Archive for August, 2009
Look who is in this news again - Paul! This time, They Shoot Horses Don’t They? For you convenience, we have a summary -
Apparently Alfonso Soriano’s cranky left knee was bothering him enough during his outfield play
this past Friday that his plans to get an elective MRI (magnetic resonance image) in a few weeks got moved up to Saturday morning since he wasn’t going to start today. In this video interview he says it’s been sore for four months but with (approximately) 40 games left why can’t he keep playing with the same pain? The pain seems to bother him more when he runs (rather than when he hits) so it’s affecting his limited outfield abilities and I expect it’s been a factor regarding his on and mostly off offense this season too.
Soriano was in no hurry to get the MRI as recently as this week. He originally expected to take the time to get it on their next day off, Sept 10th (after returning from the trip to NY and Pitt), but his limp became more noticeable after his game winning 3 run HR on Friday so they moved it up to Monday and when it was clear he couldn’t start today they sent him for the test this morning.
Carrie Muskat from cubs.com reports that the MRI results just showed inflammation and the outfielder will likely get a cortisone shot (based on the manager’s postgame comments) and be sidelined a few days. From the horses mouth, in the postgame interview, Lou Piniella said the team orthopedic specialist (probably Dr. Gryzlo) will look at Soriano on Sunday, and he most likely will get a cortisone shot to alleviate the pain.
I’ve heard some recent mention that Soriano’s knee symptoms started after bumping into the outfield wall in April but I couldn’t find any mention of the event in April post-game recaps. There are mentions in the press about his sore knee as early as the end of May and early June but those mentions didn’t include a specific injury and were more prompted because Soriano stopped hitting in May. From Tribune writer, Paul Sullivan’s Hardball blog on June 2nd:
Soriano has not homered since May 17th. He hit .216 in May with five home runs and 11 RBIs, striking out 32 times in 111 at-bats. Since Aramis Ramirez went down, he’s regressed at the plate instead of stepping up.
Will the knee soreness force manager Lou Piniella to sit him?
“He might have a little discomfort with it, but I’ve talked to the trainer about it, and I’ve talked to Soriano about it, and it’s nothing that precludes him from playing,” Piniella said. “I mean, if he was hitting the ball real well, I don’t think we’d be having this conversation.”
I’m not sure if Soriano had a previous MRI in May/June when we firstheard about the sore knee but it does seem odd that it’s taken thislong to get such a basic test done, if this is his first MRI for a problem lasting months.
Inflammation in the knee (as seen on an MRI) can be localized to a specific part of the knee (i.e. patellar tendon) or it can be generalized as in increased joint fluid (an effusion). By telling us the MRI shows “inflammation”, we’re getting (again) a very limited and non-specific amount of information. Still, if Soriano had a meniscus or ACL tear (aka something significant aka “structural”) they probably would not have omitted mentioning those as specific findings.
If there was a direct impact to his knee in April, the problem may be something called chondromalacia. This translates as soft, blistered or frayed articular cartilage (arthroscopic image). If he banged his knee against the outfield wall, it probably is by the kneecap (patella) or the femoral condyle (trochlea) opposite the patella. Unless the damage is extensive it’s often difficult to see mild chondromalacia on MRI imaging but it is a reasonable speculation as to the source of inflammation if the MRI isn’t showing any structural damage, especially with symptoms persisting over 4 months.
At 33 years of age and with several more years on an $18M contract, I’d expect it will be recommended to have the knee looked at arthroscopically in the off-season, even if it’s just to make sure they know more precisely what is causing the knee soreness this year. A cortisone shot might get him through the season but repetitively it can adversely affect the joint so it’s not like they would be willing to do that time after time without a more precise diagnosis.
We all know the cliche that the season is a marathon. I know director Stanley Pollack should have ordered the MRI before shooting any of the contestants (with cortisone) in his 1969 film:
This is a sad tale of desperate people in desperate times trying to make a few extra bucks during the Great Depression years. Dancing in pairs, they literally risked their health by trying to stay on their feet by dancing longer than every other couple.
