Cloyd wins 1st major league game!!

So, Labor Day has come and gone, and with it another minor league season is in the books, and the major league boys head into the home stretch.

In Cincinnati, Tyler Cloyd won his first major league game, throwing 7 solid innings at the first place Reds, allowing just 1 run on 4 hits, NO walks, with 9 strike outs.  Justin De Fratus tossed a scoreless 8th (1 walk) in his 2012 debut, and Phillippe Aumont notched his first major league save as the Phillies won, 4-2.   It was win #58 for the HomeSide this year, and Cloyd becomes the 11th different former BlueClaw to win a major league game this season.

In Toronto, Jay Happ pitched well for the Blue Jays, but lack of support left him on the wrong end of a 4-0 score against the surging Orioles.  Jay went 5 innings, and allowed 3 runs, 2 earned, on 6 hits and 2 walks, striking out 9 to slip to 10-11, 4.73 on the season (combining his Houston and Toronto numbers).

After sweeping the White Sox to get into a tie for first place, the Detroit Tigers went home and dropped a 3-2 game to the Indians.  Quintin Berry, starting just the 3rd game in 3 weeks, had a leadoff single , stole his 18th base without being caught, and scored a run  for the Tigers, and   Lou Marson, who narrowly missed throwing out his former teammate, was also 1 for 4 and scored a run for the Tribe.  With Chicago winning, Detroit is once again a game back of the Sox.

In Atlanta, Michael Bourn (.284) had 2 walks and scored 2 runs for the Braves in their 6-1 win over the Rockies.

In Portland, Leandro Castro (.287) had 3 hits and 2 RBI, and Darin Ruf drove in his 104th run as the Reading Phillies beat the Sea Dogs, 7-3 and clinched their spot in the playoffs.  They will open the post-season Wednesday night at home against the Trenton Thunder.......In Bakersfield, Travis Mattair finished off  his season with a 3 for 3 game for the Blaze, including his 19th home run and 82nd RBI as the Blaze topped the Quakes, 7-4.  "Moose" and the Blaze are going into the first round of the playoffs.

Also headed to the post season are Greg Golson (Charlotte) ,  Michael Taylor (Sacramento), Jonathan Singleton (Corpus Christi), and Domingo Santana (Lancaster).


In Frisco, the Midland Rock Hounds scored a run in the 10th inning to take a 2-1 win from the RoughRiders.  Matt Rizzotti was 0 for 4 for Midland, and hit .307 for the Oakland affiliate, and .268 for the 3 teams he played for over the summer.  I believe Matt's performance for the Hounds should earn him an invitation the spring training with the Athletics.