5/25 Minor League game updates

[dougdirt]

Well the Dayton Dragons are about to get under way. The rest of the teams start at 7 or shortly there after.

Dayton is taking on the Southbend SilverHawks and Justin Upton.

Johnny Cueto is on the mound for the Dragons.

[dougdirt]

The Dragons are the road team and will hit first in this one.
Mike Griffin leads off by grounding out to the shortstop.
Michael DeJesus falls behind 1-2 before swinging at a curve and missing for 2 outs.
Jay Bruce is hitting 3rd and playing RF tonight. Bruce gets ahead 2-0 before fouling off on out of play. Bruce flies out to Justin Upton to end the inning.

[dougdirt]

Johnny Cueto steps on the mound and fires in a strike to the SS of the SilverHawks. Foul ball for strike 2. Ball 1 goes right past everyone. Curveball put in play to Habileto Hernandez who steps on the bag.
The RF Septimo is up next and falls behind 1-2 pretty quickly. Called strike three slider.
Last years #1 overall pick Justin Upton steps in against Johnny Cueto. This should be interesting. Cueto starts him off with a ball, followed by a foul ball. The count sits at 1-1 and Cueto throws a fastball for strike 2. Cueto throws a curveball that sits Upton down looking.

[OnBaseMachine]

I want to make a nice comment about Cueto right now but I will hold back in fear of jinxing him like I did Bailey last night.

[dougdirt]

dont jinx it!

[dougdirt]

BJ Szymanski singles out to right field to lead off the inning for the Dragons.
Hernandez steps in and smacks a 2 run home run and the Dragons lead 2-0 here in the second inning.

I had to get up for a second and missed how Eric Eymann got out, but he did.
Reininger got a base hit in his at bat.

[Doc. Scott]

Upton came into the game hitting .321/.409/.440 in 29 games. Two homers, 19 RBI, 6/8 steals, 15/20 BB/K ratio.

I don't know if the D'backs have plans for him to stay at this level all season, but he's off to a pretty good start.

[dougdirt]

Chris Denove steps in and jumps ahead 2-0 in the count. Foul ball down the first base line to make it 2-1. Mike VanderWood having problems figuring out there is just 1 out this inning and not 2 like he has said 5 times this inning.
Chris Denove grounds one to the 3rd baseman, Denove out at first. Reininger safe at second.
Josh Holden pops one up to end the inning.
Dragons up 2-0 after 1 1/2.

[dougdirt]

Doc, I would be real suprised if they keep Upton in the MWL all season. Unless his defense is really suffering in CF, which would be the only reason i could see to keep him in the MWL past July if he is hitting like he is now. I have a friend who works for the AA team in the Dbacks system, I might shoot him an email and see if he has heard anything about Upton being on a plan....

[dougdirt]

Josh Holden makes a nice catch to rob a hit off the bat of Byrne of the SilverHawks.
Cueto jumps ahead 0-2 of the #5 hitter Will Crouch. Misses with a slider to go to 1-2. Misses again with a curveball to even it up at 2-2. Cueto misses again and we have a full count on Crouch. Foul ball straight back to stay at 3-2. And another foul ball. Josh Holden makes a leaping catch on the warning track to rob Crouch of extra bases! The announcers were very excited about that one.
Cueto might owe Holden dinner tonight.
Hendricks, the #6 hitter falls behind 0-1 on a foul ball. Slider misses before Hendricks smashed one up the middle for a hit.
Sosa is the 3rd baseman for South Bend, he swings at a slider and misses badly to fall behind 0-2. Sosa grounds out to the SS to end the inning.
Through 2, the Dragons are up 2-0.

[Doc. Scott]

Habelito isn't a prospect and he's a men among younger men at age 25 in Low-A, but he does seem to drive in runs fairly adeptly. I think I also saw something from the Dragons manager about how Hernandez' ability to speak both Spanish and English has proven useful to the Latin players not up to speed yet.

Holden is more noteworthy for his connections with the Army than for his output, but he seems to be pretty solid on D. He's going to have to hit better than .250 with a SLG of .300 to have a serious shot at a higher level, however. He's also as old as Hernandez is, or close to it.

[dougdirt]

To lead off the 3rd is the top of the Dragons line up.
Mike Griffin steps in 0-1 on the day. Griffin pops up in the infield. 0-2 on the day.
Michael Dejesus steps in, also 0-1 on the day. Dejesus gets ahead 2-0 before a coaching visit to the mound. Strike on the outside corner followed by a foul ball to even things up at 2-2. Ground out to the SS.
Jay Bruce comes up with the bases empty. Jay flew out to the CF warning track his last at bat. Bruce lines one, but Evans the pitcher throws his glove up and takes it away.
Dragons still up 2-0 after 2 1/2.


