Jesse Biddle with the line of the night – 2R, 1ER, 2H, 1HR, 1BB, 11K in 7IP. He threw 64 of 94 pitches for strikes, though Mike Drago said he went 101 pitches. Not sure which is correct, and how many strikes he threw, but it was his best performance of the year, to be sure. Cesar Hernandez went 3-5 with a home run and two runs scored. Without him, and with Maikel Franco on the bench and Cameron Rupp on the shelf, that Lehigh Valley lineup is…well…Tyson Gillies is the interesting guy in that box score, if that tells you anything.

Clearwater battled back from a 7-0 deficit to take the lead in the seventh, only to lose the lead a half inning later and lose the game in the 13th inning. Brian Pointer hasn’t had a hit since he was pulled early on Tuesday, though he did draw a pair of walks Friday. J.P. Crawford, Carlos Tocci and Dylan Cozens wach with three hits for Lakewood. Cozens was a triple short of the cycle, and his home run was his first of the year. Zach Green, Andrew Pullin and Samuel Hiciano each with a hit and a walk in that contest, but all that offense wasn’t enough to take the game, as Ranfi Casimiro got shelled – 9R, 5ER, 7H, 1HR, 4BB and no Ks, as he couldn’t escape the third inning.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 4/18/2014 →

On a night where Lehigh Valley really could have used some innings from one of its starters, Greg Smith was equal to the task, throwing a seven inning CG shutout. The Pigs were shutout in the nightcap, managing just two hits. Cole Hamels threw a solid six innings in what looks to be his final rehab start. CLR couldn’t capitalize, as Lino Martinez walked four men in 1+ innings, one of whom Chris Burgess could not strand in the ninth, and the bats went (stayed?) cold.

Carlos Tocci put up three hits, two games after putting up four. All seven, and the one in the game in between, have been singles. Just sayin’. Dylan Cozens led the charge on defense, managing two fielding errors in right, thus encouraging four other Blueclaws to follow suit. You can’t teach that kind of leadership.

And finally, Willians Astudillo took three innings behind the plate after Gabriel Lino was pulled for unknown reasons after a Sac Fly RBI in the top of the sixth. I said yesterday in the comments that I’d take an empty average like Astudillo’s from a competent backstop. Seems like he’s got a chance to produce the former. We’ll see if he can deliver on the latter.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 4/17/2014 →

Maikel Franco with his first two hit game of the year, as David Buchanan couldn’t keep men off the base paths. He allowed six hits and walked five over five innings, but managed to only allow three runs. That’s pretty impressive, I guess. Cameron Perkins only had one hit. Wonder if he’s feeling ok. Perci Garner was pulled after four innings and just 67 pitches. He wasn’t pitching poorly, either, though he wasn’t throwing a ton of strikes. Not sure what the story is there. Ken Giles allowed a hit and a walk and struck out two in his inning of work.

Brian Pointer was back in the lineup, while Aaron Altherr had his second triple in as many days, plus his first steal of the year. Miguel Nunez stuck out six in seven innings – he’s got a 16/1 K/BB ratio in 18 innings this year. Stellar. He’s a guy to watch this year, as he’ll need to be protected on the 40-man roster in December to avoid being exposed in the Rule 5 Draft. We’ll see if he earns a spot.

And for Lakewood, Gabriel Lino went deep, and Zach Green had two hits and a walk in support of a quality outing from Tyler Viza – he gave up six hits, walked none, and struck out three in seven shutout innings.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 4/16/2014 →

You guys were a stellar Aaron Altherr performance and a “curious early removal of Brian Pointer” away from getting another limerick.

Altherr was 3-5, a home run short of the cycle, and scored twice. Pointer had a hit to lead off the first, and was pulled for a pinch hitter in the third. No word from the club or from @BaseballBetsy, who was in attendance at Tampa, as to what happened there. One more note – Deivi Grullon made his FSL debut and had a single and an RBI in four trips to the plate.

Everyone else was rained out.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 4/15/2014 →

Severino Gonzalez with what looks like his worst start of the year, 3R/6H/3BB/4K in 5 IP. Ken Giles remains dominant, as it took him just 13 pitches to strike out the side in order in the ninth for his fifth save in a row. He’s allowed just three base runners in six IP on the year.

Cameron Perkins with his first AA homerun. He’s OPSing nearly 1.200 now, and has 10 XBH in 44 trips to the plate. Brian Pointer also remains hot for CLR – he’s OPSing over 1.000 now after a 2-3 with 2BB and a triple. Both numbers are surely sustainable and not at all subject to any mention of small sample sizes. No, sir.

Mark Leiter Jr. got the victory for Lakewood, despite a less than stellar line that reads 4R/7H/1BB/8K over 6IP. Carlos Tocci had four hits and stole a base in that contest, while J.P. Crawford was 2-4 with a walk, a steal and three runs scored.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 4/14/2014 →