Friday night lights

It was a busy night for HomeSider interest, so I will jump right in-

Let start at the major league level, where in Philadelphia, Cole Hamels was cruising along through 7 innings, with Chase Utley's 7th inning home run putting the score at 2-1 in favor of New York. Cole then gave up a single to Ryan Chuch and a double to David Wright, before passing Carlos Beltran intentionally. At this point, Cole yielded to J.C. Romero, and before the inning was over, all 3 runs scored, all charged against Cole. His final line, 7 IP, 8 hits, 5 runs (4 earned), 4 strike outs, and his 2nd loss of the season, despite a 1.86 ERA. These 2 teams have a lot of games remaining with each other and the prospect of more Hamels v Santana in the future is certainly alluring.

In Houston last night, the Rockies took an 11-5 win from the Astros. Michael Bourn was 1 for 5 for the Astros, and Taylor Buchholz pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th for Colorado. They did not face each other.

Over in Allentown Friday, the IronPigs lost again, this time 8-3 to Toledo. J.A. Happ lost for the third time in 4 starts, as Lehigh Valley fell to 2-14 on the year. Happ went 5.2 innings, giving up 7 runs, just 4 earned, on 8 hits, 3 walks, and 3 strike outs. The big lefty has surrendered 12 earned runs in 19.1 innings for a 5.59 ERA. Val Pascucci hit his first home run of the year, after belting 34 in Albuquerque last season.

Also in the International League, in Louisville, Chris Roberson was 1 of 5 Norfolk players to get 2 hits in the Tides 10-3 win over the Bats. Robey also drove in a run, his 8th, and is hitting .292. He was caught stealing for the 2nd time in 5 attempts.

In Norwich last night, Carlos Carrasco was out dueled by Brooks McNiven of the Defenders, and Connecticut escaped with a 1-0 win. Carlos went 7 innings, allowing just 1 run, on a home run by Adam Witter, on 5 hits, 3 walks, striking out 7. He also managed to get a sac bunt down when called upon. Reading managed only 3 singles, by Neil Sellers, Gookie Dawkins, and Lou Marson. Marson got the first hit, leading off the 6th inning against McNiven. Drew Carpenter goes in the 2:00 game this afternoon.

In Winston-Salem, Michael Dubee got off to a rough start, but settled down enough to record his first win of the season in the Warthogs 9-4 win over Frederick. Dubee went 7, allowing just 4 runs (3 earned), all in the first 3 innings. He was great for the next 4 frames as his team piled on the runs.

In Clearwater, the Threshers took a 6-5 decision from Dunedin as Edgar Garcia picked up his first win of 2008. Matt Spencer belted 2 home runs for Clearwater, and Quintin Berry (2 RBI) and John Urick also had 2 hits for the Threshers, who improved to 5-10 on the year. Joe Savery goes tonight for Clearwater.

In Lansing, Scott Mitchinson also struggled early, giving up 4 in the first (3 earned), before righting the ship. Scott ended up going 7, and giving up no more runs, while the Cougar's offense came all the way back for a 7-4 win, Mitchinson's 2nd. His ERA is a very respectable 2.81.

In Lakewood last night, the BlueClaws defeated Delmarva 5-4. The game winning blow was an 8th inning home run by Michael Durant, his 4th so far. It was also his team-leading 9th RBI. Mike had 2 hits on the night, as did Moose Mattair and D'Arby Myers. A word about these two, if I may. Moose made 3 very good plays at third base last night, and although he did make an error on a throw, the 19 year old from Washington (the state) seems to be getting comfortable. D'Arby had his first 2-hit game of the year, scored a run, drove in a run, and stole a base. Last night gave me a glimpse of how good this team could be. The BlueClaws have stolen 17 bases in 18 attempts so far, led by Dominic Brown, who is 6 for 6.

For the 3rd start in a row, Drew Naylor deserved better. He left after 6 innings last night, with a 4-2 lead, striking out 7 and lowering his ERA to 3.13. He could easily be 3-0 right now, but instead he stays at 0-2 and will try again in Hagerstown next week. Walter Tejeda blew the save, but ended up with the win in relief, and Jared Simon recorded his first save with a scoreless 9th inning. (That is Jared in the picture with me on top.)

By my count, 5 of the last 6 games have been very good performances from the starting staff, with the only exception the 12-1 loss to Lake County Wednesday night, and I give Jacob Diekman a pass on that one, the team made 6 errors and I think we should just forget about it. Nobody could have won that night!!

Tyson Brummett will get the ball Saturday afternoon.