Apparently Hernandez's home run was a moon shot. It went over the 360 ft wall. Then it went over 30 foot of grass past that, then over a billboard past that. That is a shot.

[dougdirt]

Down in Sarasota it is a 0-0 tie after 1. Sam Lecure struck out 2 and didnt allow a hit in the first.

[dougdirt]

Ceuto goes full on the catcher before getting a bouncer to Habileto Hernandez at first. Cueto covered first and apparently had a slight limp for a few steps after leaving first base. No one came out so he seems fine.

Cueto gets another grounder, this time to second base. 2 down.
SilverHawks lineup rolls around to the top.
Cueto gets an infield pop up to end the inning.

[OnBaseMachine]

Bruce has been in a slump lately.

[Danny Serafini]

Bats get to face a familiar battery in Pawtucket tonight. Jimmy Serrano is on the mound, with Corky Miller catching. Olmedo made a little noise, but otherwise a quiet top of the first.

Top 1ST B:2 S:1 O:1
Norris Hopper flies out to center fielder Adam Stern.

Top 1ST B:4 S:1 O:1
Ray Olmedo walks.

Top 1ST B:1 S:1 O:1
With Chris Denorfia batting, Ray Olmedo steals (3) 2nd base.

Top 1ST B:2 S:3 O:2
Chris Denorfia strikes out swinging.

Top 1ST B:1 S:3 O:3
Earl Snyder strikes out swinging, catcher Corky Miller to first baseman Hee-Seop Choi.

Today's lineup is:
Hopper CF
Olmedo SS
Denorfia RF
Snyder 1B
Abad DH
Bannon 3B
Bergolla 2B
Sanchez LF
Jorgensen C

Germano is the pitcher tonight.

[dougdirt]

Cueto has his season ERA down to 2.72 after that last inning. I wonder how much longer he is going to be in Dayton if he keeps this up....

[Aronchis]

Yeah, Bruce has been really streaky this year.

[OnBaseMachine]

Cueto has his season ERA down to 2.72 after that last inning. I wonder how much longer he is going to be in Dayton if he keeps this up....

Cueto's ERA should be a lot lower with the way he has pitched. He has only allowed 30 baserunners in 43 innings this year, yet his ERA in 2.72. Still a very good ERA, but with a 0.70 WHIP you would think his ERA would be in the 1.75-2.20 range.

[Danny Serafini]

Easy beginning for Germano.

Bottom 1ST B:1 S:0 O:1
Adam Stern pops out to shortstop Ray Olmedo.

Bottom 1ST B:2 S:2 O:2
Dustin Pedroia flies out to left fielder Alex Sanchez.

Bottom 1ST B:0 S:2 O:3
Ron Calloway grounds out, pitcher Justin Germano to first baseman Earl Snyder.

[dougdirt]

Bj Szymanski strikes out looking on a curveball.
left the room for all of 2 minutes to come back and hear "and thats the inning". Guess nothing happened. Dragons are leading 2-0 still.

[Danny Serafini]

Bats go down quietly in the 2nd.

Top 2ND B:3 S:3 O:1
Andy Abad strikes out on foul tip.

Top 2ND B:0 S:0 O:2
Jeff Bannon flies out to left fielder Jeff Bailey.

Top 2ND B:2 S:2 O:3
William Bergolla flies out to center fielder Adam Stern.

[dougdirt]

Cueto starts off the inning against the #2 hitter of the SilverHawks. Foul ball gets Cueto ahead 0-1. Fastball at the knees for strike 2 looking. Foul ball back and out of play. Line drive to Eric Eymann who throws the runner out at first for the first out of the inning.
Justin Upton steps in and the count evens up at 2-2 after 4 pitches. Cueto throws one in that Upton fouls off on a check swing. Cueto strikes out Justin Upton for the second time of the night. Threw him a slider that Upton missed big time.
Byrne steps into the box and falls behind 0-2 quickly. Ball low followed by a foul ball. Mike Griffin throws out Byrne by a step at first.
After 4, Dragons are up 2-0.

[dougdirt]

Reininger steps in and crushes one down the line that is just foul. Swing and a miss for strike two and strike three goes by without a swing. 1 down.
Chris Denove swings and misses the first pitch. Grounds out to the SS.
Josh Holden looks at strike one. foul ball into the catchers mitt for an 0-2 count. Josh checks 2 straight swings to even the count at 2-2. Holden pops up to Justin Upton to end the inning.
2-0 after 4 1/2 innings in South Bend.

[Danny Serafini]

Germano is cruising right now, 21 pitches through 2 innings. Still no score.