Actually, MRI’s were just a twinkle in some physicists eye back in 1969. Studies on MRI’s done on humans weren’t published until 1977. They didn’t become accessible to most patients until the early 1980’s.
OK, this was a goofy analogy but Soriano’s desire to stay in the lineup at any cost seems to fit. Wasn’t Soriano dancing with some Braves fan (Jane Fonda) in that movie? At least back then he could run and hop. Ah, that seems so long ago. Sori, please get your knee well for next season’s marathon. When your bat is missing, it’s tough on every one of us Cubs fans and I don’t want the patented Soriano “hop” morphing into the Soriano wheelie in a wheelchair.
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This will be shocking news for Paul fans, but some of you who will say that you saw it coming from a long way away. I can’t say I’m all that surprised though. Paul is great, I really hope this doesn’t affect the season.
Take a peek at a clip of Paul at his best:
Paul Petushin’s Baseball Bat Choke @ NAGA
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Nobody’s better than Martin these days -
Ryan Howard homered twice during a perfect night at the plate, Jamie Moyer pitched effectively in relief of Pedro Martinez, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 4-2 in the rain Friday. Looking for its third straight division title, Philadelphia increased its NL East lead to eight games over Atlanta and Florida, which lost at home to San Diego.
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Post your replies below.
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NEW YORK - OK, so maybe in the world of Ozzie Guillen grandchildren are overrated anyway.
Asked last week if he would give Jose Contreras another start this season, the White Sox manager responded, “I’ve got three kids, and I want to see my grandkids when they are born. I don’t want to get a heart attack before my time.”
Pennant races must make a man do crazy thing, because guess who is getting the start for this afternoon’s start against the New York Yankees?
“Saturday’s starter is going to be Jose Contreras,” Guillen announced after Friday’s loss. “I don’t have many choices. Our choices in the minor leagues weren’t very good. He’s going to start Saturday. We made sure we changed his routine, so we hope he pitches well.”
Guillen was asked why the organization decided to go away from calling up youngsters Daniel Hudson or Carlos Torres, and he pointed toward the fact that the roster somewhat had their hands tied.
“Because we don’t have another options at all,” Guillen said. “Then we don’t want to move anyone off the roster and we’ll see how it works.”
Contreras was finally yanked out of the starting rotation earlier in the week, after he went 1-5 with a 6.16 ERA in his last eight starts.
The Sox were hoping that the Saturday spot would be filled by Jake Peavy, but after taking a comebacker in his right elbow last Monday, they opted to give him one more start in Class AAA Charlotte Saturday night.
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I have always been a big fan of Hudson, but I have to say, seeing stuff like this gives me mixed feelings.How do you think this news will affect the team this season?
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I wonder how leach’s fans feel -
There may be life in the corpse after all.
After getting only two runners past first base through seven innings, one of them scoring, the Cubs wasted Ted Lilly’s outstanding starting outing when Kevin Gregg gave up a run-scoring single to Fernando Tatis.
No, wait. That’s not fair to Gregg, who got Tatis to hit a two-out fly ball that most left fielders would have caught up with. Alfonso Soriano actually did do that, then let the ball pop out of his clove. It was his third defensive miscue of the game and gave the Mets a 2-1 lead, though his relay throw to Ryan Theriot was sent on home to nail Daniel Murphy at the plate.
And the way the Cubs have played most of this month, that would have been it — giving up the lead run in the late innings, they haven’t been able to mount comebacks. This time, though, a double from Milton Bradley — who also had an adventurous game in the outfield, even while having a fine day at the plate — started the game-winning rally off Mets reliever Brian Stokes. Stokes has been the Mets’ most consistent reliever all year, but he couldn’t stop the Cubs. Derrek Lee moved Bradley to third on a deep fly ball to RF, where he scored the tying run on an Aramis Ramirez single.
Jeff Baker walked — that surprised all of us, who thought he might not have checked his swing in time on a 3-2 pitch — and then Soriano hit his game-winning blast.
