Kyle McPherson hurled another successful start in his second AAA outing since his promotion from Altoona, but the Indians couldn't help him out with the bats so he suffered the loss. McPherson went 5.1 innings and allowed two runs, although just one was earned, on six hits and two walks. McPherson fanned six and his ERA sits at 1.59 through two starts. Bryan Morris pitched a clean inning in relief and struck out one. Indianapolis couldn't piece hits together to score until the ninth, when Anderson Hernandez doubled and Tony Sanchez singled to bring him home, but that was it. Sanchez went 2-for-4, as did his buddy Brock Holt. Holt is now hitting .333 in his first 27 at-bats for the Indians. Alex Presley went 1-for-3 with a walk, Jeff Clement singled in four at-bats and Jose Tabata failed to reach base on an 0-for-4 day.
AA Altoona | Portland 13 Altoona 2
While McPherson's second AAA start went well, Tyler Waldron's second AA start might have sent some followers into rehab. Waldron gave up five runs in just 1.1 innings that started the Portland onslaught. He gave up five hits and walked one. Nathan Baker relieved and had an odd mixture of good and bad. He followed with 2.2 innings and gave up six runs and six hits, which included three home runs, but he also struck out five. Hunter Strickland gave up just one run in his three innings of relief, and Tim Alderson's first performance off of the disabled list resulted in a run in one inning. With just a few weeks left in the season, the Pirates might be playing it safe with Alderson and plan on keeping him in the bullpen. The Curve offense only connect for five hits. Adalberto Santos and Matt Curry each went 2-for-4 with a double, Santos' ninth and Curry's 30th. Santos hiked his average to .388 on the year. Oscar Tejeda had the only other Altoona hit.
A West Virginia | Greensboro 4 West Virginia 3
West Virginia lost to Greensboro despite giving up just four hits. Nick Kingham was removed after just 2.2 innings and giving up two runs. He gave up just one hit but also walked three while striking out one. Rinku Singh struck out six and gave up just one run in 3.1 innings of relief, but Emmanuel de Leon was hit with the loss for giving up an unearned run during his two innings where he gave up just one hit while striking out five. Alen Hanson returned to the lineup after a few days off and went 0-for-2 with a walk, and Gregory Polanco still rested on the bench after his injury over the weekend. Eric Avila had two hits, including a double, and Willy Garcia hit his 16th homer of the year to lead the Power offense. Jose Osuna and Dan Gamache each doubled, their 32nd and 35th of 2012 respectively.
A Bradenton | Bradenton 5 Charlotte 4
Elevys Gonzalez hit an RBI-double in the bottom of the eighth after consecutive singles by Justin Howard and Alex Dickerson to give the Marauders the only Pirates' affiliate victory of the night. Gonzalez had two doubles, a stolen base and three RBIs as he tries to finish the season strong for Bradenton after bombing in his first attempt at AA with Altoona. Dickerson also doubled for the Marauders, his 30th of the season. Bradenton scored four runs in the third off rehabbing Tampa starter Jeff Niemann. Howard reached base three times with two walks to add to his single. Howard has a .295 average and a .396 on-base percentage in 224 at-bats, but he has only 15 extra-base hits on the season, 12 of them being doubles. Kenn Kasparek got another start and gave up four runs, eight hits and two walks in five innings. He fanned four hitters. Jason Townsend grabbed his sixth win of the year by pitching three innings of two-hit, no-run ball. Doug Salinas pitched the ninth for his sixth save.
A State College | State College did not play
State College did not play as tonight was the New York-Penn League All-Star game. Jacob Stallings, Tyler Gaffney and D.J. Crumlich all appeared in the contest. Stallings went 0-for-1 with a walk and a run scored, Gaffney walked and scored, and Crumlich went 0-for-2. The Spikes start play back up again on Wednesday.