Bottom 2ND B:1 S:2 O:1
Hee-Seop Choi grounds out, second baseman William Bergolla to first baseman Earl Snyder.

Bottom 2ND B:2 S:3 O:2
Jeff Bailey called out on strikes.

Bottom 2ND B:0 S:0 O:3
Enrique Wilson grounds out, second baseman William Bergolla to first baseman Earl Snyder.

Dane Sardinha went on the 7 day DL yesterday, Ryan Hanigan came up to Louisville today as the backup catcher.

[dougdirt]

Down in Sarasota Sam Lecure left the game after 1.2 innings. He allowed 5 runs, 3 earned on 4 hits and a walk while striking out 3. Dont know if he got hurt (I hope not) or if he just was struggling and was removed from the game, but it wasnt a pretty outting for him at all. Dan Rincon took over for him....He apparently came up from the Venezuela Reds. He is 23.

Eric Eymann throws out the first batter of the 5th inning.
Hendricks comes up and gets brushed back by Cueto. Count evens up at 1-1. Josh Holden makes a sliding catch to take another hit away. 2 outs.
Ground out to the third baseman.
Heading to the 6th, the Dragons are up 2-0.

[Aronchis]

Sarasota is a bad defensive club, probably the worst of the minor league teams.

[dougdirt]

In Cuetos last 3 starts he has gone 17 innings, 2 hits and 0 runs....not bad at all.

[OnBaseMachine]

It sounds like Cueto doesn't have his best stuff tonight (getting ahead 0-2 a lot and failing to get a K, a normal night he racks up a ton of K's), but he has still managed to throw five innings of one hit shutout ball.

[dougdirt]

Mike Griffin grounds out to start off the inning.
Mike Dejesus steps up to the plate 0-2 today and takes the first pitch for a ball. The next pitch is high for ball 2. Dejesus walks on 4 pitches.
Jay Bruce comes up as rain begins to fall. Curve ball, 12-6 for strike one. Another breaking ball that Jay was way ahead of and he falls behind 0-2. Swing and a miss for the 2nd out of the inning.
BJ Szymanski comes up and hits it right at Justin Upton in CF to end the inning.

Joey Votto doubles in the first inning for the Lookouts, but was stranded.

[Danny Serafini]

Top of the third started with some serious scrappiness from Alex Sanchez, as he bunted for a hit and stole second. They managed to load the bases with one out, but Denorfia hit into a DP to end the threat. Cerrano was getting squeezed a bit by the ump, helping him run up a pitch count of 57 through 3.

Top 3RD B:0 S:0 O:0
Alex Sanchez singles on a bunt ground ball to second baseman Dustin Pedroia.

Top 3RD B:1 S:1 O:0
With Ryan Jorgensen batting, Alex Sanchez steals (1) 2nd base.

Top 3RD B:4 S:2 O:0
Ryan Jorgensen walks.

Top 3RD B:1 S:2 O:1
Norris Hopper bunt pops out to pitcher Jimmy Serrano.

Top 3RD B:4 S:2 O:1
Ray Olmedo walks. Alex Sanchez to 3rd. Ryan Jorgensen to 2nd.

Top 3RD B:1 S:2 O:3
Chris Denorfia grounds into double play, shortstop Alejandro Machado to second baseman Dustin Pedroia to first baseman Hee-Seop Choi. Ray Olmedo out at 2nd.

[dougdirt]

Cueto comes back for the 6th inning dealing with at least 8,9 and 1.
It is still raining.
Cueto starts out with a first pitch strike to the South Bend Catcher. High for ball 1. High and away for ball 2. Swing and a miss to even the count at 2-2. Strike 3 swinging. Cueto now has 4 strikeouts.
#9 hitter steps in 0-1 on the night and takes ball 1. Swing and a foul ball toward right, 1-1. Foul ball straight back, 1 ball and 2 strikes. A little high to even it up at 2-2. Swing and a miss on a fastball. make that 5 strikeouts for Cueto.
The leadoff hitter steps in for the SilverHawks. He is 0-2 with a ground out and pop up in his previous at bats. Pop up in the infield on the first pitch.
Cueto through 6, 1 hit, 0 walks and 5 strikeouts. Hes good.

[OnBaseMachine]

That should be the last inning for Cueto. This kid is the Reds best pitching prospect. I like Homer Bailey, I think he is a great pitcher right now, slightly inconsistent, but still a great pitcher. However, Cueto is better at this point. Not only in his stuff nearly as good as Bailey's, but he is consistently good in every start.

[Aronchis]

That should be the last inning for Cueto. This kid is the Reds best pitching prospect. I like Homer Bailey, I think he is a great pitcher right now, slightly inconsistent, but still a great pitcher. However, Cueto is better at this point. Not only in his stuff nearly as good as Bailey's, but he is consistently good in every start.

