The Astros’ and Indians’ organizations continue to battle it out for best winning percentage among their minor league teams. Through games of Saturday, the junior Astros had a record of 139-108 which just barely edged the Indians’ mark of 140-109 (winning percentage of .5627 versus .5622).
Team Results
35-27, 2nd–PCL American South, 1 game behind Albuquerque.
A second consecutive 3-4 week for the Express as the pitchers continued to do their job (despite the loss of arms to the big club) but the offense slipped into a bit of the doldrums.
Maximum Overdrive
LHP Steve Kent. The journeyman southpaw has a 1.65 ERA over his last 16 appearances with nine hits and seven walks surrendered in 16.1 IP. Other than a full season with the Devil Rays in ’02 (he was a Rule 5 pick and had to remain on the roster for the entire year), the 27-year old reliever has spent his entire career in the minor leagues. Control has been a problem for Steve, with a 4.7 W/9 ratio over his career. So far this season he’s issued 16 free passes in 25.2 IP.
RHP Jason Hirsh. Allowing just one run in six innings in his latest start on Thursday, the big right-hander now has a 1.20 ERA over his last 8 games with just 36 hits allowed in 52.2 IP. The only negative during that span (though it sounds a bit like nit-picking) is a somewhat high 22 walks.
OF Luke Scott. The former Oklahoma State Cowboy is hitting .345 (20-58) over his last 14 games with seven longballs and 18 RBIs. Scott is also on a nine-game hitting hitting streak.
Stuck in Neutral
No one we’d care to discuss.
Broke Down/Under Repair
SS Jesse Garcia. On DL with a broken hand that will keep him out until August.
LHP Mark McLemore. On DL with soreness in his surgically-repaired shoulder.
Among the PCL Leaders
<ul type=”square”><li>Scott ranks 2nd with 16 longballs. He’s tied for 6th in RBIs with 44, 3rd in walks with 38, 9th in slugging at .544, and 7th in OPS at .939.
<li>OF Charlton Jimerson again tops the chart in extra-base hits with 35. He’s 7th in slugging (.551), tied for 3rd in triples (5), 6th in home runs (12), 5th in SBs (16), and tied for 3rd in doubles (18).
<li>Jimerson nears the century mark with 95 strikeouts. His nearest PCL rival has but 61.
<li>INF Brooks Conrad is tied for 5th in RBIs (45), tied with CJ for 3rd in doubles (18), tied for 2nd in extra-base hits (33), and tied with Scott for 7th in runs scored (42).
<li>INF Royce Huffman is tied for 9th in doubles (15).
<li>RHP Chris Baker is second in the league with a 2.10 ERA.
<li>Hirsh is tied for 7th in strikeouts (62) but also has the 6th-most walks (34) and the 4th-most plunks (7).
<li>RHP Jared Gothreaux has surrendered nine gopher balls, good for 8th-most in the league.
</ul>
Miscellany
<ul type=”square”><li>LHP Mike Gallo hasn’t allowed a run in the five appearances (six IP) since being sent down.
</ul>
Team Results
37-25, 1st–Texas League South, 4.5 games ahead of Frisco.
The Hooks first sweep the four-game series from the RockHounds and then take the 1st two games of the series with San Antonio to go 6-0 for the week (outscoring the opposition 38-11 in the process) and pretty much lock up the first half crown. Their magic number is three as they finish out the first half schedule this week with three more games to complete the SA series and then on the road for four games at Frisco.
Maximum Overdrive
RHP Chance Douglass. Pitched six innings of no-hit ball on Thursday on his way to a season-high eight inning performance. The 12th-round pick in the 2002 draft has an ERA over his last 11 games of 2.74. For the season, his ERA drops to 3.64 and his WHIP to 1.18.
RHP Juan Gutierrez. The 22-year old Venezuelan has a 1.16 ERA over his last six starts with 26 hits allowed in 38.2 IP and a 41:14 strikeout to walk ratio. Now has a 3.30 ERA on the year with a 1.29 WHIP.
RHP Jailen Peguero. Has gone twelve straight games without giving up an earned run, yielding just seven hits in 17 innings of work. His ERA and WHIP for the year remain microscopic at 0.59 and 0.95, respectively.
C/1B J.R. House. After his 17-game hitting streak bit the dust a week ago Saturday, promptly started another streak the next day. The 6-gamer in which he was batting .409 (9-22) was snapped Sunday night when he took the 0fer.
