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 →

David Buchanan threw just one inning in anticipation of A.J. Burnett maybe not being able to go on Wednesday this week. By all accounts, Buchanan would be his replacement. The LV bullpen struck out eight over eight innings to hold off Rochester. Cesar Hernandez, Cam Perkins and Tommy Joseph all with multi-hit games, as A.J. Cole, the Nats #2 prospect, (per BA), got the victory over Jesse Biddle. Biddle pitched fairly well – 3R/0ER/4H/2BB/6K in 4IP – but was relieved after just 79 pitches. He was charged with two throwing errors in the third and another in the fourth, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was a big part of why he was pulled.

Cam Rupp left the LV game with what seems to be a back/oblique injury, and Kelly Dugan left the REA game after being hit on the hand/wrist with a pitch. I haven’t seen further update on either man, so let’s cross our collective fingers. (a late note: Chad Carman was on Twitter this morning saying he is on the move. My guess is he fills a hole in AA or AAA while Rupp goes to the DL. If Koyie Hill is next on the big league depth chart, it could be Carman to AAA as his back-up and leave Joseph and Valle to continue what they’re doing at AA).

Aaron Altherr joined CLR for what’s likely to be a very temporary stop on the way to his destination in AA. He had a BB and a K in four trips to the plate, while Brian Pointer tallied The Threshers’ lone XBH – he’s OPSing close to .900 thus far. A decent start from Colin Kleven in that one – 3R/7H/0BB/4K in 6.1IP. Dan Child and Colt Murray also with good outings there in relief, while Manny Martinez and Yacksel Rios‘ relief appearances appear to be the highlight of the Lakewood tilt.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 4/13/2014 →

Not much to say about the LV double header. Maikel Franco lowered his BA to .108 after an 0-6 on the day, and he added two strikeouts. Cesar Hernandez playing 3B all day for a Reading double dip, as Cameron Perkins collected five hits, including two doubles and a triple, and Perci Garner made a good showing – 2R/5H/1BB/5K in 5IP. Just over 2/3 of his pitches were strikes and he induced six groundball outs. Ken Giles got five outs and only two were Ks. Unacceptable.

Cole Hamels pitched well in his rehab start for CLR (insert “old for the league” joke here), while Tyson Gillies had a pair of hits. Brian Pointer has seven hits in his seven games. J.P. Crawford had two hits for Lakewood, and Ranfi Casimiro did not have a great day – 5R/3ER/4H/1HR/2BB/3K in 2.2IP.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 4/12/2014 →