1 inning, 3 k's

Sorry I've missed the last few days of reporting on the Indians; I've been busy of late.  In fact, I may not be able to do my reports everyday or as in-depth as I used to do them, but I'll do what I can as often as I can - I appreciate your understanding - thanks!

Indians lost to the Nationals 4-1; RHP Fausto Carmona (L, 8-3) pitched a solid enough game:

6.0 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K; 11 G/4 F; 61 S/31 B (3.21 - his S/B ratio is actually a bit lower than it has been, but still pretty good for the most part.)

The biggest culprit was the Indians' offense (again.)  The offense hasn't been the same since that great comeback against the Tigers at Jacobs Field on June 1, winning 12-11; since then, the offense hasn't had the same spark.  Grady is still being neutralized by LHP, while "Pronk" (who I'm considering calling the "Project" only, not "Project" + "Donkey,") is still being neutralized by everyone.  Peralta had the RBI single for the Indians, giving them a brief 1-0 lead.  OF Ben Francisco made his ML debut in the 9th, striking out as a PHer.

Onto the Minors:

AAA Buffalo - lost to Norfolk (BAL) 3-2:

1B Ryan Mulhern - 1-4, 1 K, 1 E (5-fielding) (.303 - has become Buffalo's regular cleanup hitter.)
3B Andy Marte - 0-4 (.246 - this is arguably the most annoying thing about Marte - his long, dry spells, [5-35 over his last 10 G, with 3 RBI, 0 BB/7 K], especially at a level he should be crushing the ball consistently.)
CF Jonathan Van Every - 1-3, 2 K, 1 S (.387)

RHP Jeff Harris - L (3-5) 9.0 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR (solo,) 1 HB; 9 G/13 F; 75 S/34 B (4.75 - has given up 3 ER or less in his last 4 starts, totalling 30.0 IP, with 4 BB/17 K.)

Norfolk:

C J.R. House - 0-4 (.311)
DH Jason Dubois - 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K (.217 - HR #8; overall though, the former Indians' prospect is not having a good year in AAA - 59 G/212 ABs/46 H/11 2B/8 HR/24 RBI/15 BB/63 K, .217/.268/.382)

AA Akron - defeated Bowie (BAL) 7-1:

3B Rodney Choy Foo - 2-3, 2 R, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB (6-3rd) (.278 - leading off.)
SS Asdrubal Cabrera - 0-2, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB (.329)
DH Jordan Brown - 2-4, 2 RBI, 1 HBP (.324)
1B Michael Aubrey - 0-4, 1 K (.156 - difficult return to AA so far for Aubrey.)
CF Trevor Crowe - 1-2, 1 R, 2 BB (.195 - there are signs of "life" here, as his play has become a bit more consistent over the last few weeks, but can he break over the .200 mark this time by sustaining it?  He hasn't been able to do that yet.)

LHP Reid Santos - W (4-1) 6.0 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HB; 4 G/8 F (2.01 - if he can keep pitching close to this, maybe turning him back into a starter will be a permanent move - not sure if it is or not.)
RHP Joe Ness - H (1) - 1.0 IP; 2 G/1 F (5.43 - consistency is what Ness needs to show.)

Bowie:
CF Jeff Fiorentino - 1-4, 1 K (.278 - also threw out Crowe at 2B.)

High-A Kinston - lost to Lynchburg (PIT) 5-2:

1B Stephen Head - 0-4, 2 GIDP (.257 - Head might have more time to impress with Beau's slow start at SS-A, but Whitney might head up to High-A regardless of Beau's progress, so Head still needs to impress quickly to stay "in the loop.")
C Max Ramirez - 2-4, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 1 E (4-throw) (.301 - along with Tseng, threw out a runner attempting to steal 2nd, the first time he had been thrown out this season in 4 attempts.)
3B Wes Hodges - 1-4 (.331)
LF John Drennen - 1-4, 1 K (.255)
DH Chris Gimenez - 0-4, 2 K (.281)
SS Josh Rodriguez - 1-4, 1 R (.228)

RHP Sung-Wei Tseng - L (1-6) 6.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K; 7 G/8 F (3.84 - QS, but had more trouble with his control than usual, walking 4 in 6.1 IP, as he'd only walked 21 in 70.0 IP before tonight's outing.  Perhaps the AS layoff affected him, as it's the first time he's walked 4 batters in his last 8 starts.)
RHP Michael Finocchi - 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB; 5 G; 2/2 IR scored (3.29 - continues to excel at getting the GO, now at 4.37 GO/AO, but unlike Tseng, has a usual tendency to walk hitters, as he walked 18 in 39.2 IP before tonight's outing, though the AS layoff probably didn't help his command either.)

Lynchburg:
RHP Jean Garavito - W (3-3) - 4.0 IP, 2 BB; 8 G/4 F (2.56 - 0 H/4 IP.)