Cueto is the same age as Bailey playing on a lower level. He also is playing on a defensively superior ballclub. Move Cueto up to Sarasota, I bet he struggles.

[dougdirt]

Dragons turn to bat in the top of the 7th here. Dragons are up 2-0.
Habileto Hernandez bunts, but is thrown out by a step for the first out of the inning.
Eric Eymann looks at strike 1. Pop up on the infield to make the second out of the inning.
JD Reininger falls down 1-2 quickly. Takes ball 2. Curveball just misses to bring a full count. Ball four and Reininger trots down to first base.
Chris Denove bunts for a single, Reininger to second. Catcher bunts for a hit? never would have expected that one!
Josh Holden pops out to the right fielder to end the inning.
Dragons up 2-0 after 6 1/2.

[Danny Serafini]

Germano is really going good right now. He's set down everyone first time through the order.

Bottom 3RD B:1 S:3 O:1
Rodney Nye strikes out swinging.

Bottom 3RD B:1 S:3 O:2
Corky Miller strikes out swinging.

Bottom 3RD B:2 S:2 O:3
Alejandro Machado grounds out, second baseman William Bergolla to first baseman Earl Snyder.

[OnBaseMachine]

Cueto is the same age as Bailey playing on a lower level. He also is playing on a defensively superior ballclub. Move Cueto up to Sarasota, I bet he struggles.

Cueto is also playing in a more hitter friendly league, IIRC. I'm not bashing on Homer Bailey, just praising Johnny Cueto.

The Reds have a nice collection of power arms in Single-A: Homer Bailey, Johnny Cueto, Travis Wood, Zach Ward. Camilo Vazquez could also be added to this list. Hopefully Morrow or one of the other power arm college starters can be added to this list.

[Danny Serafini]

Bats get their second hit, but can't push him home. 0-0, middle 4th.

Top 4TH B:0 S:0 O:1
Earl Snyder flies out to center fielder Adam Stern.

Top 4TH B:2 S:1 O:1
Andy Abad singles on a ground ball to second baseman Dustin Pedroia.

Top 4TH B:0 S:1 O:2
Jeff Bannon flies out to right fielder Ron Calloway.

Top 4TH B:2 S:1 O:3
William Bergolla flies out to right fielder Ron Calloway.

[dougdirt]

There is light rain going on still to start the bottom of the 7th inning.
Grounder to first baseman Habileto Hernandez and Hernandez cant get to the bag quick enough and its the second hit allowed by Johnny Cueto.
There is someone loosening in the Dragons bullpen.
Justin Upton is 0-3 after striking out again against Johnny Cueto. That is 6 on the night for Cueto.
Fastball misses outside to Byrne for ball 1. Swing and a miss for strike 1 to even the count up. Fastball misses outside for ball 2. Fastball goes right by Byrne for strike 2. Full count and Cueto strikes out Byrne, then Denove throws out the runner at second for a double play.
Cueto gets through 7, allowing 2 hits and 6 strikeouts. 0 walks. That has to be his last inning. Dragons up 2-0 through 7.

[Danny Serafini]

The perfect game goes away as Germano walks the leadoff batter in the 4th.

[Aronchis]

There is light rain going on still to start the bottom of the 7th inning.
Grounder to first baseman Habileto Hernandez and Hernandez cant get to the bag quick enough and its the second hit allowed by Johnny Cueto.
There is someone loosening in the Dragons bullpen.
Justin Upton is 0-3 after striking out again against Johnny Cueto. That is 6 on the night for Cueto.
Fastball misses outside to Byrne for ball 1. Swing and a miss for strike 1 to even the count up. Fastball misses outside for ball 2. Fastball goes right by Byrne for strike 2. Full count and Cueto strikes out Byrne, then Denove throws out the runner at second for a double play.
Cueto gets through 7, allowing 2 hits and 6 strikeouts. 0 walks. That has to be his last inning. Dragons up 2-0 through 7.

My guess that was all done at about 90 pitches. Excellent control means more innings.

[traderumor]

Cueto, Cueto, Cueto!!!!!!!!

[Danny Serafini]

Fun fact of the night - Mike Hessman of the Toledo Mud Hens is second in the league with 9 home runs. He's also batting .112.

[dougdirt]

Wow....so all of his hits have been home runs?

[OnBaseMachine]

Hey Danny, I appreciate the updates. Those numbers on Hessman are eye popping. I don't think I've seen anything like that.

