Here's today's lineup:

1. Krum - LF
2. Pirela - SS
3. Romine -C
4. Suttle - 3B
5. Johnson - DH
6. Mesa - CF
7. Joseph - 2B
8. Maruszak -1B
9. Kruml -RF
10. Hall - LHSP

Bad injury news: Charleston catcher and Yankees stud prospect is hurt, I have heard. I don't know the severity of the injury yet, but I expect to get details on that later in the evening. He's on the disabled list with the RiverDogs right now.

Additionally, Dellin Betances has been put on the Trenton disabled list with a blister. Mark Newman said he's expected to miss "a start," and he's eligible to come off the shelf on the 18th. I expect him to start that date.

LINEUPS

Austin Krum - CF
Justin Snyder - 3B
Dan Brewer - RF
Austin Romine - C
Marcos Vechionacci - 1B
Rene Rivera - DH
Damon Sublett - LF
Luis Nunez - SS
Matt Cusick - 2B
Manny Banuelos - LHP

Darin Mastroianni - CF
Adeiny Hechavarria - SS
Eric Thames - LF
Edwin Encarnacion - 3B
Shawn Bowman - DH
David Cooper - 1B
Jonathan Jaspe - C
Adam Loewen - RF
Callix Crabbe - 2B
Scott Richmond - RHP

Obviously, the biggest news of the day is Edwin Encarnacion's arrival in the Fisher Cats' lineup. Like Zach Stewart, Encarnacion was part of the trade that sent Scott Rolen to Cincinnati. He played 80 games with the Blue Jays this year and hit .246 with 13 home runs and 36 RBIs.

On the surface, the move might look like retaliation for Andy Pettitte last night, but the Blue Jays don't have any other minor league teams active, either.

Steve Garrison, who was picked up on waivers yesterday and replaced Wilkin De La Rosa on the 40-man roster is listed on the team's roster, but is not in the park. Sounds like they're shooting for tomorrow.

Neither team took batting practice on the field today.

LINEUPS

New Hampshire:
Darin Mastroianni - CF
Manny Mayorson - 2B
Eric Thames - LF
Shawn Bowman - 3B
Adam Loewen - RF
David Cooper - 1B
Jonathan Diaz - SS
Brian Jeroloman - C
Danny Perales - DH
B.J. LaMura - P

Trenton
Dan Brewer - LF
Austin Krum - CF
Austin Romine - C
Brandon Laird - 3B
Matt Cusick - DH
Marcos Vechionacci -1B
Edwar Gonzalez - RF
Luis Nunez - SS
Justin Snyder - 2B
David Phelps -P

So, there's quite a bit of news around Thunder land today. First, in what I assume is a precursor to a promotion, Ryan Pope has been moved to the bullpen. The staff is running short a man, so the move makes sense. Jeremy Bleich, who was supposed to start Monday, will take Pope's place tomorrow. I spoke with Tommy Phelps, Tony Franklin and Pope himself about the move, and the audio from those interviews is below.

Secondly, Austin Romine is back behind the dish after serving as the designated hitter for a few games. The "tired arm," it seems, is nothing to become alarmed about. We'll see over the next few days how the rest treated him. For what it's worth, it appears Romine's hitting has suffered a little bit from not playing the field.

Finally, in non-Thunder news, the Mets have promoted infielder Reese Havens. He's batting second for the B-Mets and is playing second base. Should be a treat to see him work over the next few days.

Here's today's Thunder lineup:

1. Justin Christian, DH
2. Austin Krum, CF
3. David Adams, 2B
4. Austin Romine, C
5. Brandon Laird, 3B
6. Daniel Brewer, LF
7. Marcos Vechionacci, 1B
8. Edwar Gonzalez, RF
9. Luis Nunez, SS

Here's the audio from today's pregame sessions:

Greensboro
Rand Smith - CF
Taylor Krick - 3B
Kyle Jensen - LF
Kyle Skipworth - DH
Carlos Paulino - C
Chad Cregar - RF
Brent Weaver - 1B
Jose Torres - 2B
Michael Pasek -SS
Matt Montgomery - P

Lakewood
Jiwan James - CF
Leandro Castro - LF
Anthony Hewitt - RF
Sebastian Valle - C
Jeremy Barnes - 2B
Darin Ruf - 1B
Stephen Batts - DH
Alan Schoenberger - 3B
Jonathan Villar - SS
Nick Hernandez - P

First inning: Nick Hernandez looks fantastic, getting a pair of grounders to short and freezing Taylor Krick.

Jiwan James helped the Grasshoppers out by popping up a bunt before Leandro Castro beat out an infield single. Anthony Hewitt and Sebastian Valle followed with strikeouts.

Second inning: Hernandez continued breezing through the Grasshoppers. He fanned Kyle Skipworth looking, then got Carlos Paulino to pop to second and a bouncer to first from Chad Cregar.