Carlos Marmol made us think he was going to play walkathon again, walking the leadoff hitter in the 9th, but then he got three quick outs including a pair of K’s and the Cubs took the first game of the series 5-2, helping Lou Piniella celebrate his 66th birthday today.
Let’s address the booing of Bradley and Soriano first. I’ve consistently said that I’d only boo a perceived lack of effort. I don’t see that from either one of those players — I do think they are giving 100% effort on the field. Bradley was booed when he misplayed a ball in the second inning, allowing the Mets’ first run to score, and thereafter had a mix of boos and cheers when he came up to bat. He also bowed to the crowd in RF after making a nice catch in the seventh inning, which I thought was pretty funny and actually, an appropriate reaction from him. The booing really isn’t necessary, but I can understand fans’ frustration with Bradley, who just doesn’t seem to be a good fit here. He’s made odd comments and then blamed the media for trying to inflame things. There was quite a group of reporters on the field outside the Cubs dugout before the game, probably trying to get more on this story, which I wish would just go away.
It is not my purpose here to reignite the debate about whether Bradley should stay or not. My position is clear and I’m sticking with it — I think he should be traded, and hope the Cubs can do that. In the meantime I hope he hits the hell out of the ball in September, because that would help the team he’s on right now. Here are some cogent comments from Cubs Hall of Famer Billy Williams on this issue:
The sense he gets, Williams said, is fans are focused on what players do on the field and they don’t care about race or your family tree.
“Here’s a case of a player who played here and had some good years — Randy Hundley — and his son Todd came here and didn’t do so well and he got booed,” Williams said. “It’s not directed to any player who’s doing good, it’s directed to players who aren’t having a good year. The fans just want to see good baseball.
“Because we’ve made the playoffs the last couple years, they want a winner here,” he said. “If you don’t perform, they say, ‘Hey, he’s in the Major Leagues and he should perform.’”
Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee told Bradley the best thing to do is ignore the comments. Williams agrees.
“You’ve got to have confidence that you can get beyond that,” Williams said. “Those people have a problem. You have to be like a duck out of water — you have to let it flow off your back.”
Amen, Billy. Amen.
As for Soriano, Lou admitted during the postgame news conference that Sori’s knees are still bothering him and that “he just can’t move around out there”. Well, if that’s the case, why isn’t he on the DL, or why hasn’t this been revealed until now? This has been speculated on for at least a couple of months, and perhaps a DL stint back in May or June would have fixed the problem and he’d be at full strength now. Instead, Lou said Soriano probably wouldn’t play tomorrow and would be examined by the trainers. It’s not clear whether that means Soriano has to be shut down for a while — given that it’s nearly September 1, there’s no great need to place him on the DL, since rosters can expand in three days. If he can hit like he did today, maybe a day off here and there would keep him able to play most of the time, and he could start another hot streak.
Now, back to the nicely played win — it’s too bad Lilly couldn’t have gotten the victory today, because he threw yet another fine game. But the bullpen did its job and so did the offense, coming from behind. I’m not going to turn this into blind optimism because I see the reality of where the Cubs would have to go if they want to make something out of the last 36 games of the season. Today’s crowd of 39,381 included maybe 9,000 no-shows; the bleachers were pretty full but there were many scattered empty seats elsewhere, due not only to the recent play of the Cubs but the late-Septembrish weather. There were quite a number of people seen around the park in Mets garb, probably having planned their trips months ago when the Mets were still thinking about contending. Those fans probably never dreamed they’d not see Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran, all disabled.
Nevertheless, a win is a win, and well done at that. They’ll try to take another one from the Mets tomorrow. Keep the faith.
what do you think?How do you think this news about leach will affect the team this season?
