan Kelly pitched the last 2 innings for the Power, allowing just one hit, while striking out two batters.

Sunday afternoon's games for the Pirates minor league affiliates:

Erie SeaWolves 10, �Altoona Curve 3 (box)

Six runs in the 3rd inning gave the SeaWolves a huge boost over the Curve in the series finale, and the Curve could not catch up, despite 3 hits from C Kris Watts. Curve starter Jared Hughes retired the first three batters he faced, but got into trouble in the 2nd inning. �A walk and a double put runners on second and third bases, then a ground out brought in the first run. �An RBI singled plated the second runner, and Erie had a 2-0 lead. �The Curve tried to come back in the bottom of the inning. �Watts' first single, plus a walk to RF Miles Durham put two runners on base. �LF Alex Presley singled into left field, but the throw in to the plate was in time to tag out Watts, and a strikeout ended the inning.

Then came the 3rd inning. �The SeaWolves sent 10 batters to the plate on their way to 6 runs. �Two singles and a hit batter loaded the bases to begin the inning. �A ground out scored one run, and a double into center field brought in two more. �A grounder to third base let 3B Jordy Mercer make an out at third, but left a runner at first base. �Two more singles scored two more runs, and a double brought in the 6th run of the inning. �That was enough to send Hughes to the showers; Tony Watson came on in relief and got a ground out to end the miserable inning. �A solo home run off Watson in the 4th inning gave Erie a 9-0 lead.

The Curve made a little headway in the 4th. �1B Matt Hague led off with a walk, then a double error (fielding, then throwing) by the Erie third baseman put Mercer on base and sent Hague to third base. �Watts singled up the middle, and when the Erie center fielder made a fielding error, both Hague and Mercer scored. �That was all the Curve would get, though. �SS Chase d'Arnaud led off the 5th inning with a single, but the next 13 Curve batters went down in order. �With one out in the bottom of the 9th, Watts singled for his third hit of the game. �Durham doubled, bringing Watts around to score the last Altoona run.

Jared Hughes was charged with his first loss of the season. �Tony Watson allowed the home run in the 4th, and another solo homer in the 6th inning. �He pitched a total of 3.1 innings, and those were the only two hits he allowed. �Michael Dubee pitched the final 3 innings, allowing just one hit. �CF Gorkys Hernandez also had a hit, going 1-for-4 at the plate.

Altoona Curve 4, �Richmond Flying Squirrels 1 (box)

The Giants have moved their AA level team from Connecticut, where they were the Defenders, to Richmond, Virginia, where they are now the... Flying Squirrels? �Richmond had been the home of the Atlanta Braves' AAA team for just about forever, until last season when the Braves moved their affiliate to Gwinnett County, just outside Atlanta. �Now Richmond has a team again.

The Curve curtailed the Squirrels' flying by scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the 1st. �With one out, SS Chase d'Arnaud and 3B Jordy Mercer worked back-to-back walks. �A ground out to the right side of the infield moved both runners up one base, and a single by C Hector Gomez on a line drive into center field brought both runs in.

Altoona's starter Justin Wilson zipped through the first two innings. �He gave up a double and a walk in the 3rd, but a fly out kept any runs from scoring. �Another double, a ground out, and an RBI single by the Squirrels cut the Curve lead to one run in the top of the 4th. �The Curve came right back in the bottom of the frame, when RF Miles Durham led off with a double, went to third on Gimenez's sacrifice bunt, and score on 2B Josh Harrison's grounder to short. �They added one more run in the 5th. �Two walks got the Squirrels in trouble again, this time by pinch-hitter Jim Negrych and CF Gorkys Hernandez. Jordy Mercer supplied the RBI single that brought in Negrych with the insurance run. �The Curve had only 4 hits in the game, to 5 by the Squirrels. �1B Matt Hague had the other Curve hit, which was a single in the top of the 9th.

Justin Wilson pitched 5 innings and allowed the one run on 5 hits and a walk, and he struck out 4 batters in his first win of the season. �Tony Watson also struck out 4 batters in his 3 innings of work. �Watson walked 2 batters but did not allow any hits. �Jeff Sues earned his first Save with a perfect 9th inning.

Bradenton Marauders 18, �Fort Myers Miracle 3 (box)

The Marauders began their inaugural season in the Florida State League with a hit-a-thon, as they posted 16 hits on their was to 18 runs. �Two 7-run innings took care of most of the scoring and sent the Ft. Myers' pitching staff scrambling. �Each member of the Bradenton lineup except one had at least one hit, and most had two hits. �1B Calvin Anderson did not have a hit, but he walked twice and came around to score. �LF Quincy Latimore went 3-for-3 with a solo home run and two RBI singles. �RF Robbie Grossman had a 3-run homer, and 3B Jeremy Farrell contributed 7 RBI with a 3-run homer in the 7th inning and a grand slam in the 4th. �CF Starling Marte singled and doubled, walked, and scored 4 times. �C Tony Sanchez had two RBI singles.

The scoring started with Latimore's homer in the bottom of the 2nd. �Singles by Latimore and Grossman, plus an error by the Miracle and a passed ball added two more runs in the 3rd. �The 7-run 4th inning followed, as the Marauders sent 11 batters to the plate. �Grossman's homer and Farrell's grand slam, plus a wild pitch with the bases loaded accounted for those 7 runs. �Marte's double and an RBI single from Sanchez tacked on a run in the 5th. �The 7th was the second 7-run inning, as the Marauders sank the Miracle with two walks, four singles, a wild pitch that allowed a run to score, and Farrell's 3-run shot.