6-25 Minor league updates

[CTA513]

Chattanooga lost 1-0 on an infield single in the 9th.

[JaxRed]

How long before Daniel Guerrero starts getting some attention? 12 innings, 1 earned run in the hitting-happy Pioneer League. 0.75 ERA (and one scoreless inning with Sarasota Reds.)

[Redmachine2003]

Stubbs has 3 extra base hits and all 3 are Triples. Just seems alittle odd. Triples are the Hardest to get out of any hit other than an inside the park hr.

[dougdirt]

Jaxred, the thingthat worries me with Daniel Guerrero is the lack of strikeouts so far. VERY small sample size of course, but I would like to see some more strikeouts before I get to excited.

[OnBaseMachine]

Defense keeps Dragons in the game
Cueto delivers another strong performance for Dayton in 3-1 win over South Bend.
By Marc Katz

Staff Writer

DAYTON | Neither pitcher Johnny Cueto nor right fielder Jay Bruce could outshine three heads-up defensive plays by the Dayton Dragons as they purged a three-game losing streak Sunday at sunny Fifth Third Field.

Cueto pitched 62/3 innings, allowing a skimpy four hits and one run, and Bruce cranked out two doubles and made two fine catches in the ninth.

However, three alert plays kept the Dragons in the lead and when they scored three times in the third, breaking a 21-inning scoreless streak, it was enough to beat South Bend 3-1 in a Class A Midwest League game.

"Cueto got us deep in the game and stopped the (losing streak) bleeding," Dragons manager Billy Gardner Jr. said. "The baserunning was probably the key to the game. In fundamentals, we were better than they were."

Pedro Ciriaco led off the game with a single, but was promptly picked off by Cueto, who didn't allow another runner until the fourth.

Once again Ciriaco led off, this time punching a triple over Bruce's head. Ciriaco scored on a groundout, then Justin Upton, last year's No. 1 draft pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks, walked. Upton wasn't paying attention when Trey Hendricks followed with a fly to center.

"I saw the jump he got (toward second)," Dayton shortstop Adam Rosales said, "and he had his head down. He didn't know what was going on."

Rosales faked taking a throw on a ground ball, forcing Upton to slide. Too late, he realized center fielder B.J. Szymanski caught the ball, relaying to first to end the inning on an easy double play.

That wasn't even their best play.

With Cueto out due to a large pitch count (93 pitches), new reliever Jose Rojas had the first two batters on in the eighth by walk and single, with Steve Mena at the plate trying to bunt. He missed, and Dayton catcher Chris Denove saw the runner at second leaning the wrong way.

"Any time you miss a bunt, the runner is usually leaning (toward the next bag)," Denove said. "Rosales made the play. He was on second waiting. Sometimes the shortstop's there and sometimes he isn't."

Rosales took Denove's throw and Frank Curreri was tagged in a rundown, taking the Silver Hawks out of a big inning.

"We played some heads-up baseball," Gardner said.

Today, Logan Ondrusek rejoins the Dragons' bullpen, taking the place of Philippe Valiquette, on the temporary inactive list to attend the funeral of his grandmother. Earlier in the season, Ondrusek was 1-2 with a 4.61 ERA in seven games with the Dragons. He pitched one inning at rookie Billings, Mont., allowing three runs.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/sport...06dragons.html

[OnBaseMachine]

Trio of Mustangs pitchers, solid defense leads way for 3rd straight win
By GREG RACHAC
Of The Gazette Staff

If the Billings Mustangs continue to pitch and play defense like they did Sunday afternoon, they're going to win some baseball games.

The Mustangs made countless plays in the field -- some of them spectacular -- and got a shutout from a trio of pitchers to claim a 2-0 win over Helena at Cobb Field.

With the victory, the Mustangs claimed both games of a quick two-game series with the Brewers, and also finished up their season-opening homestand on a three-game winning streak.

"It was a great effort by the pitchers, and we got solid defense," explained center fielder Drew Stubbs, the organization's first-round draft choice from the Texas Longhorns. "We were sound in the field today, making every play we could." Starting pitcher Daniel Guerrero upped his record to 2-0 with a six-inning gem.

Guerrero held the Brewers to just four hits and struck out a pair. He didn't walk a batter.

In relief Marcos Mateo allowed one hit in two innings of work, then hard-throwing closer Terrell Young (who touched 97 MPH in the game) closed out Helena in the ninth.

In addition, the Mustangs' pitching staff allowed just one free pass for the second straight game and only one Helena base runner got as far as second base.

But the success on the mound wouldn't have been possible without the stellar plays in the field.

"There were some defensive plays out there that I didn't think we could make," Billings manager Rick Burleson said.

For instance, third baseman Jason Louwsma made a classic play on Taylor Green, falling into foul territory on a grounder to snag the ball and make the throw to first base.

An inning later, Stubbs made a diving catch in center off the bat of Chris Errecart to rob a hit, then in the ninth shortstop Chris Valaika made the second of two great stops, going into the hole for the ball to get Errecart at first.

Guerrero also made a solid play in the field, helping himself on the mound in the sixth inning by knocking down a line drive off the bat of -- you guessed it -- Errecart to initiate a 1-6-3 double play.

"Whenever you play a tight game late into the game, there's so much pressure on every play," Burleson said. "Our kids made some outstanding plays under pressure. It was a pleasure to watch."

At the plate, the Mustangs delivered nine hits and scored bookend runs in the first and eighth innings.

Stubbs drove in both the Mustangs' runs, the first with a base hit in the opening frame to plate leadoff man Billy Rojo, the second in the team's last turn to bat with an opposite-field triple that scored Valaika.

In between, the Brewers made some adjustments facing a Billings lineup that was virtually identical to the one a night before in a 9-1 Mustangs' win.

The Mustangs didn't have near the number of base runners on Sunday, nor did they benefit from the same amount of walks.

But Billings did get another strong showing from the top of its batting order, as 1-2-3 hitters Rojo, Valaika and Stubbs each collected a pair of hits.

Chris Heisy also had two hits for the Mustangs.

"We got base runners on and were able to put them across when we needed to," Stubbs said. "I think we're starting to play as a team. Hopefully we can go out on the road and continue to play solid baseball."

NOTES: The Mustangs, who went 4-2 on this homestand, will now venture out on the road for the first time in 2006, beginning tonight with a 7 p.m. game in Missoula against the Osprey. ... That three-game series will conclude Wednesday, and Billings will then head to Great Falls for a four-game set with the White Sox before returning home July 3. ... Rojo has now hit in all six Mustangs games. Logan Parker had his five-game streak snapped with an 0-for-3 day. ... Before the game, pitcher Logan Ondrusek was called up to Single-A Dayton in the Midwest League.

http://www.billingsgazette.net/artic...5-mustangs.txt

[David Cubbedge]

A few things:

On Turner and Dorn: Have they even signed yet?

Anyone know much about Logan Parker? Dude is hitting at a .526 clip with a .654 OBP. Definitely a small sample size, but we have to say that he can hit. He played at Cincinnati so did any of you get a chance to see him play? Was he one of the stars of that team?