OF Jorge Cortes. Batting .363 (58-160) over his last 44 games. Has reached safely in each of his last 33 games. And to top things off, he has a 10-game hitting streak in which he’s hitting .417 (15-36).
3B Mark Saccomanno. The 26-year old Klein Forest HS grad hit three longballs (including a grand slam) and drove in eight runs during the week.
2B Jonny Ash. The former Stanford Cardinal is batting .379 (11-29) during his current nine-game hitting streak.
SS Ben Zobrist. Has a five-game hitting streak in which he’s batting .476 (10-21).
OF Josh Anderson. Batting .478 (11-23) during his six-gamer.
INF Josh Bonifay. Joining seemingly everyone else in the CC lineup with a hitting streak, Cam’s son has a 5-gamer in which he’s batting .350 (7-20). Those seven hits include three doubles and three longballs.
Stuck in Neutral
No one we’d care to discuss.
Broke Down/Under Repair
LHP Blake Allen. On DL with a strained left shoulder.
Among the Texas League Leaders
<ul type=”square”><li>House (.346), Zobrist (.326), Anderson (.317) and Cortes (.313) are all in the top ten in batting average.
<li>OF Hunter Pence again leads the league in homers (16) and is 3rd in slugging (.571).
<li>Pence (.914), Zobrist (.885) and House (.883) are 7th, 8th and 9th, respectively, in OPS.
<li>Pence (50) is tied for 2nd in RBIs while House and Bonifay are tied for 5th with 41.
<li>Bonifay is tied for 7th in longballs with 11.
<li>Zobrist is tied for 2nd with 21 doubles while House is tied for 5th with 18.
<li>Pence (47), Zobrist (44) and Anderson (43) continue to occupy three of the top six spots in runs scored.
<li>Zobrist again is 3rd in walks (37) and 4th in OBP (.424).
<li>Cortes climbs to 6th in OBP (.405) while House is 9th (.392).
<li>Anderson is tied for 1st in steals with 18. He’s been caught seven times, however.
<li>RHP Matt Albers leads the TL with a 2.29 ERA, far out-pacing his nearest competitor at 2.82. Gutierrez and Douglass are 5th and 9th, respectively.
<li>Douglass is top dog in WHIP while Albers (1.22) is 5th and Gutierrez 9th.
<li>Guti leads the league in strikeouts with 78 while RHP Paul Estrada is 3rd with 71 and RHP Mitch Talbot is tied for 8th with 58.
<li>RHP Josh Miller (7), Albers (6) and Gutierrez (6) are all in the top five in wins.
<li>Peguero is still 3rd in saves with 12.
</ul>
Miscellany
<ul type=”square”><li>After two initial losses against the RockHounds, the Hooks have now reeled off 12 straight wins versus Midland this season. CC lost those first two games by 20-10 and 12-9 scores.
<li>Corpus turned four double plays in Wednesday’s game versus the RockHounds.
<li>Given the above leaderboard, it’s no surprise that the Hooks as a team lead the Texas League in batting average (.283) and are second in ERA (3.70).
</ul>
Quoting
Manager Dave Clark on Douglass’ latest outing:
“Chance was outstanding,” (he) said. “That’s the best I’ve seen him throw. And the thing about it was he was doing it with (just his fastball) for the first six innings. That’s normally not the way he pitches, but he did it tonight and it worked in his favor. He was making them pop the ball up and was pitching to contact and that’s the sign of a good pitcher. He not only trusts his stuff, but trusts his defense.”
House, talking recently to his hometown newspaper:
“I’ve got to prove I’ve got the arm strength to throw people out consistently (when he’s catching),” (he) said. “I’ve always been able to hit, and that’s been no problem here. Everything’s been great except throwing guys out, but it’s getting better. My times (in seconds) getting the ball down to second have improved quite a bit. I just have to keep working on it, keeping the arm strong and getting it to where it needs to be.”
Guti on his recent success:
“I’ve got the location on my fastball where I can throw it for strikes when I want.”
C Kevin Davidson says there’s another element involved for Gutierrez:
“He’s always had a great fastball, but he had trouble finding that changeup, but lately he’s had that changeup working for him. That’s helped get the hitters from (keying) on the fastball.”
Team Results
30-34, 4th–Carolina League Southern, 13.5 games behind Kinston.
