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Duffy, Pearce, and Meek Shine in Mazatlan Opener

Mexican Pacific League:
Los Venados de Mazatlan 4, Los Tomateros de Culiacan 1

LF Steve Pearce hit an RBI single in his first at-bat in Mexico, giving Los Venados a run in the top of the 1st inning. Then CF Chris Duffy was the hero in the top of the 4th inning, as he blasted a 3-run homer over the right field wall. That was all the scoring Mazatlan would do, but it was enough to overcome Los Tomateros, who scored only one run, on a solo homer in the bottom of the 5th. Duffy also singled in the 2nd inning, giving him a 2-for-5 night. Pearce doubled in the 5th inning, following a single by 1B Brian Myrow (Padres), and a walk to C Miguel Ojeda loaded the bases. But an inning-ending double play erased the threat without another run scoring.

Starter Pablo Ortega pitched 6 innings, allowing only that one run on 3 hits and 3 walks, for the win. Mauro Nieblas and Hector Navarro combined for two more scoreless innings. Then Evan Meek pitched a perfect 9th inning, getting two ground outs and a pop up, to earn the save.

Weekend Games: Arizona and Hawaii

Arizona Fall League

Friday: Scottsdale Scorpions 3, Phoenix Desert Dogs 2
The Scorpions put up 12 hits for 3 runs, squeaking past the Desert Dogs, who were held to only 4 hits, and Pirates’ farmhand Shelby Ford was the late-inning hero. Scorpions’ starter Clay Buchholz (Red Sox) pitched 3 innings and saw only 9 batters — he walked one, but immediately erased the base runner with a double play. Reliever TJ Large (Red Sox) also allowed only one walk in his 2 scoreless innings of work. Barret Browning (Angels) gave up two hits, a double and a single, as the Desert Dogs scored one run in the 5th inning, and Alex Hinshaw (Giants) gave up a solo homer to account for the Desert Dogs only other run. Hinshaw was on the mound for the last two innings, and he was credited with the win.

The Scorpions got their first run in the 2nd inning, on a double by LF Chris Pettit (Angels) and an RBI single by CF Ben Copeland (Giants). The double-single trick was repeated in the 6th inning by 1B Mark Trumbo (Angels) and 3B Chris Johnson (Astros). The score was tied after the Desert Dogs scored in the top of the 8th, but the Scorpions regained the lead in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Pettit singled, and Copeland followed with a grounder to third. Pettit was out at second base, but they couldn’t turn two, and Copeland was safe at first base. RF Josh Reddick (Red Sox) bounced a single off the first baseman’s glove and into right field, moving Copeland to third base. That gave 2B Shelby Ford the opportunity to knock in the game-winning run with an RBI single on a liner into center field. Ford also started the double play that got the Scorpions out of trouble in the top of the 9th, to end the Desert Dogs’ threat and get the win. Ford was 1-for-3 with a walk; neither Jamie Romak nor Steve Lerud, nor any of the Pirates’ pitchers got into this game.

Sat: Desert Dogs 9, Scorpions 4
Shelby Ford continued his timely hitting, going 2-for-3 with an RBI and 2 walks, and Steve Lerud was also hot, with two singles, but the Desert Dogs stomped down the Scorpions on Saturday afternoon. The Desert Dogs scored in all but two innings, led by Sean Doolittle (A’s) and his two home runs, and Dustin Martin (Twins) with his homer and two singles. Scorpions’ starter Kevin Pucetas (Giants) gave up 4 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks, suffering the loss. Three relievers, David Herndon (Angels), Osiris Matos (Giants), and Beau Vaughn (Red Sox), each gave up runs in their turns on the mound.

Ford got things started for the Scorpions in the 1st inning with a walk. He went to third base on 3B Ryan Rohlinger’s (Giants) double, but was out at the plate when LF Chris Pettit bounced to third base. A walk to CF Ben Copeland loaded the bases for RF Josh Reddick. When the pitcher Kyle Ginley (Blue Jays) couldn’t handle the ball off Reddick’s bat, Rohlinger scored. Scottsdale added a run in the 4th inning. DH Aaron Bates (Red Sox) led off with a single, moved to second base on a wild pitch, and went to third on Steve Lerud’s single. Lerud stole second base to put runners on second and third bases. Shelby Ford brought Bates in with a line drive into center field, but the inning ended when the Desert Dogs’ CF Evan Frey (Diamondbacks) threw out Lerud at the plate.