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I wonder how wade’s real fans feel -
Let’s push controversy aside for a while, shall we, and try to just enjoy a baseball game this afternoon? The last time the Mets visited Wrigley Field was more than 16 months ago, on April 22, 2008. That isn’t that long ago in baseball terms, but of the eight starting Cubs that day, four are no longer with the team and one is on the DL. Five other Cubs who appeared in the game are elsewhere as well. As for the Mets, four of their starting eight from that game won’t appear due to injury and three others have departed. Ronny Cedeno hit a grand slam in that game, just to remind you of blasts from the past. It’s still his only slam. (That’s just about the time we started calling him ONEDEC.) Two very different teams will take the field at Wrigley this afternoon from that long-ago day in 2008 (the Cubs did face the Mets last September, still almost a year ago, when the Mets were desperately trying to win a playoff spot, which they lost on the last day of the season). The Mets have been decimated by injuries, both to their starting lineup and pitching rotation — the three Mets probable starters in this series, Pat Misch, Bobby Parnell and Nelson Figueroa, were definitely not the pitchers Jerry Manuel envisioned in his rotation in April. OK, I suppose I can’t resist a couple of links and comments regarding the current Milton Bradley situation. Phil Rogers says the Cubs should just cut him, which would cost north of $20 million and I think is a ridiculous idea, but Rogers also offer some suggestions of other teams’ bad contracts that could result in a trade: The only way to trade Bradley, according to executives with other clubs, is to up your ante to take on someone else’s bad contract. You know the names — the Blue Jays‘ Vernon Wells, owed $98.5 million over five years; the Giants‘ Barry Zito, $83 million over four years; the Astros‘ Carlos Lee, $55.5 million over three years, maybe the Giants’ Aaron Rowand, $36 million over three years. The best of those scenarios involves the Rangers‘ five-year, $80-million deal with Michael Young, who at 32 is a productive player. He’s owed $16 million a year for four more seasons. In a cost-cutting mode because of ownership problems, Texas might consider a Bradley-for-Young trade. But it wouldn’t do it during its ongoing playoff race and it’s going to be increasingly awkward for them to try to wade through a hugely problematic trade. As Rogers says, Texas is in a playoff race and probably wouldn’t do it now. So are the Giants with Zito, who has actually pitched very well since the All-Star break. The Vernon Wells deal would be more palatable to the Cubs if it didn’t have five years and nearly as much money as Alfonso Soriano’s. But I’d do it. Wells is virtually the same age as Bradley (about eight months younger) and, though he’s had a couple of tough years since he signed his monster deal, at least he does have proven power numbers from the past, and could play CF, allowing Kosuke Fukudome to move back to RF next season (with Reed Johnson retained to back them both up). And strangely enough, the best local media words on this situation come from the Tribune’s Steve Rosenbloom, who I almost never agree with and who often writes ridiculous bombast. But today he nails it, in a column titled Bradley’s response ought to anger those who take on racism seriously: Racism is serious. If you are concerned or angry enough to put that in the public discussion, then you seemingly should be motivated to explain when and where this happened. How else do you take a step toward keeping it from happening again? But when Bradley offers only cynicism and sarcasm, he diminishes the severity of the issue. Moreover, he does a disservice to those suffering abuse but who are willing to fight the fight head on. … Under no circumstances does anyone deserve to be abused racially. Underachieving baseball player and racial epithets are dots that should never connect. But Bradleyâs history and now his dismissive response to questions following his serious charges invite the suggestion that heâs looking for ways to shield himself from his problems, self-inflicted or otherwise. One hundred percent correct, Mr. Rosenbloom. Bravo. Try to enjoy today’s game. 
Today’s Starting Pitchers
Ted Lilly
Cubsvs.
Pat Misch
Mets
9-8
W-L
0-1
3.40
ERA
4.09
116
SO
13
27
BB
13
21
HR
1
vs. NY
–
vs. Cubs
Pat Misch’s stats below are with the Mets only; see the pitcher box for his full-season stats.
There’s no profile photo of Pat Misch in a Mets cap available (at least not in that size), so you get one of him with his former team, the Giants. The Mets acquired Misch on waivers in July and he’s spent the last couple of months shuttling between Buffalo and New York, making 15 relief appearances with the Mets (after four with the Giants). He is a Chicago-area native who graduated from Glenbrook North HS in Northbrook in 1999 and has made three career relief appearances vs. the Cubs, all in 2007. This will be his first start as a Met. Only one current Cub has a hit off him — Koyie Hill (1-for-2), but that’s covering only eight total at-bats from all current Cubs.