On the other side, Montgomery matched Hernandez. He weaved his way through Jeremy Barnes, Darin Ruf and Stephen Batts with a pair of strikeouts.

Third inning: The duel continues. Both pitchers went 1-2-3 frames. At this rate, we'll be here about another hour, or, like the Mets and the Cardinals last night, another five hours.

Fourth inning: Skipworth shoots one through the right side for a hit, but that's the extent of the damage as Hernandez gets the next three. He's allowed one hit through five.

The BlueClaws also go quietly, on two flies to right and a strikeout.

Fifth inning: At last, some offense. The BlueClaws put together three straight hits, including a leadoff triple by Stephen Batts, and Lakewood put up a three-spot. After five, 2-0 Claws.

Nick Hernandez is absolutely cruising. The left-hander has allowed a single hit, off the bat of Kyle Skipworth, to this point. For a guy who is barely touching 90, Hernandez sure looks dominant.

Claws add three more, making the score 5-0 after seven.

Alan Schoenberger, a 21-year-old shortstop from Queensland, Australia, has three RBIs today. In his previous three seasons he had driven in a total of 13 runs. That's baseball.

Lineups
Akron
CF - Fedroff
3B - Goedert
DH - Weglarz
RF - McBride
1B - Mills
SS - Rivero
LF - Drennen
2B - Rodriguez
C - Castillo
P - Barnes

Trenton
DH - Krum
2B - Adams
3B - Laird
CF - Gorecki
LF - Sublett
RF - Brewer
C - Gil
1B - Vechionacci
SS - Nunez
P - Pope

NOTES: Lance Pendleton is still penciled in for Sunday's start in Portland. ... Cory Arbiso is scheduled to throw a simulated game today at 1:00. ... Austin Romine was working during pre-game with Vic Valencia on staying low on balls. There was some very interesting (if unprintable) comments between the two. ... D.J. Mitchell threw a side session before today's game.

First inning: Fedroff reaches on Vechionacci's throwing error, but Pope induces a 5-4-3 double play and Weglarz flies easily to left.

Thunder go harmlessly, on a pair of groundouts and a foul to first.

Second inning: Matt McBride reaches on an error and Carlos Rivero works a one-out walk, but Pope gets out of it with fly balls to left, center and right.

Once again, Thunder go 1-2-3. It's early, but it's starting to look like what happened to the Thunder in a day game with Akron last year ...

Third inning: Akron goes 1-2-3, and Pope fans Tim Fedroff for strikeout No. 1 ... And once again, the Thunder go down in order.

Fourth inning: Pope walks Matt McBride but gets the next three men in order, including freezing Mills.

David Adams breaks up the perfect game -- and steals second base -- but the no-hitter is still intact after Brandon Laird fouls out and Reid Gorecki looks at strike three.

Fifth inning: Pope gets the first two men on fly balls before losing the no-hitter on a double to nine-hitter Alex Castillo. Tim Fedroff walked afterward, and Jared Goedert followed with a single to end the shutout. Akron 1, Thunder 0.

Thunder go 1-2-3 in the fifth, keeping Scott Barnes' no-hitter alive. He was pulled after the fifth in favor of Bryan Price, who was part of the trade that sent Victor Martinez to Boston.

Sixth inning: Noel Castillo relieves Pope, and retires the first two. He walked the third man, Carlos Rivero, but Jose Gil caught him stealing.

The Thunder put together two two-out hits, including one that extended David Adams' hitting streak, but couldn't crack the scoreboard.

Seventh inning: Noel Castillo couldn't hold it together for multiple innings. He walked the leadoff man and gave up a double to Josh Rodriguez. The Thunder chose to walk Tim Fedroff intentionally, but the move backfired when Jared Goedert singled on the first pitch.

John Van Benschoten relieved Castillo and got a grounder to first, where Vechionacci's bobble killed any possibility of a 3-2-3 double play. After seven innings, Akron 3, Thunder 0.

Sorry to kind of leave, but there were some unpredicted circumstances in the press box ... In any case, the Thunder came back and won 4-3.

Akron
CF - Fedroff
3B - Chisenhall
LF - Weglarz
DH - Goedert
1B - Mills
2B - Phelps
RF - Drennen
DH - Rodriguez
C - Toregas
P - Putnam

Trenton
CF - Krum
2B - Adams
C - Romine
3B - Laird
LF - Sublett
RF - Gorecki
DH - Brewer
1B - Smith
SS - Nunez
P - Pendleton

This will be Sublett's first start since Opening Day. He got sick after that and hasn't played since, although he did take batting practice yesterday. ... The tarp is on the field here, but the sky is clearing up. ... Adams is 11-for-20 this year. ... Jeremy Bleich, Cory Arbiso (DL) and David Phelps each threw in the bullpen before the game.