Doubles by Pettit and Copeland gave the Scorpions another lone run in the 5th inning, and after that the Desert Dogs quickly put the game out of reach. They picked up one last run in the 8th inning, on singles by Bates, 1B Mark Ori (Astros), and SS Emmanuel Burris (Giants), but it wasn’t enough.

The AFL takes Sundays off — the Scorpions will be back on Monday, trying to improve on their 1-4 record.

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Cane Fires and Scorpions Both Lose in Walk-offs

HWL: North Shore Honu 5, West Oahu Cane Fires 4

Reliever Moises Robles was the hard-luck victim last night, as he gave up the walk-off home run to Honu DH Ryan Kalish (Tigers) in the bottom of the 9th inning. The inning began with a bunt single by C Adam Davis (Indians), then Robles blew three straight pitches past CF Corey Brown (A’s). But a double by 3B Kyle Martin (Royals) put two runners on base for Kalish, whose blast over the right field wall erased the Cane Fires’ 2-run lead and gave the Honu the win.

The Cane Fires scored first, in the 4th inning. 1B Miles Durham led off with a walk, and RF Caleb Gindl (Brewers) followed with a single. SS Brian Friday moved them both along with a sacrifice bunt. LF Logan Schafer’s (Brewers) ground out scored Durham, and Gindl raced home on a wild pitch. 2B Mark Halberg (Diamondbacks) added another run in the 5th inning with a solo home run. Kyle Martin answered back for the Honu in the bottom of the 5th with his own solo homer, but the Cane Fires still held a 3-1 lead. DH Jim Negrych gave the ‘Fires another run in the top of the 7th inning, when his RBI single knocked in CF Gregory Burns (Marlins), who had tripled. Once again, the Honu came back with a run in the bottom of the inning, with a run on three singles. Moises Robles entered the game in relief, finishing out the 7th with a strikeout. He allowed only a double in the 8th inning, before stumbling in the 9th.

Jim Negrych went 1-for-4 with the RBI; his average stands at .276 with a total of 3 RBI. Miles Durham walked twice and scored one run in his 4 plate appearances; he holds a .326 average with 11 RBI in 11 games. Brian Friday was 0-for-3 with the sac bunt; his average is .192, with 3 RBI.

AFL: Surprise Rafters 8, Scottsdale Scorpions 7, 10 innings
A walk-off single by Ivan De Jesus (Dodgers) scored a runner from second base in the bottom of the 10th inning, as the Scorpions also lost yesterday. The Scorpions had scored one run in the 3rd inning, when CF Josh Reddick (Red Sox) tripled, and came home on C Steve Lerud’s RBI single. The pair teamed up for another run in the 5th inning. Reddick reached base on a throwing error, and a second throwing error, on a pick-off attempt, put him on third base. He scored easily on Lerud’s second RBI single of the game.

The Scorpions were down 3-2 going in to the 8th inning. 2B Shelby Ford led off the 8th with a double, and he went to third base on a sacrifice bunt. SS Drew Sutton (Astros) brought in Ford with an RBI single. 1B Mark Trumbo (Angels) followed with a ground-rule double, and 3B Chris Johnson brought both Sutton and Trumbo home with another RBI single, giving the Scorpions a 5-3 lead. The Rafters got the lead right back, though, with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, with a 3 run homer off the bat of Wes Hodges (Indians). The Scorpions tried again in the 9th inning. Reddick got the inning started by reaching base on a fielding error, and he went to third base on a passed ball. After two outs, DH Kevin Frandsen (Giants) was hit by a pitch, and Sutton walked to load the bases. Trumbo’s RBI single scored both Reddick and Frandsen, and the Scorpions took a 7-6 lead… for a few minutes. A single, a bunt, and an RBI single by the Rafters tied the game again in the bottom of the 9th, and sent the game into the 10th. RF Ben Copeland (Giants) was hit by a pitch to begin the 10th for the Scorpions, but the next three batters all struck out. With Ryne Lawson (Red Sox) on the mound for the Scorpions in the bottom of the 10th, a hit batter, a sacrifice bunt, and an intentional walk set the stage for De Jesus and his game-winning single.