The Avalanche go 4-3 during the week, making that the third week in a row that Salem has played above .500 baseball. It’s possible that the Avs will be able to finish out the second half with a flourish as the remaining six games are against Lynchburg and Myrtle Beach, two clubs with losing records.
Maximum Overdrive
RHP Ronnie Martinez. The 22-year old out of the Dominican has a 2.35 ERA in seven starts split between Lexington and Salem and has a 31:11 strikeout to walk ratio in 30.2 IP. Martinez entered 2006 with a career ERA of 2.52 over four professional seasons.
RHP Rodrigo Escobar. Getting the well-deserved nod this week as a Carolina League All-Star pick, the Avs’ closer has now recorded nine saves in his last 14 games (including a stretch of eight saves in a row at one point) while yielding just two earned runs on seven hits and striking out 21 in 20.2 innings of work during that stretch. Has a 2.38 ERA and 1.09 WHIP for the season.
LHP Jeff Wigdahl. Allowed just seven hits and four walks over his last 18.1 innings (12 appearances). Has a 2.76 ERA and very cool 0.95 WHIP for all of ’06.
Stuck in Neutral
OF Ervin Alcantara. Hitting just .197 (26-132) over his last 34 games.
Broke Down/Under Repair
Nobody.
Among the Carolina League Leaders
<ul type=”square”><li>OF Beau Torbert remains 3rd in batting average (.324).
<li>OF Francisco Caraballo is tied for the league-lead with 18 two-baggers while 1B/3B/DH Neil Sellers is tied for 3rd with 17 and Torbert is tied for 8th with 15.
<li>2B Drew Sutton still has eight longballs to put him 6th in the league while his 34 walks rank him 6th. He comes in 10th in OBP at .370 and is also 10th in OPS at .815. He’s even 10th in stolen bases with 14.
<li>C Lou Santangelo is 10th in slugging at .462.
<li>Santangelo (T3rd with 65), Caraballo (5th with 64) and Alcantara (6th with 62) continue to go down whiffing at a pace that puts ’em in the league top ten.
<li>RHP Chad Reineke is 9th in ERA at 2.89.
<li>Reineke (1.14) and RHP Evan Englebrook (1.23) rank 7th and 10th, respectively, in WHIP.
<li>LHP Troy Patton and RHP Jimmy Barthmaier are tied for 4th with 66 K’s while Reineke comes in 8th with 62.
<li>Escobar tops the circuit with 12 saves.
<li>Barthmaier continues to hand out free passes (36) at a rate that exceeds all his peers in the league.
<li>RHP Felipe Paulino and his eight gopher balls are 4th-most in the league.
</ul>
Miscellany
<ul type=”square”><li>Caraballo was a single away from hitting for the cycle in last Monday night’s game.
<li>A rehabbing Kip Wells went six scoreless on Saturday night as the Lynchburg Hillcats blanked the Avalanche 2-0.
<li>Paulino missed his last start with what was characterized as soreness in his right arm.
<li>Reineke left Sunday night’s game after being hit in the leg by a line drive.
</ul>
Quoting
Manager Jim Pankovits on bullpen ace Rodrigo Escobar’s repertoire:
“It’s mostly command with him, he isn’t a power pitcher like most closers,” Pankovits said. “He has to throw two or three pitches for strikes at any time, and that’s what he’s been doing.”
Team Results
39-23, 1st–SAL Northern, 3.5 games ahead of Delmarva.
A second consecutive 4-2 week enables the Legends to extend their lead a bit over the second place Shorebirds. With just seven games remaining in the first half, Lexington’s magic number for claiming the title is five. All seven of those games will be on the road, but that shouldn’t be a huge problem considering Lex has one of the better road records in the SAL at 15-11.
Maximum Overdrive
RHP Garrett Murdy. The Texas A&M-Kingsville alum has now worked 12.1 straight innings without giving up an earned run, including the six innings he worked in his last appearance which was his first start of the season. A 16th round pick in 2004, the 23-year old Murdy is repeating the South Atlantic League after posting a 7.82 ERA with Lexington last season.
OF Eli Iorg. Batting .327 (17-52) over his last 16 games including four longballs (including two in Saturday’s game). On the season, Dane’s nephew continues to lead the club in RBIs with 41.
RHP Tip Fairchild. Recommended by the same scout (Mike Maggart) who was instrumental in the drafting of Wade Miller, the New Englander from a D-III school continues to dominate. Went seven scoreless Saturday night to pick up his 8th win and now has a 1.60 ERA and 0.96 WHIP over his last 10 starts.
