Indianapolis easily handled Louisville in a rain-shortened game after a crazy downpour hit the area in the top of the eighth inning. The way the Indians were hitting and pitching though, the Bats might have been grateful for the early completion. Starling Marte again made his case for a promotion to Pittsburgh, going 2-for-4 with his ninth home run of the season. His average climbed to .287. Chase d'Arnaud and Yamaico Navarro has helped out in the homer barrage. d'Arnaud's blast was his second of the season, and Navarro's was his third. d'Arnaud also stole two bases, continuing his perfect streak (22 steals in 22 attempts) for the season. Matt Hague and Tony Sanchez each went 2-for-4 with a double, and Sanchez drove in two runs. Not to be outdone by his offensive teammate's explosion, starter Rudy Owens pitched another sterling game for the Indians. In six innings, he gave up two runs although only one was earned, on a mere four hits with two walks and five strikeouts. This lowered Owens' ERA to 2.45, with a 73:18 strikeout-to-walk ratio. A promotion appears imminent for Owens as well if a Pirates starter struggles, is traded or goes down with an injury. The still-rehabbing Chris Leroux gave up a run in his only inning of work.
AA Altoona | Altoona 7 Binghamton 4
Third baseman Stefan Welch continues to mash and impress since his promotion from Bradenton in mid-June. The 23-year-old smacked two home runs and tallied four hits on the day to power the Curve over Binghamton. Welch's average in 51 Altoona at bats is up to .431, and his OPS is 1261. He had an opportunity for a perfect 5-for-5 day but he struck out in his final appearance in the ninth. Welch wasn't the only productive batter in the Curve lineup, as the team banged out a collective 14 hits. Quincy Latimore hit is ninth home run of the season among his two hits, and Robbie Grossman, Brock Holt and Ramon Cabrera also had two hits. Grossman hit his 18th double of the season and his OPS on the season is up to .751 after being mired in a two-month slump to start the season. A broken hamate bone in his hand could've contributed to the slow start, and after serving a week-long team-mandated suspension, Grossman has absolutely raked. Holt's 2-for-4 day upped his average to .325 on the season and continues to make him and me wonder what he's still doing in Altoona. Matt McSwain got the win in a spot start, holding off Binghamton enough over five innings. He didn't walk a batter and struck out two, while giving up seven hits and three runs. Jeff Inman gave up a run in two innings of work, and Victor Black picked up his fifth save by striking out four batters in two innings despite giving up four hits and a walk. Black hasn't given up a run since May and his ERA is all the way down to 1.29. The 2009 supplemental first-round pick has now struck out 46 batters in 35 innings on the season.
A West Virginia | West Virginia 15 Delmarva 10
These teams were not playing MVP baseball 2005 or a football game, but the Power came out on top in the offensive explosion. Gregory Polanco shined the brightest (although there were plenty of stars to go around this night), going 5-for-5 with three doubles, a triple, a walk and three RBIs. This sterling (or Starling-like) performance upped Polanco's average to .308 and his OPS to .876. Polanco had plenty of friends in the lineup, as Alen Hanson, Willy Garcia, Elias Diaz and Chris Lashmet each slammed home runs. Lashmet's first of the season was part of a 3-for-3 day, and Hanson also tallied three hits and they all went for extra bases. Hanson two-double and homer (his 13th) day raised his average to .334 on the season. Garcia's three-run shot broke open a one-run game in the eighth inning and was Garcia's 10th home run in 2012. Somehow, the offense doesn't stop there. Jose Osuna compiled three hits, Diaz added a double along with his first dinger of the season, and Dan Gamache went 2-for-5 with a triple. Third baseman Eric Avila was the only Power player without a hit in the 15-run, 21-hit onslaught. Unfortunately, when you win a game 15-10, that means the pitching didn't come through like the offense did. Zack Dodson again struggled mightily, and couldn't get out of the second inning in this start. He only went 1.2 innings, giving up five runs and six hits that raised his ERA to 6.21 in his second year at low-A. Zachary Fuesser did pitch 3.1 scoreless innings to pick up his second victory of the season.
A Bradenton | Charlotte 8 Bradenton 0 (Game 1) Bradenton 5 Charlotte 4 (Game 2)
Bradenton split a double-header with the Charlotte Stone Crabs on Sunday. The Marauders and starter Tyler Waldron were pounded in Game 1 as Waldron gave up eight runs, six of them earned, and 11 hits with one walk and one strikeout in 5.1 innings. After a decent start of the season, Waldron really fell off in June, with a 11.12 ERA in four starts of the month and then got trounced in his first July start. Bradenton hit five singles and walked four times but couldn't push a run across. The Marauders fared better in Game 2, barely holding on for a 5-4 victory after Jason Townsend gave up three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Elicier Navarro gave up one unearned run in five innings for the victory. He struck out five and gave up only three hits. First baseman Justin Howard collected three RBIs on two singles in the second and third innings to help pad an early 5-0 lead. Alex Dickerson had a perfect game from the plate, going 2-for-2 with a walk and Gift Ngoepe also slapped two hits.
A State College | State College 1 Batavia 0
Starter Luis Heredia was the main attraction heading into this matchup and was the star at its conclusion. The 17-year-old neophyte put up five scoreless innings, giving up only three hits without a walk and struck out three hitters. In three starts in the young season spanning 14 innings, the top prospect has given up only one earned run for a 0.64 ERA. His WHIP is an even 1.00 with only 12 hits allowed and two walks, both in his season debut. His progress as the season continues will be a top priority to follow. But poor Heredia couldn't achieve the W because the Spikes couldn't hit either. They finally scored in the bottom of the 10th when Rodarrick Jones led off with a single, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by D.J. Crumlich after the catcher threw the ball away and scored on a single by recent 11th round pick Chris Diaz. Diaz was the only Spike with more than one hit on the day, going 2-for-4. The team did not record an extra-base hit, and somehow through 14 games (8-6 record) NO ONE has hit a home run yet. Hopefully that cures the jinx for someone like Barrett Barnes or Ryan Hornback. Josh Smith, Kyle Haynes and Jordan Cooper finished the shutout for the Spikes, with Cooper getting awarded the victory after pitching a scoreless top of the 10th.