[dougdirt]

Mike Griffin is hit by the pitch and walks down to first base.
Mike Dejesus steps in and takes strike one looking. Dejesus grounds into a fieldeers choice. Dejesus at first, Griffin out at second.
Jay Bruce steps in and looks at a fastball for strike one. Bruce fouls off a curve and falls behind 0-2. Bruce hits another one foul, still 0-2 count. Bruce swing and a miss on a change up.
Not a good night for last years first round draft picks in this game....
BJ Szymanski smacks one off the CF wall. Szymanski in at second standing, Dejesus scores from first base. Dragons lead 3-0.

Johnny Cuetos ERA for the season is now down to 2.49.

[Danny Serafini]

The lead runner got thrown out stealing, but two straight hits have put runners on the corners with 1 out.

[OnBaseMachine]

Cueto-Updated 2006 stats

47 IP, 25 H, 4 HR, 6 BB, 59 K, 0.66 WHIP, 2.49 ERA

4.79 H/9
1.15 BB/9
11.30 K/9

That hit rate is amazing.

[dougdirt]

First pitch by the new pitcher, Hernandez pops up on the infield to end the inning. Dragons are up 3-0 through 7 1/2

[Danny Serafini]

Hessman is like Rob Deer to the extreme. He's got 9 HRs and 4 non-homer hits. Checking the numbers he's now slipped to .109, 13 for 119. I just realized that I saw history Tuesday night. The single he had was his only one this year.

[Danny Serafini]

Germano is falling apart in the 4th. He struck out Hee Seop Choi, but just walked back to back hitters to force in a run. 1-0 Pawtucket.

[Danny Serafini]

Germano gets another K to get out of the inning. Ugly, but he strands three and gives up just the one run. He does have 5 strikeouts. 1-0 Pawtucket through 4.

Bottom 4TH B:4 S:1 O:0
Adam Stern walks.

Bottom 4TH B:3 S:1 O:1
With Dustin Pedroia batting, Adam Stern caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Ryan Jorgensen to second baseman William Bergolla.

Bottom 4TH B:3 S:2 O:1
Dustin Pedroia singles on a line drive to left fielder Alex Sanchez.

Bottom 4TH B:3 S:2 O:1
Ron Calloway singles on a line drive to center fielder Norris Hopper. Dustin Pedroia to 3rd.

Bottom 4TH B:3 S:3 O:2
Hee-Seop Choi called out on strikes. Ron Calloway steals (5) 2nd base.

Bottom 4TH B:4 S:2 O:2
Jeff Bailey walks.

Bottom 4TH B:4 S:1 O:2
Enrique Wilson walks. Dustin Pedroia scores. Ron Calloway to 3rd. Jeff Bailey to 2nd.

Bottom 4TH B:0 S:3 O:3
Rodney Nye strikes out swinging.

[dougdirt]

Logan Ondrusek comes in and strikesout the first batter on 3 pitches. That is 1 out on the inning.
Josh Holden catches a pop up for the second out of the inning.
Line drive double for Sosa.
Ondrusek falls behind 3-1 before getting a strike in there to make it a full count. Home run, Dragons now lead 3-2. How bad is the Dragons bullpen?

[dougdirt]

Joey Votto is killing the ball tonight. He is 3-3, with 2 doubles and a Home run for the Lookouts.

[Danny Serafini]

Olmedo just dropped a bloop single between everyone in short left to drive home a run, tie game, 1-1.

[dougdirt]

Pinch hit double for South Bend and things are starting to fall apart for Dayton. Blake Hendley came in and gave that up.
He falls behind 1-0 to the next hitter. Curve ball for ball 2. Pop up to center to end the inning.
Dragons lead 3-2 heading into the 9th inning.

Chattanooga is leading 2-0 in the 5th.

Sarasota is down 9-1 in the 5th. That game got ugly real fast.

[dougdirt]

Joey Votto now has 7 home runs and 15 doubles on the season. He also has his average up to .305. Might he see Louisville before the end of the season?

[Danny Serafini]

Was there a AAA Title Game before? They just did an ad for it, the IL and PCL champions are playing one game in Oklahoma City at the end of the season to determine a AAA champion. I know they used to have the AAA World Series, but this is the first I've ever heard of a AAA Title Game.

[dougdirt]

Dragons go down 1-2-3 and we head to the bottom of the 9th.
Dragons lead 3-2. Justin Upton comes up for South Bend.

[OnBaseMachine]

Joey Votto now has 7 home runs and 15 doubles on the season. He also has his average up to .305. Might he see Louisville before the end of the season?

And his walk rate is starting to return to where it was in 2004.

Aaron Herr is another guy I like on that Chattanooga roster. He's currently hitting .320/.347/.525 while playing second and third base. Still only 25 years old. With improved plate discipline he could be a servicable hitter.

