Golson, Cardenas stay hot!

Michael Bourn had a double and scored a run for Houston, but the Cubs beat the Astros, 5-4. Mike is hitting just .250 over the first 10 games..........In Chattanooga, Will Savage made his first start for the Lookouts, only lasting 4 innings. Will allowed 5 runs on 7 hits, including 3 home runs, walking 1 and striking out 1, as Chattanooga beat the Tennessee Smokies, 6-5 in a game shortened to 6 innings for an undisclosed reason(?)......In Jacksonville, Darren Byrd came into the 6th inning with 2 outs and got out of the inning after walking a hitter for Huntsville. The Stars rallied for 4 in the top of the 9th to defeat the Suns, 4-1.......In Rochester, Andy Baldwin made his debut for the RedHawks and the got spanked by the Yanks. Andy did not get out of the 4th inning, going just 3.2 innings and giving up 9 runs on 10 hits, including 3 home runs, in Scranton's 11-0 beating of Rochester. 1 of the 3 home runs was hit by Greg Golson (his 2nd), who also had a single, a triple, and a walk, driving in 3 runs and raising his average to a robust .438!........In Charlotte, R. J. Swindel blew a save opportunity, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits in 1.1 innings, as the Knights scored 4 times in the final 3 frames to overcome the Bulls, 4-3...........In Sacramento, Adrian Cardenas had a single and a triple, driving in a run for River Cats in their 6-3 loss to Vegas. "A.C." is hitting .467 for Sacramento.

trifecta!

The trifecta of Floyd, Happ & Hamels came in big time Sunday as all 3 former BlueClaws pitched lights out to pick up a win each. So twice through the rotation, the "BlueClaw 5" -Carrasco, Drabek , and the 3 aforementioned - have each recorded a win and look to be on track going forward. Lets start with our ace, Cole Hamels. Cool Cole went 7 superb innings, allowing just 4 hits and 1 walk, striking out 8 Braves in the Phillie's 3-0 win. Carlos Ruiz was 2 for 3, raising his average to .346, and Ryan Howard did not get a hit, but still managed to drive in a run, his 11th RBI in the first 9 games. The Phillies, by the way, are 7-2..........Moving on to the original golden boy, Gavin Floyd. Gavin went 8 excellent frames, giving up just 1 UNearned run on 4 hits and 1 walk, striking out 8 Rays, as the White Sox prevailed over Tampa, 6-1...........Not to be outdone, Jay Happ went 7.2 innings against Florida, allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 4 walks, striking out 5 as Houston won, 7-1. As I look at all 3 stat lines, I am startled at the similarity....Michael Bourn had 2 doubles and a walk, and scored a run for the Astros...........In Detroit, Robinson Tejeda threw a shut out inning for the Royals as Kansas City continues to make their case that they are for real, topping the Tigers, 9-5. The Royals are off to a 6-3 start...........In New York, Taylor Buchholz had a shaky outing, facing 5 hitters and walking 3 of them. No runs scored, but the Mets lost anyway to the Nationals, 7-3...........In Seattle, Lou Marson had a walk and a double and scored a run as the Indians beat the Mariners, 6-2. After an off 2010, Marson is out to show he is back, hitting .500 in the early going for the upstart Indians, who are now 7-2!

Threshers rally for sweep!

The Clearwater Threshers scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 7th to defeat the Dunedin Blue Jays, 5-4 Sunday afternoon and complete then season opening 4-game sweep. Joe Savery was 2 for 3, and is 12 for 15 to start the year (his average is DOWN to .800!), but it was home runs by Leandro Castro (3rd) and Kyle Lafrenz (2nd) that were the big blows. Brody Colvin started and struggled, making it through just 2 inning, and giving up 3 runs (2 earned) on 3 hits and a walk before being removed. I will try to find out why he came out of the game (injury?). In any event, the bullpen picked up the slack, starting with Tyler Cloyd, who threw the next 4 frames, yielding just 1 run on 4 hits, NO walks, striking out 4. Ebelin Lugo pitched the top of the 7th, and picked up the win when Castro and Lafrenz went deep in the bottom half. Jordan Ellis notched his 2nd "hold" with a scoreless 8th and Derrick Loop recorded the save. D'Arby Myers contributed by throwing out a runner at second base......................In Portland, the Sea Dogs shut out Reading, 2-0, holding the R-Phils to just 5 hits, 2 by Tuffy Gosewisch. Tuffy is off to a hot start, hitting .500 for the first 4 games. After being plunked in the head on Friday, Freddy Galvis retuned to the line-up Sunday, so hopefully all is well on that front. Chris Kissock started and pitched well (you cannot win if your team does not score- more on that point later, Lakewood fans) putting in 6 good innings and giving up 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks, striking out 2. Tyson Brummett and Jacob Diekman pitched shut out ball over the final 2 innings........Back in Lakewood the BlueClaws dropped a doubleheader to Kannapolis, 2-0 in 16 innings in the opener, and 4-1 in the nightcap. So the BlueClaws have scored a total of 3 runs in their first 31 innings of play, fortunate to get 1 win. Let's look at the pitching, which is where the good news is. David Buchanan was great in his opening appearance, tossing 7 shut out innings, and giving up just 3 hits, NO walks and struck out 4. Juan Sosa (2 IP), Garrett Claypool (3 IP) and Chase Johnson (2 IP) were all great and Hector Neris looked impressive in the 15th, before giving up a long 2-run home run to catcher Michael Blanke to settle the issue. Lakewood had numerous opportunities to score and left 11 men on base, going 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position. In the nightcap, Jessie Biddle made his way through 4.2 innings of work, giving up 2 runs (only 1 earned) on 2 hits and 3 walks, striking out 3. Bryan Morgado finished up the final 2.1, allowing 2 UNearned runs on 3 hits, NO walks, and struck out 2. Overall, it was a tough opening series for Lakewood, who will welcome Greensboro to FirstEnergy Park Monday night.........In Allentown Sunday, Drew Carpenter tossed 2 shut out inning for the IronPigs in their 2-0 loss to Syracuse.