Steve Lerud went 2-for-3 in his first AFL game. Shelby Ford had 2 hits, including a double. Jamie Romak was 0-for-4 at the plate.

Jeff Sues is contributing a blog about his AFL experiences. Seems like he will be writing once per week, on Wednesdays.

Scorpions’ and Cane Fires’ Pitchers Struggle

AFL: Peoria Saguaros 10, Scottsdale Scorpions 7

The Scorpions fell victim to two big innings — the Saguaros scored 5 runs in the 2nd inning and 4 in the 8th inning — as they suffered their second loss of the AFL season. Scottsdale scored early and often, but they couldn’t keep up with the big innings. 2B Kevin Frandsen (Giants) led the way with three hits and one RBI, CF Ben Copeland (Giants) had 2 hits including a triple, and RF Josh Reddick’s two hits included a solo homer. After the Saguaros put up 5 runs in the 2nd inning, the Scorpions came back with a run in each of the 3rd and 4th innings to tie the score. Peoria regained the lead with one run in the 5th inning on a fielding error, a balk, and an RBI single. The Scorpions came back again when Reddick’s homer in the 7th tied the score. Two singles and a sacrifice fly gave the Scorpions a one-run lead in the top of the 8th inning. But, the bottom of the 8th brought disaster: two singles, a throwing error, a hit batter, a sacrifice fly, a passed ball, a walk, and a 2-RBI single — all for 4 runs. Both Shelby Ford and Jamie Romak pinch hit in the 9th inning, but they popped out and flied out respectively.

Jared Hughes started the game for the Scorpions. He breezed through the 1st inning, but got into trouble in the 2nd inning, allowing 5 runs (3 earns) on 2 hits, with one walk and two hit batters. He was relieved by Mike Crotta, but Crotta gave up a single and also hit a batter before he could end the inning. He gave up another hit in the 3rd inning, though he was not charged with any of the runs. David Herndon (Angels) and Derek Hankins each contributed two innings, and each allowed one unearned run on two hits and two walks. Hankins gave up a single to begin the 8th inning, and he was relieved by Beau Vaughan (Red Sox). Vaughan was charged with three of the four 8th inning runs, and he was tagged with a blown save and the loss.

HWL: North Shore Honu 13, West Oahu Cane Fires 6
The Honu scored 13 runs on only 12 hits, including 3 homers, as all three Cane Fires’ pitchers surrendered runs. Starter Fumikazu Kimura (Saitama Seibu Lions) suffered his second loss in as many starts, this time giving up 6 runs on 5 hits and 4 walks in 3 innings. Reliever Chris Salberg (Orioles) went 3.2 innings, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks. Harrison Bishop took over on the mound after Salberg gave up a 3-run homer in the 7th inning, and Bishop was able to get a ground out to finish the inning. He struck out the first batter he faced in the 8th inning, then gave up a solo homer to Kyle Martin (Royals) followed by a single. A wild pitch and a passed ball put the runner on third base, but that didn’t make any difference when Matt McBride (Indians) hit the second homer of the inning.

The Cane Fires out-hit the Honu with 14 hits, but they couldn’t get their base runners home — they left 9 runners stranded on base. 2B Jim Negrych got things started in the 1st inning with a single, and he went to third base on 3B Tyler Henson’s (Orioles) double. Negrych scored on a balk and Henson scored on a wild pitch — but those were the last gifts the Honu would give the Cane Fires. 1B Miles Durham led off the 4th inning with a liner off the third baseman’s glove and into left field for a single. After two outs, C Wally Crancer (Orioles) also singled, and RF Kyle Peter (Tigers) brought them home with a triple. Peter scored on SS Haruki Kurose’s (Saitama Seibu Lions) RBI single.

