Jeff Clement's 3-RBI double in the bottom of the seventh inning broke open the Indians' 2-1 lead to seal the club's victory over Buffalo. Clement's double was his 32nd on the season. Yamaico Navarro followed Clement's double with a double of his own in the seventh to finish off Indianapolis' scoring. Navarro also homered in the fourth inning that placed the Indians ahead 2-1. Navarro's blast was his sixth in AAA, and his average is now up to .282 and his OPS to .865. Despite missing some time due to suspension, Navarro tore the cover off the ball in July, OPSing .984 for the month with one day to go. Matt Hague had a superb day of his own, as he singled three times in four at bats to raise his average on the season to .307. Hague hasn't hit for much power at Indianapolis like he did in Spring Training, but he appears to be gearing up for another trial with the big league squad in September. Jose Tabata reached base all four times up, stroking two singles and walking twice, while Chase d'Arnaud stole his 30th base and went 1-for-4. Starter Rick VandenHurk notched his 10th victory for Indianapolis, finishing six strong innings and giving up seven hits, one run, one walk and seven strikeouts. Daniel McCutchen and Doug Slaten (AAA ERA down to 0.26) each pitched shutout innings and Jose Diaz allowed a run in the ninth but finished off the win.
AA Altoona
The Curve had an off day tonight as they get ready to start a six game road trip beginning against the Trenton Thunder on Tuesday night. The 54-53 Curve will have Gerrit Cole take the rubber with a 2-4 record and 4.85 ERA. Cole is coming off his worst start as a member of the Curve on July 25th in which he allowed five earned runs on six hits in five innings of work.
A West Virginia | West Virginia 14 Hagerstown 2
After coming off a fantastic start on July 25th, Zack Dodson continued his recent hot streak on the mound as he allowed only one run on four hits in six innings of work. In his last 11 innings on the hill, Dodson has only allowed one earned run and six hits. But it seemed as if Dodson's incredible performance on the bump tonight was overshadowed by the offense going on a rampage for 14 runs on 16 hits. Alen Hanson did go 0-for-5 tonight and is now 6 for his past 37 at bats and is in quite a slump in the month of July. But the stars on the night during the "Power Surge" were Gregory Polanco, Jose Osuna, and Francisco Diaz who all had three hits apiece. Polanco finished the night 3-for-4 with an RBI and now leads the team with a .326 average. Jose Osuna mashed his 14th dinger of the season as he went 3-for-5 with three RBI and is now 8 for his last 16 at bats and hitting .340 in July. Francisco Diaz also had himself a great night at the plate going 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI. He is now hitting .423 in July and is 7 for his last 14 at-bats. Willy Garcia added his 12th home run of the season in addition to his 2nd triple of the year. Dan Gamache also added two hits on the night for the Power.
A Bradenton | Bradenton 0 Lakeland 1
Jameson Taillon bounced back from an uneven start his last time out to record his best game in over a month by going seven innings and not allowing a run. Unfortunately Taillon couldn't register the win because the Marauder offense was nowhere to be found, and Lakeland scored in the bottom of the 10th inning to eke out the triumph. Taillon's outing was one to build off of though, as he only allowed two hits over his seven shutout frames. He walked three batters and struck out four. The effort lowered Taillon's high-A ERA to 4.09 on the season. The Marauders leaned on Kenn Kasparek the rest of the way and although he pitched two shutout innings to force the game to extra innings, the levee broke in the tenth and he was saddled with the defeat. Offensively, the Marauders mustered only five hits, two of which came from Carlos Mesa. Gift Ngoepe smacked the team's only extra-base hit, as he tripled with two outs in the sixth inning but he was stranded. The triple was Ngoepe's fifth of 2012 and he's now hitting .261. Alex Dickerson singled and stole a base, but he was also caught trying to steal third later in the inning.
A State College | State College 1 Lowell 2
While Luis Heredia's control was a little spotty tonight, walking two of the 19 total batters he faced, it was still another quality start for the 17 year old Mexican phenom. He finished the night with a no-decision, allowing one earned run on three hits and striking out three in four and a third innings. He now sits with a 1.88 ERA on the season in 38 and a third innings pitched in his first professional season. Orlando Castro threw a scoreless inning and two-thirds of relief for the Spikes. But the tie was broken in the bottom of the 7th as Spikes reliever Dalton Friend was the victim of allowing a go-ahead single that eventually decided the ballgame. As for the lowly offense, Derek Trent went 2-for-3 at the plate while Samuel Gonzalez and Alex Fuselier added the other two hits for the Spikes. Barrett Barnes went 0-for-2 and was caught stealing twice. D.J. Crumlich continued his struggles at the plate going 0-for-3 tonight, now 0 for his last 13 at-bats and 4 for his last 30 at-bats.