Low-A Lake County - defeated Delmarva (BAL - notice a theme here; 3/4 affiliates from the two organizations playing each other at the same time.  :-) 11-3:

CF Jason Denham - 3-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI (.283)
C Matthew McBride - 2-5, 2 R (.300 - had a 1 HR, 6 RBI game yesterday.)
1B Matt Whitney - 1-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K (.305 - may be up to High-A soon, regardless of whether Mills is ready to take over at Low-A or not.)
LF Nick Weglarz - 1-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 K (HR #10; the power is nice, but his Ks are coming in bunches of late - now 63 K in 228 ABs, 6 Ks in the last 4 G.)
SS Carlos Rivero - 1-3, 1 RBI, 1 K (.266 - holding the BA steady in the mid-.260s of late.)
RF Roman Pena - 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 K, 1 E (5-fielding) (.267)
DH Cirilo Cumberbatch - 3-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB (2-2nd) (.341)

RHP Hector Rondon - W (5-4) - 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 WP; 7 G/7 F (3.86)

Delmarva:
3B Billy Rowell - 0-3, 1 BB, 1 E (2-fielding) (.276)
DH Brandon Snyder - 0-3, 2 K (.255)

SS-A Mahoning Valley - defeated Batavia (STL) 8-1:

CF Adam White - 2-5, 1 R, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 K (.214 - 22-YO 9th-Rd. 2007 pick out of W.Va; also threw out a runner at 3B.)
SS Mark Thompson - 1-3, 1 RBI, 1 K (.167 - 22-YO 8th-Rd. 2007 pick out of Lewis-Clark State)
DH Beau Mills - 0-5, 3 K (.143 - 20-YO 1st-Rd. 2007 pick out of Lewis-Clark State; off to a slow start, as mentioned above; I suspect he's probably pressing a bit being the Indians' 1st-Rd. pick, plus perhaps hearing he'll be moved up to Low-A as soon as this year; with time, he'll probably turn it around.  Ironically, has collected his 2 H off LHP, while going 0-fer vs. RHP to this point.)
2B Jeff Hehr - 2-3, 2 R, 1 BB (.333 - 21-YO 20th-Rd. 2007 pick out of Eastern Michigan is off to a good start at SS-A.)
RF Matt Brown - 1-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB (.125 - 22-YO 13th-Rd. 2007 pick out of Wichita State with his 1st pro. hit.)
C Alex Castillo - 1-4, 1 RBI, 2 K (.273 - same one that was at Low-A LC earlier this year.)

RHP Daniel Frega - W (1-0) - 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HB; 7 G/4 F (1.80 - 22-YO 12th-Rd. 2006 pick out of Illinois State; in 24.0 IP at MV in 2006 - 31 H/17 BB/17 K.)
LHP Garrett Rieck - S (1) - 4.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K; 8 G/2 F (0.00 - 21-YO 29th-Rd. pick out of Chico State, CA.)

Rookie-Level GCL Indians - game with the Phillies was suspended after 3.5 innings with the Indians leading 3-0:

RF Angel Rodriguez - 1-3 (.267 - 19-YO hit .290/.408/.368 with the DSL Indians last year, along with a 42 BB/41 K ratio in 231 ABs.)
C Robert Alcombrack - 0-1, 1 K, 1 HBP, 1 PB (1) (.125 - just turned 19-YO 7th-Rd. 2006 pick out of Bear River HS, CA.)
DH Richard Martinez - 2-2, 2 RBI (.833 - just turned 20-YO 6'0" 186 lb. Venezuelan hit .300/.313/.400 with GCL Indians and .313/.392/.438 with Rookie-Level Burlington last year.)
LF Stephen Douglas - 0-2 (.300 - 22-YO 16th-Rd. 2006 pick out of East Tennessee State hit .263/.290/.298 at MV last year.)
3B Karexon Sanchez - 0-2, 1 K, 1 E (1-fielding) (.000 - 19-YO 5'11, 175 lb. Venezuelan hit .253/.384/.386 with the DSL Indians last year, along with 9 2B/2 3B/6 HRs/35 RBIs/43 BB/48 K/22 SB/10 CS.)
1B Chris Nash - 2-2, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 SB (2-2nd) (.556 - 20-YO 24th-Rd. 2006 6'4" 230 lb. pick out of Johnson County CC, KS.)

RHP Santo Frias - 3.0 IP, 1 BB, 2 K; 5 G/2 F (0.00 - 19-YO 6'3" 189 lb. Dominican in 11 GS with the DSL Indians in 2006:  4-4, 1.30 ERA, 55.1 IP/37 H/8 ER/3 HR/18 BB/44 K, 1.32 GO/AO, .193 BAA.)

Take care and have a great day!