[Danny Serafini]

The Bats started to get a rally going with runners on the corners, but couldn't get another run home. Tied at 1, middle 5th. Alex Sanchez may be too scrappy, he tried to bunt for a leadoff hit again, but couldn't pull it off.

Top 5TH B:1 S:0 O:1
Alex Sanchez bunt grounds out, catcher Corky Miller to first baseman Hee-Seop Choi.

Top 5TH B:4 S:1 O:1
Ryan Jorgensen walks.

Top 5TH B:0 S:2 O:2
Norris Hopper grounds out, shortstop Alejandro Machado to first baseman Hee-Seop Choi. Ryan Jorgensen to 2nd.

Top 5TH B:0 S:1 O:2
Ray Olmedo singles on a fly ball to left fielder Jeff Bailey. Ryan Jorgensen scores.

Top 5TH B:2 S:2 O:2
Chris Denorfia singles on a ground ball to center fielder Adam Stern. Ray Olmedo to 3rd.

Top 5TH B:1 S:0 O:3
Earl Snyder flies out to right fielder Ron Calloway.

Denorfia came into today leading active players in the IL with a .336 batting average. That Melky guy was hitting .345 for Columbus when the Yankees called him up.

[dougdirt]

Blake Hendley pitching in the 9th.
Septimo leads off the inning with a single to RF.
Justin Upton comes to the plate as the winning run. Grounds into a double play.
Byrne comes up and takes the first pitch outside for ball 1. Hendley follows up with 2 more balls before throwing a strike. Foul ball to make a full count. Grounder down to first to end the game.
Dayton wins 3-2.

[Danny Serafini]

Rotten start to this inning. Corky got hit with a pitch, which was followed with a single. Next batter tried to bunt the runners over, but Jorgensen threw the ball away going to first, allowing a run to come home. Another run just came home on a single, though Hopper was able to gun down the second runner at the plate to help stop the damage. 3-1 Pawtucket, one out.

[Danny Serafini]

The first 5 batters this inning have all reached, and Germano got the hook. Tom Shearn is coming in. He'll inherit runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out. The Bats announcers aren't happy with the scorer on the bunt. Jorgensen would've hat him easily at first had he not blown the throw, but the scorer gave him a hit instead of a sac bunt. I'd be a little more worried about the runner coming home than the scoring, but oh well.

[Danny Serafini]

This is really getting ugly. Routine sac fly to center results in 2 runs. I'll have the scoring in a second.

[Betterread]

I would send Cueto to high A at the all-star break. He seems to be ready for tougher competition.

[Danny Serafini]

OK, here's what happened. Sac fly to Denorfia in right. Denorfia gets the error for a bad throw in to Olmedo that allows the second run to score. Olmedo has a bad throw to Jorgensen that lets the runner from 1st move to 3rd, but no error, they rule that he was headed there anyways after the first error. Ugh. Final line on Germano, 4 1/3IP, 6H, 5R, 4ER, 3BB, 5K. His ERA sits at 4.66 after tonight.

Bottom 5TH B:0 S:0 O:0
Corky Miller hit by pitch.

Bottom 5TH B:0 S:1 O:0
Alejandro Machado singles on a line drive to right fielder Chris Denorfia. Corky Miller to 2nd.

Bottom 5TH B:0 S:0 O:0
Adam Stern singles on a bunt ground ball to catcher Ryan Jorgensen. Corky Miller scores. Alejandro Machado to 3rd. Adam Stern to 2nd. Throwing error by catcher Ryan Jorgensen.

Bottom 5TH B:0 S:1 O:1
Dustin Pedroia singles on a ground ball to center fielder Norris Hopper. Alejandro Machado scores. Adam Stern out at home on the throw, center fielder Norris Hopper to catcher Ryan Jorgensen.

Bottom 5TH B:0 S:0 O:1
Ron Calloway doubles (11) on a ground ball to right fielder Chris Denorfia. Dustin Pedroia to 3rd.

Bottom 5TH B:0 S:0 O:1
Pitcher Change: Tom Shearn replaces Justin Germano.

Bottom 5TH B:4 S:0 O:1
Tom Shearn intentionally walks Hee-Seop Choi.

Bottom 5TH B:0 S:1 O:2
Jeff Bailey out on a sacrifice fly to right fielder Chris Denorfia. Dustin Pedroia scores. Ron Calloway scores. Hee-Seop Choi to 3rd. Throwing error by right fielder Chris Denorfia.

Bottom 5TH B:2 S:1 O:3
Enrique Wilson flies out to center fielder Norris Hopper.

[Danny Serafini]

Not much to report on the top of the 6th. 4 pitch inning for Serrano. Still 5-1 Pawtucket.

Top 6TH B:0 S:0 O:1
Andy Abad pops out to first baseman Hee-Seop Choi.

