TRENTON – Before every game, Thunder manager Tony Franklin oversees his infielders as they work on their craft. Jose Pirela and Corban Joseph in particular can be seen taking ground balls and working on perfecting the double-play turn. Rob Lyerly works on getting better at the corners.

This is all in addition to the day’s regularly scheduled pregame practice session.

After the infield’s display in the fifth inning of the team’s 9-3 loss to the Binghamton Mets last night, it’s clear that there’s a lot of work left to be done.









In that frame, Shaeffer Hall, who had the misfortune of being a control artist who can get hitters to beat the ball into the dirt, watched as Lyerly, Pirela and Addison Maruszak each misplayed grounders behind him.

The final error of the inning, Lyerly’s, would have ended the frame with just four runs on the board and the Thunder staring at a 6-2 hole. Instead, Niuman Romero, activated from Binghamton’s disabled list to replace the promoted Jordany Valdespin, reached, and the B-Mets tacked on three more.

When asked about it before the game, Franklin agreed that his team’s defense, particularly on the infield, has been one of the major contributing factors in its current tailspin.

“It’s a defensive game. I’ve said this for five years and I’ve said this for a long time in my career. … We’ve made a lot of errors, and errors have contributed to big innings (and) runs, and that makes playing the game a little more difficult.”

To wit, through the first 116 games, Trenton has committed 130 errors. Four players (Pirela, Joseph, Lyerly, Brad Suttle) have more than 10, something that hadn’t been accomplished since 2006.

Allowing seven runs in an inning is never good, but facing a former first-rounder throwing high-90s gas only compounds the situation.

That was the case with Matt Harvey last night, the seventh overall selection in last June’s draft, who, although he didn’t have lockdown stuff, was able to quiet the Thunder’s bats over five innings.

In all, Harvey allowed three runs on six hits, walked nobody and fanned six.

Before the disastrous fifth, things were actually looking up for the Thunder, who were able to briefly time Harvey’s fastball. Melky Mesa and Zoilo Almonte strung together consecutive singles in the second, and Damon Sublett sent home the first run with a ringing double into the left-center field alleyway.

A groundout from Jose Gil – who also erred in the fifth – brought home a second run, which tied the game at the time.

NOTES: Joseph was not initially in the lineup. He was scheduled to visit the doctor to have a stye over his eye lanced. Plans changed, however, and he was reinserted into day’s starting nine. … Ray Kruml took batting practice yesterday, and could be activated in time for this weekend’s set in Harrisburg. … Austin Romine (lower back) is still day to day.

TRENTON – The day after the All-Star game is usually a big day for transactions, and yesterday was certainly no exception. Among other things, the Thunder welcomed back two members of their bullpen and said goodbye to an old friend.

The biggest – but sadly least surprising – news of the day was the release of reliever Alan Horne, who had spent the better part of the last four years fighting waves of injuries, the most recent being serious damage to his right rotator cuff.

Horne, the 2007 Eastern League Pitcher of the Year and a former first-round draft choice with the Angels, was simply ineffective in his brief return to the Eastern League, cobbling together an 0-2 record and a 12.79 ERA in 6 1/3 frames.

That, plus the fact that, at 28 years old, he was incapable of staying healthy, spelled the end of his tenure with the Yankees organization. Manager Tony Franklin told him the news a few hours before yesterday’s game and, as always, it was a bitter pill to deliver.

“It wasn’t pleasant, because about four years ago he was the Pitcher of the Year in this league,” Franklin said. “Unfortunately he had an arm injury that set him back, and who knows how you’re going to recover from that. He seems to have recovered from the arm injury but just wasn’t pitching well at this time.”

In his place, the Thunder received Josh Schmidt, back for his second tour of duty with Trenton this season. The curve-slinging corner-painting right-hander is the franchise’s all-time leader in appearances, and has pitched 15 times in Double-A this season.

He was 2-2 with a 1.59 ERA in 22 2/3 innings before being bumped back to Scranton on June 10. Overall, he’s 5-4 with a 2.16 ERA and 51 strikeouts against 19 walks between the levels.

Outfielder DeAngelo Mack was also placed on the disabled list yesterday with an injury to the base of his left hand which has caused him enough pain to believe that surgery may be an option in the near future.

So far, Mack’s only been looked at by trainer by Tim Lentych, but a trip to the doctor and the X-Ray machine is upcoming.

The pain started during the last road swing, and it eventually got to the point where he was struggling with everyday tasks like opening a bottle or holding a baseball bat.

“It’s a little sore right now, it’s pretty sore,” he said before the game. “Whenever the doctor gets here he’s going to check it out and kind of see what’s going on and maybe go for an X-Ray or a CT scan (Friday).”