Christian Garcia update: He is still in he clubhouse. No surgery has been scheduled yet, and Tommy John is not a definite at this point (although it is likely). He is meeting with Dr. David Altchek on Monday.

First inning: Lance Pendleton allows the first longball of the Thunder's season, a three-run bomb to right field for Beau Mills, who missed the first game of the set.

Thunder get one back in the bottom half after Krum reaches on an error, steals a base, is moved to third on David Adams' fly to right and comes home on Austin Romine's grounder to short. Akron 3, Thunder 1.

Second inning: Pendleton allows three straight hits to load the bases, but gets out with just one run allowed after a 4-6-3 double play and a fantastic diving play from Adams.

The Thunder get a two-out hit from Daniel Brewer, but Kevin Smith's grounder to second quickly snuffed any threat.

Third inning: Pendleton had his best inning, escaping the heart of Akron's order with two swinging strikeouts, much to the delight of the extremely vocal fan sitting directly in front of the press box.

Austin Krum singles with one out, but the Adams and Romine both fan against Zach Putnam to end the inning.

Fourth inning: Pendleton allowed two men to reach before being replaced by Wilkins Arias, who walked loaded the bases but got Lonnie Chisenhall to fly to center to escape the threat.

Laird and Sublett fanned to open the inning, and Reid Gorecki flew to right to end it.

Fifth inning: Arias walks Weglarz to start the inning, but gets two strikeouts and a fly ball to right after that.

The Thunder got a leadoff hit from Dan Brewer, who is 2-for-2, but Putnam set down Smith, Nunez and Krum in order afterward.

Sixth inning: Arias got John Drennen swinging before handing the ball to Josh Schmidt who got the next two men on a fantastic play from Adams and a strikeout of Wyatt Toregas.

The Thunder had their best chance to score here. Austin Romine's RBI groundout scored Adams from third, but Dan Brewer couldn't cash in the two runners who got on before him. He'll settle for a 2-for-3 night. Thunder have left five runners in scoring position tonight.

Seventh inning: Both teams went down 1-2-3, with three strikeouts among the six hitters.

Sorry for the lack of updates. Things got terribly hectic with writing for the paper and, unfortunately, the blog got neglected.

Final score: Thunder lose, 4-2

Lineups
Akron
CF - Fedroff
3B - Chisenhall
LF - Weglarz
1B - McBride
RF - Drennen
SS - Rivero
2B - Phelps
DH - Goedert
C - Toregas

Trenton
CF - Krum
2B - Adams
C - Romine
3B - Laird
LF - Gorecki
RF - Brewer
DH - Smith
1B - Vechionacci
SS - Nunez

Notes: Yes, you read that right, Marcos Vechionacci is playing first base. He's done it four times in his professional career and is doing it again tonight. He's in a utility role with the Thunder, and first base is part of that role. Manager Tony Franklin said before the game that we might see him in the outfield sometime this season.

Christian Garcia is still here, and was shagging balls and hitting a few fungoes before the game. This came as a bit of a shock to me, just because I thought that, with an injury of that magnitude, just about everything having to do with that arm would cause considerable pain.

I was wrong.

Garcia told me before the game that he can do everything but throw a ball with that arm. If he wanted, he could even flip balls underhand. The only thing he does that causes considerable pain is extending his arm, a fairly critical part of pitching.

John Van Benschoten joined the team today to take the place of Garcia, who was officially placed on the disabled list. Van Benschoten is a former first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

First inning: Mitchell's trademark two-seamer didn't seem to be biting, but he worked around a leadoff hit and a one-out walk to get out of the inning unscathed.

Austin Krum and Austin Romine each fan, and David Adams gets picked off of first by Ryan Edell, who has a fantastic move.

Second inning: A lot of ground balls have gone through against Mitchell, but the big damage came on Jared Goedert's RBI single into the corner in left. He advanced to second on the play. Cord Phelps, who had singled before Goedert, scored on catcher Wyatt Toregas' fielder's choice.

Thunder go 1-2-3. Dan Brewer made a loud out on a long lineout to center field. 2-0 Akron.

Third inning: Matt McBride opened with a single, but the cat-like Marcos Vechionacci turned a swift 3-6-3 double play to help Mitchell escape that jam.

Kevin Smith opened with a walk, but Vechionacci, Nunez and Krum all went down in order to keep it scoreless.

Fourth inning: A wild pitch scored one run, and Rahway native Tim Fedroff's single drove home another. Lonnie Chisenhall made a loud out to center and finished Mitchell's night. John Van Benschoten relieved and allowed a hit before getting out of the inning. 4-0 Akron.

David Adams led off with a hit, but Austin Romine flew to left, Brandon Laird fanned and Adams was caught stealing by catcher Wyatt Toregas.