Ted Lilly is 2-1, 3.86 in five career appearances (four starts) vs. the Mets. His last two starts against them, one in 2007 and one in 2008, were both wins, the last one in the April 22, 2008 game mentioned above. The current Met who has the most AB against Ted is Gary Sheffield; Sheffield is only 5-for-28 against him.
Cable-only today in Chicago (CSN) and New York (SNY). For other games today see the MLB.com Mediacenter.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Mets site Amazin’ Avenue.
Overflow comment threads will post today at 2:15 pm, 3:15 pm and 4 pm CDT.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
what do you think?How do you think this news about wade will affect the team this season?
Take a look at a video of wade doing his best work:
Taylor Wade Baseball
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Blake is featured in the news,
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Hak-Ju Lee and Jose Valdez were named to the Northwest League Post-season All-Star Team.
I think everybody needs some good news tonight and I’m glad to say I’ve got some tonight. So we’re going to lead off with it.
Peoria Chiefs (37-22)
The Peoria Chiefs clinched a playoff spot tonight with a 2-1 victory over the Quad City River Bandits.
Starter Aaron Shafer got the win tonight with six shutout innings. He allowed four hits. He walked one and struck out two.
Kevin Kreier got his third save of the year with two shutout innings. Kreier allowed one hit, issued one walk and struck out three.
Center fielder David Macias went 2 for 4 and scored both runs. Third baseman Ryan Flaherty was 2 for 3 with a walk.
Because the first and second place teams in each half make the playoffs in the Midwest League, the Chiefs clinched a spot tonight. Their magic number to win the second half division title is three.
Iowa Cubs (68-65)
The Iowa Cubs kept their playoff hopes alive by taking a double-header from the Oklahoma City RedHawks by identical 2-1 scores.
In the first game, James Russell started and pitched five shutout innings. Russell allowed four hits, walked one and struck out seven.
David Patton got the win with an inning of relief. Patton didn’t allow any runs or hits, but he did walk two. He did not record a strikeout.
Blake Parker allowed an unearned run in the ninth inning, but recorded his 19th save anyway. Parker didn’t allow a hit. He walked one and struck out two.
The Cubs only had two hits in the first game, but one of them was a two-run home run in the sixth inning by shortstop Andres Blanco. It was Blanco’s sixth home run this season for Iowa. Blanco was 1 for 3.
In the second game the Cubs scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh, including a game-winning RBI single by Andres Blanco again. Blanco went 2 for 4 with a double in the second game. Catcher Steve Clevenger was 2 for 3 with a run scored.
Esmailin Caridad started the second game and allowed one unearned run over three innings. He allowed two hits, walked no one and struck out five.
John Gaub got the win in relief. He walked two and struck out two in the one scoreless inning of relief he pitched.
Tennessee Smokies
Had the day off.
Daytona Cubs (26-32)
The Daytona Cubs tamed the Lakeland Flying Tigers, 8-5.
James Leverton started and picked up his ninth win. He went 5.1 innings and allowed four runs on seven hits, including a pair of two run homers. Leverton walked one and struck out five.
Henry Williamson was perfect in 2.2 innings of relief. He struck out five.
Right fielder Brandon Guyer did what we’ve been waiting for him to do for quite a while: he homered. The three-run home run was his first home run for Daytona (he had hit one for Tennessee) and he went 1 for 4.
Left fielder Jonathan Wyatt was 2 for 4 with two runs scored. First baseman Jake Opitz had a triple (but didn’t score) in a 2 for 4 game. Shortstop Nate Samson went 1 for 2 with two walks. He scored twice and had two RBI.
Boise Hawks (30-36)
The Boise Hawks lost to the Spokane Indians, 4-2.
Yohan Gonzalez was very good in relief in this game, tossing three perfect innings from the fourth through the sixth. Gonzalez struck out three.