Ryan Pope, a starter-turned-closer with Trenton last season, rejoined the team during the final road trip before the All-Star break, but didn’t get back to Waterfront Park until yesterday.

Shoulder inflammation kept the right-hander on the shelf to start the season, and when he finally returned he found himself caught in a mix of relievers at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, which has led to reduced time all season.

He had tried to pitch through the pain, but finally reached a breaking point before the season began.

“I feel like I’m healthy. You try to push through some things here and there to get to the big leagues – that’s just the way baseball is,” he admitted. “It gets to a point sometimes where you just can’t push through it anymore.”

He made his first appearance of the season – a rehab outing with Tampa – on April 23 before being bumped to Scranton on May 2. He got into his first game with Trenton on July 7, marking the first time he had pitched in three weeks.

Utilityman Addison Maruszak was returned to Trenton yesterday, catcher Austin Romine was activated from the Temporary Inactive List, and catcher Ryan Baker was placed on the Disabled List to complete the day’s paperwork.

NOTES: Graham Stoneburner, who hasn’t pitched since April, was activated from the team’s DL and assigned to High-A Tampa, where he started last night’s game. He also made four appearances in the Gulf Coast League on the rehab trail. … Phillies broadcaster was inducted into the Trenton Baseball Hall of Fame last night, joining former Thunder manager DeMarlo Hale as this year’s inductees. The team’s broadcast booth was dedicated in honor of McCarthy, who was the Trenton’s first play-by-play man.

TRENTON – As was the case with Justin Christian toward the end of last season, the Thunder have lost their leadoff man to Scranton. And just as it did with Christian, the loss is going to have a big effect on the offense.

In his second full season with Trenton, Krum was thriving, playing stellar defense in left field and was providing the team with a consistent and needed spark at the of the lineup.

“He played very well. He did a nice job for us,” manager Tony Franklin said. “His average and all that stuff doesn’t indicate the most productive of seasons, but the guy has made some very good strides with just his batting technique. … He has a chance to do some very good things in this game.”

To Franklin, the batting eye and the walks that it produced were what helped set Krum apart.

Before he departed, the 25-year-old drew 25 walks and stole 14 bases – both marks are good for second in the organization, behind Charleston’s Ramon Flores and teammate Ray Kruml, respectively – and a .242/.348/.293 slash line.

“I think he’s the victim sometimes of umpires’ poor ball-strike calls,” the manager said, suggesting that, were the umpires more consistent, Krum could have drawn even more free passes. “I think he’s got a better eye than the umpires. He’ll swing at some bad pitches up in the zone, but for the most part, he’s got a pretty good eye.”

The move gives Scranton some depth while Jordan Parraz and Greg Golson are on the disabled list.

To adjust to his absence, at least for last night’s game, Kruml was moved into the leadoff hole and Addison Maruszak was plugged into the ninth spot. Cody Johnson took Krum’s spot in the outfield.

The Maruszak move is interesting, because despite his .230 average and a .345 slugging percentage, the first baseman and occasional catcher boasts a .360 on-base percentage, best on the team among regulars. His 22 bases on balls were second only to Krum.

“Getting that type of on-base percentage from the bottom of the lineup heading to the top, that kind of helps us there,” Franklin said.

NOTES: Franklin went home sick again before yesterday’s game, this time with flu-like symptoms.

The team has announced its roster changes, and they are as follows:

- Manny Banuelos and Myron Leslie have been placed on the temporarily inactive list.

- Nick McCoy has been removed from the roster entirely.

That trims the roster down to the required 24, and it also leaves the team with just one catcher, Austin Romine. If necessary, Addison Maruszak will be the team's emergency catcher.

Trenton opens its season in a few hours, when it takes on Zach Stewart and the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in Manchester this evening. Steve Garrison, a Hun school graduate and a Trenton native, will oppose Stewart.

Additionally, Jeremy Bleich, David Adams, Grant Duff and Alan Horne all appear on the team's disabled list. Even before those moves were announced, it was pretty clear those four guys were good candidates to play for the Thunder this year.

The rest of the pitching matchup for the New Hampshire series are as follows:

LHP Shaeffer Hall (0 - 0, 0.00) vs. RHP Rey Gonzalez (0 - 0, 0.00)
RHP Graham Stoneburner (0 - 0, 0.00) vs. RHP B.J. LaMura (0 - 0, 0.00)
RHP Dellin Betances (0 - 0, 0.00) vs. LHP Willie Collazo (0 - 0, 0.00)

Tepid day for the Thunder offense, which could collect just four singles off of Pirates pitching.

PITCHING
Jeremy Bleich: 5 shutout innings
Ryan Pope: 3 innings, 3 runs
Wilkin De La Rosa: 1 shutout inning

HITTING

Austin Krum: Single
Luis Nunez: Single
Jose Gil: Single
Addison Maruszak: Single