Top 6TH B:0 S:1 O:2
Jeff Bannon flies out to right fielder Ron Calloway.

Top 6TH B:0 S:0 O:3
William Bergolla flies out to right fielder Ron Calloway.

[rdiersin]

There is light rain going on still to start the bottom of the 7th inning.


Oh I think the rain started before the 7th;) . IIRC, it started in the bottom of the fifth. Cueto was fun to watch tonight. He gave up the 2 hits, with one of those kind of a cheap hit, if such a thing existed. He owes something to Holden though who made a couple of nice catches. The three strikeouts of Upton were also fun to watch. The first one, he caught Upton looking, and a couple of the calls there went Cueto's way, but the second and third were pure heat. Upton couldn't catch up to his fastball, and Cueto did a great job throwing that high fastball. Fun game to watch, even though a good part of it was in the rain.

[Betterread]

Oh I think the rain started before the 7th;) . IIRC, it started in the bottom of the fifth. Cueto was fun to watch tonight. He gave up the 2 hits, with one of those kind of a cheap hit, if such a thing existed. He owes something to Holden though who made a couple of nice catches. The three strikeouts of Upton were also fun to watch. The first one, he caught Upton looking, and a couple of the calls there went Cueto's way, but the second and third were pure heat. Upton couldn't catch up to his fastball, and Cueto did a great job throwing that high fastball. Fun game to watch, even though a good part of it was in the rain.

What was his fastball velocity range - and did he have an effective changeup?

[Danny Serafini]

Quiet 6th inning.

Bottom 6TH B:0 S:0 O:1
Rodney Nye grounds out, shortstop Ray Olmedo to first baseman Earl Snyder.

Bottom 6TH B:0 S:3 O:2
Corky Miller strikes out swinging.

Bottom 6TH B:4 S:2 O:2
Alejandro Machado walks.

Bottom 6TH B:0 S:2 O:3
Adam Stern grounds out, second baseman William Bergolla to first baseman Earl Snyder.

[rdiersin]

What was his fastball velocity range - and did he have an effective changeup?

I don't have a radar gun, so I couldn't tell you what his fastball was at, but as to his change, yea it was effective. I seem to recall him getting more outs on his breaking ball, which he was able to get several batters to fish for. He seemed to have everything working.

[OnBaseMachine]

What was his fastball velocity range - and did he have an effective changeup?

I don't know what his velocity was tonight, but previous reports on him say he can dial it up to 95.

[Danny Serafini]

The Bats have just chased Serrano from the game. The bases are loaded with 2 outs in the top of the 7th.

[Betterread]

I don't have a radar gun, so I couldn't tell you what his fastball was at, but as to his change, yea it was effective. I seem to recall him getting more outs on his breaking ball, which he was able to get several batters to fish for. He seemed to have everything working.

Thanks. With good velocity, and 3 effective pitches, he is a really promising young arm.

[Danny Serafini]

Snyder grounds out to end the threat without a run. 5-1 Pawtucket, middle 7th. Jake Robbins now in to pitch.

Top 7TH B:1 S:1 O:1
Alex Sanchez grounds out to first baseman Hee-Seop Choi.

Top 7TH B:1 S:0 O:1
Ryan Jorgensen singles on a ground ball to left fielder Jeff Bailey.

Top 7TH B:0 S:0 O:2
Norris Hopper lines out to right fielder Ron Calloway.

Top 7TH B:3 S:2 O:2
Ray Olmedo singles on a line drive to left fielder Jeff Bailey. Ryan Jorgensen to 2nd.

Top 7TH B:2 S:2 O:2
Chris Denorfia singles on a ground ball to right fielder Ron Calloway. Ryan Jorgensen to 3rd. Ray Olmedo to 2nd.

Top 7TH B:0 S:0 O:2
Pitcher Change: Manny Delcarmen replaces Jimmy Serrano.

Top 7TH B:0 S:2 O:3
Earl Snyder grounds into a force out, second baseman Dustin Pedroia to shortstop Alejandro Machado. Chris Denorfia out at 2nd.

[Danny Serafini]

Quick bottom of the 7th. Announcer isn't happy with the error charged to Olmedo, the throw was there but the ball just popped out of Snyder's glove.

Bottom 7TH B:0 S:0 O:0
Pitcher Change: Jake Robbins replaces Tom Shearn.

Bottom 7TH B:0 S:1 O:1
Dustin Pedroia lines out to first baseman Earl Snyder.

Bottom 7TH B:1 S:1 O:2
Ron Calloway grounds out, second baseman William Bergolla to first baseman Earl Snyder.

Bottom 7TH B:0 S:2 O:2
Hee-Seop Choi reaches on throwing error by shortstop Ray Olmedo.

