Everyone but Jeff Clement in the starting lineup had a hit for the Indians as they collected six runs against the Clippers. On most occasions that would be enough to get a team the victory. But the story tonight was the relatively lackluster performance of Rudy Owens. Surprisingly, he's was actually human for once!
Owens went only three and a third innings giving up six runs on nine hits and walking two. It was a very un Rudy Owens-like start, that's for sure! This was the first time Owens allowed more than three earned runs in a start and the most hits he's allowed in an outing all season. Who knows, this one mediocre start by Owens could potentially impact whether or not he gets the call to the bigs over fellow southpaw Jeff Locke. Daniel McCutchen also did not help the cause by giving up two runs in two and a third innings of relief.
Jose Tabata was 2-for-5 in the lead-off spot for the Tribe and is 5-for-13 at the dish since his he was demoted from the Pirates. Jeff Larish and Brandon Boggs added doubles on the night while Starling Marte and Anderson Hernandez both collected "trip, trip, triples".
AA Altoona | Altoona 11 Reading 5
Luckily for Curve starter Matt McSwain, the bats were definitely alive tonight at Peoples Natural Gas Field. After coughing up a crooked three runs to the Phillies in the first, McSwain settled down and allowed one run the rest of the night. He finished the night punching out eight batters and walking two to improve his record to 4-2 this season. After that quick burst of offense on the part of the Phillies, the Curve bats woke up instantly with a crooked five in the third. The charge tonight was led by Matt Curry, who went 4-for-5 with a double and his sixth home run of the season. He plated four runs on the night and brought his average up to .315 on the season. Not to be overlooked tonight were Oscar Tejada, Jarek Cunningham, and Quincy Latimore. Cunningham went 3-for-4 at the dish by adding a double and his third bomb of the season while also collecting two RBI. The recently acquired Tejada added his first triple as a member of the Curve and went 2-for-4 on the night. Latimore did what most of us know he does best, hitting another one of his usual tape-measure bombs over the fence for his 10th on the year.
A West Virginia | West Virginia 4 Lakewood 3
The broken record keeps playing over and over. Once again, if you picked Alen Hanson and Gregory Polanco it's no longer much of a secret anymore that both have loads of talent. Hanson was recently headlined in Baseball America's "Prospect Hot Sheet" and was rated as the number 40 prospect in all of baseball. He continued his assault on South Atlantic League pitching and eating anything thrown at his for dinner. Tonight Hanson went 3-for-4 at the dish adding a go-ahead two-out base hit to seal the victory for the Power. He is now hitting .335/.396/.601 on the season. Not to be ignored, Gregory Polanco has been in the shadows of Hanson' but has shown how talented he is at the ripe age of 20. Tonight he hit 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, putting him at .308/.370/.500 for the season. Taylor Lewis, Chris Lashmet, Dan Gamache, and Elias Diaz also added hits for the Power.
Despite the errors by Ashley Ponce and Jose Osuna in the fifth (which led to Lakewood's three runs), Zach Dodson turned in a great outing. He went six innings and allowed no earned runs on six hits and struck out six batters. Joan Montero came in relief for Dodson and pitched a scoreless seventh and eight to earned his first victory. Nathan Kilcrease mopped it up for his fourth save with a scoreless ninth give the Power the victory.
A Bradenton | Bradenton 0 Palm Beach 5
While it was not a great night for the Marauders offensively, as evidence by the shutout, one very good thing was taken from this game. Starter Tyler Waldon threw what may have been his best game of the season by only allowing one run on five hits and two walks over six innings of work. This goes with showing that Waldron had not allowed less than three runs in his past six starts (in his previous start allowing eight runs on 11 hits). In addition, it was the first time he has gone past five innings on the bump since his May 30th outing against Fort Myers.
The only notable performers offensively on the night were Dan Grovatt and Benji Gonzalez, who both went 2-for-4 at the plate. After previously going 10-for-27 (.370 average) in his previous eight games, Alex Dickerson cooled off by only going 1-for-4 tonight. Dickerson currently sits at .293 on the season and could be in line for a promotion to Altoona if he keeps it up at the plate.
A State College | State College 3 Tri-City 1
We have become accustomed to seeing the Spikes not generate tons of offense this season but they continue to find ways to irk out wins. The 3-1 victory over Tri-City tonight brought the Spikes to 11-8 on the season. Similar to the Pirates in the early parts of their season, the Spikes are winning ballgames on small ball and solid pitching. Jake Burnette continued that same trend by only giving up one run (that being a solo shot in the fifth) and walking none over five innings of work. This was bar-none his best career professional start with this only being his fourth one.
2012 Supplemental Round Pick Barret Barnes continued his recent hot streak by going 2-for-4 with a double and belting his second home run of the season. In his last three games he is 8-for-11 with two home runs and three doubles in his last three games. He's definitely feeling "Hot, Hot, Hot" at the plate lately. Barnes has now raised his average to a solid .311 with a .394 on-base percentage after struggling his first few games as a professional. It's good to see the high-ceiling toolsy outfielder finally get settled in as a professional and reveal his true colors! If you get the chance to get to State College to catch a Spikes game, this would be one guy to be on the lookout for.
D.J. Crumlich and Jodaneli Carvajal both added one hit apiece on the night to put their averages at .308 and .295, respectively. Both have had solid seasons at the plate, especially Crumlich. He is playing in only his first professional season and was only take in the Ninth Round of the 2012. He looks as if he could be one of the potential late-round surprises if he keeps up this pace offensively.