Left fielder Robert Wagner provided all the Hawks runs with a two-run homer. It was his fourth on the season. Wagner also doubled in a 2 for 4 game.
AZL Cubs
.:”
What do you think.
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McDonald is at it again -
Pinch-hitter Darnell McDonald hit an RBI double to drive in the winning run in the 10th inning, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 on Wednesday night. McDonald, who threw out Ryan Braun trying to score the winning run in the ninth Tuesday night, hit a liner that Braun in left field misjudged.
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Any tThoughts?
Here’s a clip of McDonald:
McDonald’s Play Land Sports
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No matter what you say, I can’t stop thinking Blake is awesome:
Len Kasper mentioned this during the game tonight, but Chiefs Rebel Ridling, Josh Vitters, Kyler Burke and Josh Harrison were all named to the Midwest League Postseason All-Star Team. Harrison was traded to Pittsburgh, of course. Chiefs manager Marty Pevey shared the manager of the year award. Wish I had better news to report tonight. Iowa Cubs (66-65) The Iowa Cubs were derailed by the New Orleans Zephyrs, 8-1. J.R. Mathes took the loss, allowing five runs on eight hits over 4.1 innings. Mathes didn’t walk anyone and struck out two. Catcher Steve Clevenger was 2 for 4. Tennessee Smokies (31-28) The Smokies fell out of first place tonight when they were beaten by the Carolina Mudcats, 7-6. Hung-Wen Chen got the start and picked up the loss. He went six innings and allowed five runs on seven hits. Chen walked one and struck out four. Catcher Welington Castillo was 3 for 4 with two doubles. He had one RBI and scored once. Center fielder James Adduci was 3 for 5 with a run scored. First baseman Blake Lalli was 2 for 5 with an RBI. Daytona Cubs (25-31) Figures that the teams who have already been mathematically-eliminated would be the teams that won. The Daytona Cubs aren’t just playing out the string though, as tonight they tamed the Lakeland Flying Tigers, 6-4. Starter Craig Muschko got the win. He pitched five innings and he allowed two runs on four hits. He was great around the plate as he didn’t walk anyone and struck out eight. Luke Sommer pitched the ninth to get his second save. Sommer allowed one hit but no runs. He didn’t walk anyone and he struck out one. Second baseman Nate Samson hit a solo home run in the third inning. It was his second home run on the season. Samson was 1 for 4. Third baseman Josh VItters hit home run number three (and his second in three games) back-to-back with Samson’s shot. Vitters was 2 for 4 with two RBI. Left fielder Tony Campana was 3 for 5 with an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base. Shortstop Marwin Gonzalez had a double and a triple in a 2 for 4 game. Gonzalez scored once and had one RBI. First baseman Jake Opitz went 2 for 4 with two doubles. Opitz had one RBI.
Peoria Chiefs (35-22)
The Chiefs were robbed by the Quad City River Bandits 9-6 in 12 innings.
Starter Jeffry Antigua pitched 5.2 innings and allowed two runs on four hits. He only walked one and struck out seven.
Erik Hamren got the loss in relief. Hamren went two innings and allowed three runs, two of which were earned. He allowed two hits and walked two while striking out two. He also balked with an inherited runner on third in the tenth inning.
It was home run number 20 tonight for second baseman Ryan Flaherty. Flaherty’s home run was a solo homer in the bottom of the first. He went 3 for 6 with two runs scored.
Center fielder Brett Jackson also hit a solo home run tonight, his fifth for Peoria, in the fifth inning. Jackson went 1 for 5 with a walk and two runs scored.
First baseman Rebel Ridling was 3 for 4 with a run scored. Kyler Burke was 2 for 5 with an RBI.
Boise Hawks (30-33)
The Hawks were stopped by the Spokane Indians, 6-4.
Eduardo Figueroa started and took the loss. He allowed four runs over three innings, but only one of the runs was earned. He gave up six hits and didn’t walk anyone, although he did have two wild pitches. Figueroa struck out two.