The Cane Fires’ only other run came in the 9th inning. CF Gregory Burns (Marlins) led off with a single. Negrych grounded to second base, but instead of turning two, the Honu were able to only get Burns out at second base, leaving Negrych at first. A fielding error on Durham’s smash to first base put Pirates’ farmhands on the corners with two out. DH James Skelton (Tigers) lined a single into right field to score Negrych, but the brief rally ended with a fly out. Negrych and Durham each had two hits including a double for Negrych.

Sues Has a Perfect AFL Debut; Negrych and Durham Spark Rally

AFL: Peoria Saguaros 9, Scottsdale Scorpions 3

Pirates’ farmhand Jeff Sues pitched two perfect innings in his AFL debut, though the Scottsdale Scorpions lost their opener. Sues entered the game in relief in the 7th inning. He struck out the side in that inning, and came back to mow down three batters in the 8th inning. The Scorpions were behind 5-3 on Sues’ watch, but the next man out of the bullpen, Barret Browning (Angels) had trouble in the 9th inning, as the Saguaros added 4 more runs. Browning gave up singles to the first two batters of the inning, but both were erased — Shawn Bowman (Mets) was out when he was hit by the batted ball on Ian Desmond’s (Nationals) hit, and Desmond was picked off first base. But Browning’s luck ran out after that. Two singles and a hit batter loaded the bases for Cole Armstrong (White Sox), whose RBI double brought in three runs, and another RBI single scored Armstrong.

The Scorpions scored two runs in the 2nd inning, on singles by 1B Mark Trumbo (Angels) and CF Ben Copeland (Giants), and a 2-RBI double by 3B Chris Johnson (Astros). They added one more run in the 5th inning, when SS Emmanuel Burris led off with a double and scored on Trumbo’s single. 2B Shelby Ford went 1-for-4, with a two-out single in the bottom of the 9th inning, and a walk. DH Jamie Romak went 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts.

HWL: West Oahu Cane Fires 7, North Shore Honu 6
2B Jim Negrych and 1B Miles Durham sparked a 9th inning rally that gave the Cane Fires a dramatic win in Hawaiian Winter League play last night. The Cane Fires were behind by one run, 6-5, entering the 9th inning. Negrych got things started with a one-out single, and was replaced on the base paths by pinch runner Kyle Peter (Tigers). 3B Tyler Henson (Orioles) walked, and Peter stole third base, and Henson advanced on a wild pitch, putting runners on second and third bases. Durham picked up an RBI on a ground out to short, scoring Peter to tie the game at 6-6. Henson raced home on a passed ball, and the Cane Fires took the lead.

The Honu threatened in the bottom of the 9th. With two outs, reliever Clifford Flagello (Orioles) gave up a double to Ryan Kalish (Red Sox), as the ball bounced off Miles Durham’s glove and into right field. Kalish moved to third base on a passed ball, but Flagello got a strikeout to end the inning and earn a save.

Durham also started the rally that got the Cane Fires onto the scoreboard in the 2nd inning. He doubled, and went to third base on RF Caleb Gindl’s (Brewers) single. LF Cyle Hankerd (Diamondbacks) doubled, plating both Durham and Gindl, but Hankerd was thrown out as he tried to make it to third base. C James Skelton singled, and a wild pitch got him to second base, and SS Brian Friday was hit by a pitch, but both were left on base when a grounder ended the inning. Friday’s sacrifice fly scored Skelton, who had doubled, in the 4th inning. Durham hit another sacrifice fly in the 5th inning, to score CF Logan Schafer (Brewers), adding another run to the Cane Fires’ tally.

The Cane Fires tied the score at 5-5 with another run in the top of the 7th inning. Schafer tripled, and Negrych became the third Pirate farmhand to pick up an RBI on a sacrifice fly. (It seems that only Pirates’ players could hit a sac fly for the Cane Fires in this game.) The Honu took the lead again in the bottom of the inning. Reliever Eric Krebs came in from the bullpen to begin the inning. The first batter he faced, Chris Carter (A’s) ran the count full, and then smashed a homer over the left center field wall, and the Honu were ahead again. Krebs got a pop out, and then gave up a single and a walk, before being replaced by Ryunosuke Yokoyama (Hanshin Tigers), who got the final two outs of the inning, leaving the two runners on base.

