Wednesday September 3rd minor league playoff updates

[OnBaseMachine]

Louisville begins the best of five series tonight at home against Durham with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05. Matt Maloney will start for Louisville against highly touted David Price.

Dayton will begin a best of three series at home against Lansing. Lefty Jeremy Horst is the scheduled starter for Dayton. First pitch is 7:00.

Billings will play a regular season game beginning at 9:05 with Lance Janke starting. Billings has three regular season games remaining before they begin the Pioneer League playoffs.

[dougdirt]

Bats are about to take the field in Game 1 of the playoffs.

[dougdirt]

Louisville is 1-7 all time against Durham in the playoffs. Hopefully they can pull this out, despite being the #1 team in the playoffs, they face a team that won 5 of 8 against them this year and has a better rotation.

[dougdirt]

Matt Maloney walks the Durham leadoff hitter on 4 pitches.

Jeremy Horst with a 1-2-3 inning for Dayton.

[dougdirt]

Maloney strikes out the second batter on 3 pitches.

[OnBaseMachine]

Dayton is scoreless after one inning.

[dougdirt]

Maloney gets a fly out to Stubbs and a weak grounder to first to strand the runner. Bats coming up.

[OnBaseMachine]

Richar leads off with a nine pitch atbat that results in a double. Nice atbat.

[dougdirt]

Danny Richar doubles into the gap off of David Price to start things off for the Bats.

[OnBaseMachine]

Horst: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

[dougdirt]

Adam Rosales draws a walk. Runners on first and second for the Bats, 1 out.

[dougdirt]

Devin Mesoraco walked for Dayton but the went down quietly, still at 0-0.

[OnBaseMachine]

Neither team has a hit through two innings in the Dayton game.

[OnBaseMachine]

Horst: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K

[OnBaseMachine]

Dayton and Lansing are both hitless through three innings.

[OnBaseMachine]

Maloney: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K...game is scoreless.

[OnBaseMachine]

Horst: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K

0-0 after 3 1/2.

[OnBaseMachine]

Maloney: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

[OnBaseMachine]

Brandon Waring singles for the first hit of the game but is stranded. No score after four innings.

[OnBaseMachine]

Janish and Richar single to begin the third inning.

[OnBaseMachine]

Louisville had runners on first and second with nobody out and failed to score.

[OnBaseMachine]

Horst: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K

no score.

[OnBaseMachine]

Maloney has a no-no through four.

[OnBaseMachine]

Horst: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K

Still scoreless.

[dougdirt]

Bats strand the bases loaded.

[killa3312]

Price has really struggled with his control since being promoted to AAA. Surprising considering he dominated such a talented AA league in the Southern League.

[dougdirt]

Price has really struggled with his control since being promoted to AAA. Surprising considering he dominated such a talented AA league in the Southern League.

Sometimes that will happen. Guys just get so overmatched, which a guy like Price could make you feel like, you swing at anything near the zone. Now guys are laying off that stuff and his control issues are becoming evident some.

[dougdirt]

Maloney gives up a solo HR.

[OnBaseMachine]

The no-hitter is broken up by the #8 hitter on a solo homer with two outs in the 5th.

[killa3312]

Sometimes that will happen. Guys just get so overmatched, which a guy like Price could make you feel like, you swing at anything near the zone. Now guys are laying off that stuff and his control issues are becoming evident some.

He's never really had control issues, though. Maybe he's just tired.

[dougdirt]

He's never really had control issues, though. Maybe he's just tired.

Has he never had control problems, or did he never have walk problems? A guy with his stuff is going to get lesser disciplined hitters to swing at anything near the plate because they are overmatched by his stuff. He may have reached a point where guys aren't overmatched by his stuff and are willing to lay off the stuff that is 3 and 4 inches outside.

[OnBaseMachine]

Louisville trails 1-0 after five innings.

[dougdirt]

Neftali Soto gives Dayton a 2-0 lead with a double that plated 2. Waring singled in Soto. 3-0 Dayton.

[OnBaseMachine]

That Soto kid can hit a little.

[OnBaseMachine]

Horst's final line: 6.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K

3-0 Dayton after 6 1/2.

[OnBaseMachine]

Louisville now trails 1-0 after six.

[dougdirt]

Things getting crazy in Louisville. Two batters hit by pitches, one in the back and one in the head and no warnings were issued despite them being back to back hitters. It left the bases loaded. Janish then hit into a force out at home, where Alvin Colina LEVELED their catcher on the force out. Their catcher left the game with a bloody nose. Then there was a warning issued to both teams. Should be an interesting next few days.

[dougdirt]

Maloney serves up another solo HR. 2-0 Durham.

[dougdirt]

Matt Maloney serves up another solo HR. 3-0 Durham on 3 solo HR's. Carlos Fisher coming in.

[OnBaseMachine]

Mace Thurman K's the side in the 8th. 3-0 Dayton after 7 1/2.

[OnBaseMachine]

3-0 Dayton after eight.

[dougdirt]

Dayton won 3-1.


Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
Kahaulelio 2B 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
Cozart SS 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .250
Soto DH 4 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 .250
Waring 3B 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .500
Phipps RF 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000
Mesoraco C 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000
McKennon 1B 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000
Menchaca LF 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
Reed CF 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000


BATTING
2B: Soto (1, Rzepczynski).
TB: Cozart; Soto 2; Waring 2.
RBI: Soto 2 (2), Phipps (1).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Kahaulelio.
S: Menchaca.
SF: Phipps.
Team LOB: 4.

Player IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Horst (W,) 6.2 3 0 0 2 5 0 0.00
Thurman (H) 1.2 3 1 1 0 4 0 5.40
Jeffords (S) 0.2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.00



HBP: Ebarb (by Horst).
Groundouts-flyouts: Rzepczynski 8-2, Farquhar 0-1, Gailey 1-0, Bell 1-2, Horst 8-7, Thurman 0-1, Jeffords 0-1.
Batters faced: Rzepczynski 22, Farquhar 2, Gailey 3, Bell 4, Horst 26, Thurman 8, Jeffords 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Farquhar 2-1, Bell 1-0, Thurman 1-0, Jeffords 2-0.

[OnBaseMachine]

Dayton won 3-1.

Cozart: 1-for-4
Soto: 1-for-4 double, 2 RBI
Waring: 2-for-4
Mesoraco: 0-for-2 walk
Reed: 0-for-3

Horst: 6.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K

Thurman: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K

Jeffords: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K

[dougdirt]

Louisville lost 3-0.

[OnBaseMachine]

Another nice outing by Fisher:

2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

[OnBaseMachine]

Billings is winning 3-0 after two innings. Buchholz is 1-for-2.

[LouisvilleCARDS]

Bats lost, that sucks. How many did the Reds call up? Are the Bats just so depleted now, that its going to be that much tougher to win a playoff series?

[dougdirt]

Bats lost, that sucks. How many did the Reds call up? Are the Bats just so depleted now, that its going to be that much tougher to win a playoff series?

They are just facing a team with real good pitching.

[Spring~Fields]

Bats lost, that sucks. How many did the Reds call up? Are the Bats just so depleted now, that its going to be that much tougher to win a playoff series?

Did we lose here too, grrrrrrr, I better get off the board sigh.

[Danny Serafini]

Bats lost, that sucks. How many did the Reds call up? Are the Bats just so depleted now, that its going to be that much tougher to win a playoff series?

It's the opposite, the Reds are leaving players down so Louisville has as strong a team as they can.

[OnBaseMachine]

If you click on the link below there is a video of the hit by pitches and collision at the plate in the Louisville game.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080904/COLUMNISTS01/809040547/1036/SPORTS07

[OnBaseMachine]

Dragons' Horst gets standing ovation, butterflies, win
Starter pitches Dragons to 3-1 victory over Lansing; Soto drives in two runs.

By Marc Katz

Staff Writer

Thursday, September 04, 2008

DAYTON — Everybody in the crowd at Fifth Third Field on Wednesday, Sept. 3, understood starter Jeremy Horst deserved an ovation, and they gave it to him, standing.

It was Horst who won the Dragons' opening playoff game, with Neftali Soto's two-run double the determining blow in a 3-1 Dragons victory over Lansing as the Midwest League playoffs opened. Cincinnati Reds General Manager Walk Jocketty and some of his staff watched.

The best-of-three series continues tonight in Lansing's Oldsmobile Park.

During a season which the Dragons have been very up and very down, the turning point for a final upward cycle came the first week of July, when Horst walked out of the bullpen and Soto flew in from rookie ball.

The Dragons were a moribund team at that point, having gone 14-36 in the 50 games just prior to Soto's addition in the lineup as a third baseman/designated hitter. On July 6, his first game, the Dragons lost, then won 31-of-53 games to the end of the regular season.

Horst began starting just a few days before, and, like Soto, the Dragons lost in his debut start, but went 8-2 in Horst's starts while he was 5-0 with a 1.64 ERA.

"There were other guys here doing well," said Soto, a 19-year-old who hit .326 for the Dragons. "I was just trying to help the team."

As well as Horst was pitching, Lansing's Marc Rzepczynski was matching him, until the sixth. With one out, Dayton's Jake Kahaulelio reached on a throwing error and Zack Cozart singled to left. Soto then drove a ball that center fielder Darin Mastroianni made a dive to catch, but couldn't.

"I thought that center fielder was going to track that thing down," said Dragons manager Donnie Scott. "He has been hitting well, and how about that sacrifice fly by Denis Phipps?"

It was Horst, though, who received the standing "O" when he reached 100 pitches in the seventh and was lifted with two out and a man on.

"I got butterflies," Horst said. "That was awesome. I never had a standing ovation before."

Playoff schedule

Series 1 (best of three)

Game 1: Dragon 3, Lansing 1

Game 2: 7 p.m. today

at Lansing, WING-AM (1410)

Game 3 (if necessary):

7 p.m. Friday at Lansing

http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/pro/dragons/2008/09/04/ddn090408spdragons.html

[OnBaseMachine]

Billings lost 10-8.

Buchholz: 3-for-6 triple, HBP...hitting .405
Brown: 4-for-6 two doubles, 2 RBI
Sappelt: 1-for-5 walk
Wiley: 1-for-6 double, walk, 2 RBI
Wideman: 1-for-4 walk

Beal: 3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K