Bottom 7TH B:0 S:0 O:3
Jeff Bailey grounds into a force out, second baseman William Bergolla to first baseman Earl Snyder. Hee-Seop Choi out at 2nd.

[Danny Serafini]

Bats are back on the board! Bergolla's one out triple brings home Abad. Now 5-2 Paw Sox.

[Danny Serafini]

Jorgensen's infield single brings home Bergolla, 5-3 now with two outs. They're describing the hit as a swinging bunt.

[Danny Serafini]

Hopper singles to put two men on for Olmedo, who's reached base all four times he's been up tonight.

[Danny Serafini]

Olmedo single to left to load the bases for Denorfia.

[Danny Serafini]

Denorfia flies out to end the threat. Second inning in a row the Bats leave the bases loaded, but at least they got a couple runs out of it this time. 5-3 Pawtucket, middle 8th. Scott Chiasson now in to pitch for Louisville.

Top 8TH B:4 S:1 O:0
Andy Abad walks.

Top 8TH B:1 S:3 O:1
Jeff Bannon strikes out swinging.

Top 8TH B:3 S:2 O:1
William Bergolla triples (1) on a ground ball to right fielder Ron Calloway. Andy Abad scores.

Top 8TH B:2 S:3 O:2
Alex Sanchez strikes out on foul tip.

Top 8TH B:0 S:0 O:2
Pitcher Change: Brad Baker replaces Manny Delcarmen.

Top 8TH B:1 S:2 O:2
Ryan Jorgensen singles on a ground ball to third baseman Enrique Wilson. William Bergolla scores.

Top 8TH B:0 S:1 O:2
Norris Hopper singles on a line drive to right fielder Ron Calloway. Ryan Jorgensen to 2nd.

Top 8TH B:0 S:0 O:2
Ray Olmedo singles on a line drive to left fielder Jeff Bailey. Ryan Jorgensen to 3rd. Norris Hopper to 2nd.

Top 8TH B:3 S:1 O:3
Chris Denorfia flies out to right fielder Ron Calloway.

[Danny Serafini]

Quick work in the bottom of the 8th. The first two outs were both running, sliding catches, nice defense. Not enough to offset the 3 errors earlier, but nice nonetheless.

Bottom 8TH B:0 S:0 O:0
Pitcher Change: Scott Chiasson replaces Jake Robbins.

Bottom 8TH B:2 S:2 O:1
Enrique Wilson flies out to right fielder Chris Denorfia.

Bottom 8TH B:0 S:0 O:2
Rodney Nye pops out to first baseman Earl Snyder in foul territory.

Bottom 8TH B:1 S:3 O:3
Corky Miller strikes out swinging.

[Danny Serafini]

Abad, Bannon and Bergolla are the last hopes for the Bats in the 9th.

[Danny Serafini]

Snyder led off, not Abad. Good thing too, he just blasted one to left to close the gap to 5-4. 5th homer of the year for Earl Snyder.

[Danny Serafini]

Abad singles past the 3rd baseman to put the tying run on base.

[Danny Serafini]

Scrappiness! Bannon bunts to the right side of pitcher's mound. Pitcher can't quite handle it, and it's a single. Matt Kata will pinch run for Abad. 1st and 2nd, no outs for Bergolla.

[Danny Serafini]

Bergolla sac bunt moves the runners. Alex Sanchez batting with men on 2nd and 3rd, 1 out. Sanchez is 1-4 tonight with a bunt single.

[Danny Serafini]

Sanchez lays down yet another bunt. He's safe, but Kata got hung up between 3rd and home and was tagged out. That puts runners on 1st and 2nd, two outs for Ryan Jorgensen. Jorgensen has reached base all four times up 2-2, 2 walks, 1 run, 1 RBI.

[Danny Serafini]

Valiant effort the last 3 innings, but the Bats go down tonight. Jorgensen checked his swing, but still wound up making contact, a slow roller to the pitcher for the third out.

[Danny Serafini]

Today's hitting stars:

Olmedo reached base all 5 times tonight, 3-3 with 3 singles and 2 walks with an RBI and a steal.
Denorfia goes 2-5 to raise his league leading average to .339.
Jorgensen went 2-3 with 2 singles, 2 walks, a run and an RBI.
Abad went 2-4 with a run scored.
Snyder hit his 5th HR tonight.

On the mound:
Germano started with 3 perfect innings before it went awry. He finished with 6 hits and 5 runs, 4 earned, in 4 1/3. The loss drops him to 3-6.
Shearn, Robbins and Chaisson combined to throw 4 2/3 no-hit innings in relief, allowing only 2 walks by Shearn, whose ERA dropped to 2.16 tonight.