RHP Sean Walker. The ex Baylor Bear has put up a 2.35 ERA over his last six starts with 32 hits allowed in 38.1 IP and a 33:11 strikeout to walk ratio.
RHP Sammy Gervacio. Has now gone seven straight appearances without giving up a run. Over that 17-inning stretch, the 21-year old Venezuelan has yielded just 7 hits and has a K/W ratio of 22:3. He has an 0.90 ERA and 0.88 WHIP for all of 2006.
RHP German Melendez. The 25-year old Venezuelan in just his second year of pitching after starting his career as a catcher has a 1.23 ERA and 0.61 WHIP in 10 games this season. He’s whiffed 18 in 14.2 IP.
RHP Raymar Diaz. A 2.28 ERA and 1.09 WHIP over his last 13 games with 57 whiffs recorded in 51.1 IP.
Stuck in Neutral
OF Mitch Einertson. His bat picked up a tad this past week but he’s still hitting just .181 (13-72) over his last 20 games. Driven in only seven runs during that stretch. Just four of his 13 hits went for extra bases.
Broke Down/Under Repair
LHP Brian Bogusevic. Having been placed on the DL with an inflamed left elbow, it’s now been five and a half weeks since his last appearance in a game.
Among the SAL Leaders
<ul type=”square”>
<li>Batting average: 1B Ole Sheldon (.354) and C J.R. Towles (.340) are #1 and #3, respectively.
<li>OBP: Sheldon is 3rd in the league at .462 while Towles at .407 is 9th.
<li>Slugging: Towles (.549), Sheldon (.525) and 1B Mark Ori (.513) rank 5th, 8th and 9th, respectively.
<li>OPS: Sheldon (.986) and Towles (.956) rank 5th and 7th, respectively.
<li>Doubles: Sheldon is tied for 1st with 22.
<li>Runs scored: Sheldon is tied for 9th with 42.
<li>RBIs: Iorg is tied for 9th.
<li>ERA: Fairchild is 2nd-best in the circuit at 1.90.
<li>WHIP: Fairchild is 7th at 1.04.
<li>Strikeouts: Fairchild is 8th with 72.
<li>Wins: Fairchild leads with 8 victories.
<li>Saves: RHP Brandon Stricklen is tied for 4th with nine.
</ul>
Miscellany
<ul type=”square”><li>The Legends obviously have a pretty good team but have taken it on the chin in the last month or so by scores of 17-2 (May 4), 20-4 (May 17) and 16-1 (June 8). The common denominator? Reliever LHP Chris Blazek has appeared in all three, allowing a total of 11 runs on 10 hits and 4 walks in 4.1 IP.
</ul>
Quoting
Manager Jack Lind describing after a game an “animated” mound visit to Blazek:
“We’ve still got guys that continue to go to their mouth on the mound, and it’s going to hurt us down the road if we can’t break them of the habit. I said ‘Next time I see you go to the mouth, it’s gonna cost you 10 bucks’.”
Univ of Southern Maine alum Fairchild, comparing his first pro season last year at Tri-City to this season:
“Last year when I came out of college my arm was tired and I didn’t pitch as well as I should,” (he) said. “Right now I think I’m throwing the way I’m supposed to. I’m supposed to be a top starter and that’s what I am right now.”
“Right now I’m pretty confident in attacking hitters. Last year I was kind of awestruck looking at the rosters where (the hitters) were from. Now I just go out there and get after hitters,” he said.
Fairchild discussing the journal he keeps on opposing hitters:
“I keep notes on all the hitters,” (he) said. “Nothing big. Usually three little things, like if I can bust ’em in or if they chase breaking balls in the dirt, or if they chase 0-2 pitches up in the zone.”
OF Ryan Reed on Mr. Fairchild:
“I love playing when Tip is out there. He works fast. He gets us in and out really quick.”
Lind commenting on Iorg’s 2-dinger night on Saturday:
“He’s keeping his hands inside the ball, and that’s what you look for in a hitter. And that’s what teaches him to wait on pitches. If I’m not mistaken, both of them were on breaking balls. He’s made big strides in the last two or three weeks.”
Diaz on what was working for him in his most recent start:
“I threw a lot of strikes,” (he) said. “My two-seamer was excellent, against right-handers, lefties. It moved like I wanted it to. The curveball, slider and split-finger were good.”