Fifth inning: Both teams go 1-2-3, with the Thunder flying out to shortstop, second base and left field.

Sixth inning: Van Benschoten gets around a walk and a hit to open the frame, and Luis Nunez hits a long home run to left field to get the Thunder on the board. 4-1 Akron.

Seventh inning: The heart of the Thunder's order -- Austin Romine, Brandon Laird and Reid Gorecki -- went down on a strikeout, a fly to left and a foul pop to catcher Wyatt Toregas, who made fantastic play near the fence.

Eighth inning: With two on and two out, Austin Krum gave one a long ride to right-center field, but it died in the wind and turned into a long flyout.

Ninth inning: Aeros add one on a John Drennen sac fly, Thunder have Adams, Romine and Laird coming up.

Erie
LF - Andy Dirks
2B - Justin Henry
CF - Wilkin Ramirez
DH -Michael Bertram
1B - Cesar Nicolas
RF - Deik Scram
3B - Santo De Leon
C - Maxim St. Pierre
SS - Shawn Roof

Trenton
CF - Austin Krum
2B - David Adams
3B - Brandon Laird
LF - Reid Gorecki
RF - Daniel Brewer
1B - Kevin Smith
C - Jose Gil
2B - Justin Snyder
SS - Luis Nunez


Questions I wanted answered in today's pregame:

1. Has there been a course of action determined for Christian Garcia?
Answer: No. Doctors and training staff still need to be consulted. Franklin does not know the severity of the tear.
2. Has there been a starter decided for Tuesday against Akron?
Answer: No. It is listed as TBD on the chart in the clubhouse, and Lance Pendleton, Wilkin De La Rosa and Josh Schmidt are still "in the mix" for the job.
3. If either Lance Pendleton or Wilkin De La Rosa is forced back into a starter's role, how long will they need to get stretched out?
Answer: Tony thinks both could give him "significant innings" if called upon. De La Rosa doesn't think he will be asked to fill that role, but it would take him a few outings of 3-4 innings to be ready to be a long-term starter again.
4. Has Tony spoken to his team about the traps of a day game after a night game, especially given last year's 13-21 record in such contests?
Answer: Sadly, this didn't come up.

First inning: David Phelps fanned all three men he faced, all looking. Each pitch was on the right-hand corner of the plate. It was the inside corner to the lefties, outside corner to the last man, Wilkin Ramirez, a righty.

Thunder got on the board in the bottom of the inning on a Reid Gorecki sac fly to left field. Austin Krum, who walked on four pitches to lead off the frame, scored from third. 1-0 Thunder

Second Inning: Phelps fanned the first guy he faced, retired the second on a grounder to third, and allowed a hard single up the middle to Deik Scram before Jose Gil caught Cesar Nicolas stealing.

Dan Brewer singled to open the inning, but was erased when a hit-and run play turned into a 7-3 double play. Jose Gil's grounder to short ended the inning.

Third inning: Phelps allows a leadoff hit to Santo De Leon, then balks him to second. Max St. Pierre fans, then Shawn Roof lines into a nicely turned 3-6 double play.

Thunder go quietly. Justin Snyder lines to second, Luis Nunez fans on a nasty hook and Austin Krum called out for touching a ball in fair territory. He hit the ball about five feet and must have accidentally kicked it while running to first.

Fourth inning: Phelps hangs a breaking ball to Andy Dirks, who smacks it just over center for a double. Justin Henry's grounder moved him to third, and a groundout to short from Wilkin Ramirez brought him in. Michael Bertram lined back to Phelps to end inning. Score 1-1.

David Adams opens with a single, and is moved to second when Laird reaches on an error. A wild pitch moves both men up before Gorecki's RBI grounder brings home Adams. Next two ground out. Thunder 2, Erie 1.

Fifth inning: Phelps retires 'em 1-2-3 on spectacular plays by Nunez, Austin Krum and a strikeout.

Justin Snyder gets a one-out single and steals second, but is stranded there.

Sixth inning: Phelps gets the first two before exiting for Wilkins Arias. Phelps' line: 5 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 7Ks. Arias get the only man he faced to ground to first.

Thunder also go 1-2-3, two of which came on incredibly high popups from David Adams and Reid Gorecki.

Seventh inning: Pressure time for Wilkins Arias. He allows leadoff double to Justin Henry, but strands him at third with some excellent pitching to the heart of the order (and a generous inside corner from home plate ump Adam Hamari).

Eighth inning: Noel Castillo works around a two-out walk, keeps the SeaWolves off the scoreboard. Duff and his heat getting ready for the ninth.

David Adams drives home a pair on a two-run double and, while Gorecki was in a rundown after being picked off, scores from third before the tag on Gorecki. 5-1 Thunder, Duff in.

Ninth inning: Duff walks first guy, fans the next two and gets a grounder to first to end it. Thunder, 5-1.