Negrych went 1-for-3, with a walk and the RBI; Durham was 1-for-4 with the double and 2 RBI; Friday was 0-for-2, with the hit by pitch and RBI.

AFL Starts, Americans Report to Mexico

The Arizona Fall League begins play today, with the Pirates’ selected farmhands joining those of the Astros, Angels, Giants, and Red Sox, on the Scottsdale Scorpions. Indy Indians’ pitching coach Ray Searage is one of two pitching coaches for the Scorpions.
RHP Derek Hankins has replaced Jimmy Barthmaier on the Scorpions’ squad. Also from the Pirates’ system:
RHP Mike Crotta, RHP Jared Hughes, RHP Jeff Sues
C Steve Lerud
INF Shelby Ford
OF Jamie Romak

In past years, some of these AFL games have had audio broadcasts, so that might be available over the next few weeks.

The Mexican Pacific League begins play on Saturday. Look for three Pirates’ players to join Los Venados (Deer) de Mazatlan — pitcher Evan Meek, OF Chris Duffy, and 1B/OF Steve Pearce. If you can read the Spanish, the Mazatlan web site has a news item about Chris Duffy arriving to join the team, in their final week of pre-season preparations.

Pitchers John Van Benschoten and Dave Davidson will be joining Los Tomateros de Culiacan. The Tomateros’ site shows them arriving also. Davidson missed most of the last couple of months of the Altoona Curve’s season because he was with Team Canada for the Olympics. Van Benschoten says that he hopes to do some starting pitching with Los Tomateros.

The Hickory Crawdads, who ended their affiliation with the Pirates as the 2008 season came to a close, have signed a Player Development Contract with the Texas Rangers.

Quiet Bats for the Cane Fires

Honolulu Sharks 7, West Oahu Cane Fires 3

The Cane Fires seem to be able to be either hot or cold at the plate.
On Sunday evening, the ‘Fires got onto the scoreboard first, with a run in the top of the 1st inning. CF Greg Burns (Marlins) singled into right field, and went to second base when the Sharks’ right fielder had trouble fielding the ball. Burns quickly stole third base, and he scored on a sacrifice fly by 3B Tyler Henson (Orioles). Then their bats went cold, for 6 innings. Caleb Gindle (Brewers) singled in the 2nd inning, but was erased on a double play. Two more batters reached base on errors, but neither could come around to score. Gindle doubled in the top of the 7th, and 2B Mike Halberg (D’Backs) was hit by a pitch, and again both were left stranded.

Meanwhile, Cane Fires’ starter Sean Gleason (Orioles) gave up one run in the 3rd inning, on a walk, a hit batter, and a ground rule double, and then he gave up a 3-run homer in the 4th, giving the Sharks a 4-1 lead. A double and a single off reliever Mike Ramlow (Brewers) added another run to the Sharks’ lead in the 6th inning. Two more singles, a double, and an error gave the Sharks 2 more runs in the 7th inning, with reliever Daiki Kiyohara (Hanshin Tigers) on the mound.

The Cane Fires found their bats long enough to score two runs in the 8th inning. With two outs, LF Logan Schafer (Brewers) singled, and Henson walked. 1B Miles Durham grounded to shortstop, and he reached first base safely on a play that was called a fielder’s choice. With the bases loaded, Gindl came through with a grounder back at the mound, which the Sharks’ pitcher was able to touch enough to deflect. The ball caromed over toward third base, and by the time anyone could get to it, Schafer and Henson had scored. That was all the Cane Fires could get, though, and it was not enough to overcome the deficit.

Reliever Moises Robles entered the game with one out in the bottom of the 8th inning. He gave up a double, but then got two fly outs to end the inning. SS Brian Friday struck out twice in his two at-bats. Durham went 0-for-4, though his batting average remains high at .343. The Cane Fires had a total of only 5 hits in the game, three of which were by Caleb Gindl.

The HWL takes the day off on Monday.