Shortstop Hak-Ju Lee was 2 for 5 with two runs scored. However, he did have another one of those two error games. Lee does seem to make errors in bunches, although he does often go a while without making one.
First baseman Greg Rohan had two doubles in a 2 for 3 game. Rohand also walked once. He had two RBI.
AZL Cubs
Again, the mathematically-eliminated team wins.
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Post your thoughts below!
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I wonder how PAUL’s real fans feel,
Relax everyone. Despite all statistical evidence to the contrary, Derek Jeter is still the best Yankee. Because Paul O’Neill told Mike Lupica he is. How do they keep it doing day after day for all these years? Daily News
what do you think?How do you think this news will affect the team this season?
Every day can be opening day when you open your checkbook and see the logo of your favorite MLB team prominently displayed. All 30 teams available. Matching labels and cover are also available. These baseball checks are only $27.90 at DesignerChecks.com
Wolf sure has been in the news a lot lately -
“If it wasn’t for the second game in a GCL double-header, the affiliates would have scored progressively fewer runs as you descend the minor league ladder. So what I’m saying is, stop reading after Dunedin.
Las Vegas 9 at Salt Lake 8
The 51s did a pretty good job of scoring throughout the game, and yet they were behind from the bottom of the 1st until the top of the 8th when they broke through for 3 runs and finally re-captured the lead they had first taken in the top of the 1st. The offense was fairly evenly distributed, with only Brian Dopirak not reaching base. Buck Coats drove in 3 on a triple and a single, and Aaron Mathews had 2 singles and 2 walks. T.J. Beam didn’t have a great start, but the trio of Zach Stewart, Brian Wolfe and Jeremy Accardo picked him up nicely, allowing 1 run over the final 4 2/3.
Scoring almost as many runs as you have hits is generally a good way to win a game. New Hampshire was more efficient than their opponents, scoring 8 runs on 9 hits while Trenton banged out 12 hits, but could only convert those runners into 5 runs. Nick Gorneault swung the big bat for the Cats, with 3 RBIs on a single and a homer. David Cooper doubled and walked twice. The pitching was nothing to write home about, or anything to write Batter’s Box about, really.
Moises Sierra 4 at Clearwater 2
Dunedin got out-hit 11-8 in this contest, but they had the big hit that counted: a grand slam by Moises Sierra. Clearwater did a poor job cashing in their runners, as they went 2-11 with RISP. Charles Huggins was good on the mound, allowing an earned run on 7 hits in 5 innings, and striking out 8.
Lansing put up a good fight in this one; they had 9 hits including homers by Mike McDade and Balbino Fuenmayor, and got a quality start out of Chase Lirette, who allowed 3 runs in 6 innings. It just wasn’t quite enough, as Jason Roenicke allowed the tying and go-ahead run to score in his 3 innings of work. Johermyn Chavez had a double in 4 trips, while Welinton Ramirez singled and stole a base.
Mahoning Valley 12 at Auburn 1
There is absolutely nothing that happened in this game that I care to mention.
GCL Blue Jays 1 at GCL Braves 3 (7 innings)
Wow, take a look at that box score. Actually, don’t, it’s bleak. The GCL Jays managed just 3 hits and 1 walk. Bryson Namba was the hero, homering in half of his at bats, but even though he wasn’t pinch-hit or pinch-run for or anything, he only managed 2 at bats. Gustavo Pierre had a single and a steal, and there was some solid work out of the bullpen.
GCL Braves 3 at GCL Jays 4 (7 innings)
That’s a little better. Eric Thames and Jony Fernandez each doubled and walked, and John Roberts smacked a solo homer to give the Baby Jays just enough offense to even up the doubleheader. Someone named Lance Loftin’ pitched 2 perfect innings out of the bullpen, but should probably switch to hitting with a name like that.
Three Stars
3. Moises Sierra - grand slam
2. Buck Coats - 2-4, 3B, 3 RBI
1. Nick Gorneault - 2-4, HR, 3 RBI
.:”
What do you think?
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