around the minors........

The Sacramento River Cats scored 7 runs in the 2nd inning and cruised to an 11-3 win over Tacoma on Sunday. Adrian Cardenas had 2 hits and a walk and drove in 2 runs for Sacramento. "A.C." is hitting .455 after the first series of the season...........In Nashville, Zack Segovia pitched the final 2 innings of the Sounds 4-3, 14 inning loss to New Orleans, giving up the winning run, on 2 hits and 2 walks. Zack also struck out 2.............In Rochester, Greg Golson had a hit and a walk, and scored a run in for Scranton, as the Yankees beat the home team, 7-5................Down in Gwinnett, Yohan Flande came out of the bullpen for the Braves and threw 4 effective innings, allowing just and UNearned run on 2 hits, NO walks, and struck out 2 in the Braves 11 inning, 5-4 win over Durham..........In Manchester, Travis d'Anaud got his first hit of the year, a double and a walk and scored a run for the Fisher Cats in their 5-0 blanking of Trenton. Travis also threw out a runner attempting to steal. Anthony Gose was 1 for 5 for New Hampshire. Also I overlooked Bobby Korecky's appearance in Saturday's game for New Hampshire. Korecky allowed a run on 2 walks, recording 2 outs........

big Sunday for HomeSiders

According to my calendar, Cole Hamels, Gavin Floyd and Jay Happ will all make major league starts this afternoon, while in the minors, Chris Kissock gets the ball for Reading, Brody Colvin will go to the hill for Clearwater, and David Buchanan and Jessie Biddle will throw in the doubleheader in Lakewood.

Chooch slams Braves

Carlos Ruiz hit a pinch hit grand slam home run, and then stayed in the game and doubled in another run in the Phillies 10-2 win over the Braves. Ryan Howard had a single and a walk and drove in his 10th run in the first 8 games, as the Phillies improved to 6-2 on the year.........In Detroit, Robinson Tejeda retired the only hitter he faced, recording a "hold" in the Royal's 3-1 win over the Tigers.............In Pittsburgh, Jason Jaramillo came into the game late and singled in his only at bat in the Pirate's 6-4 loss to Colorado. "J.J." is off to a .357 start in the early going!......In Houston, the Astros woes continued, as they dropped a 7-5 decision to the Marlins. Michael Bourn had a single and a walk, and scored a run as Houston fell to 1-7............In Minnesota, Gio Gonzalez threw 6 shut out innings for Oakland, allowing just 4 hits and 2 walk, striking out 4 in the Athletic's 1-0 win over the Twins. Gio is 2-0, with a 0.62 ERA through his first 2 starts..........In New York, Taylor Buchholz used only 7 pitches to throw a 1-2-3 7th inning to get a "hold" in the Mets' 8-4 win over the Nats.

Savery, Rizz stay hot

Joe Savery continues his early season rampage for the Threshers, picking up 4 more hits Saturday in Clearwater's 4-2 win in Dunedin. Savery is now an unconscious 10 for 12 (that's .833), leading the Threshers to a 3-0 start. Cesar Hernandez added 3 hits and Jiwan James chipped in with 2 hits and a walk. Trevor May started for Clearwater and went 6 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits and 1 walk, striking out 4 and receiving no decision..........Reading rapped out 17 hits in their 13-5 win over Portland. Outfielder Chris Frey had a single, 2 doubles and a home run, driving in 4 runs out of the lead off spot. Matt Rizzotti had 3 doubles and a walk, and is hitting .455 through 3 games, Cody Overbeck had 3 more hits, including his 2nd dinger, Derrick Mitchell and Fidel Hernandez had 2 hits apiece and Harold Garcia hit his first home run of the year in the first inning, to start a 4-run rally. Mike Cisco pitched the final 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks, striking out 4 to record the save..................In Allentown, Mike Zagurski threw a scoreless 8th inning, and Mike Stutes came on for the 9th and 10th. Stutes was charged with the loss, giving up an UNearned run in the top of the10th on 1 hit and 1 walk. He struck out 4 hitters, as Syracuse prevailed 2-1.