Round Rock
The Express ran themselves out of chance to tie the final game against New Orleans.
The promising inning yielded only one run and ended when catcher Humberto Quintero was thrown out at the plate by left fielder Chris Aguila. Quintero was on second base, and he attempted to score on a single by shortstop Edwin Maysonet, despite Express manager Dave Clark giving him a sign to hold up at third base.
“Maybe I could have been a little bit more animated and basically pushed him down,” said Clark. “In the back of my mind, I’m saying he’s not a real speedy guy, but the fact is he went for it and it was a close play at the plate.”
The Express went on to lose 3-2.
The Austin paper is reporting that Chance Douglass has indeed been sent down to Corpus Christi. The Express are also getting another pitcher as Ron Chiavacci is the PTBNL in the deal that sent Stephen Randolph to the Phils.
Corpus Christi had the night off.
Salem
Tim Torres had 3 hits and Jimmy Van Ostrand & Jhon Florentino continued their hot hitting with 2 hits each, as Salem won a rain shortened game 4-1. Chris Salamida had his first scoreless outing in 6 tries to earn the save.
Lexington
Colin DeLome went 4 for 5 with a triple and a homer while knocking in 4 runs to lead Lexington to a 6-3 win over West Virginia. DeLome’s outburst ended a 6 game hitless streak.
Ricky Bennett is pleased with DeLome’s progress:
“He’s hitting for power and driving the ball to all fields,” assistant general manager Ricky Bennett said. “The one area we’d like to see some improvement in the second half of the season is trying to get him to cut down on strikeouts (61 in 195 at-bats). “I think he’s trying to hit homers and do a little too much on offense. We’ve talked to him about that, but all in all, he’s doing a nice job.”
On Russell Dixon, Bennett says:
“He’s making progress, but it’s going to take him some time to really get adjusted and comfortable in the outfield,” Bennett said. “He struggles with the balls over his head, which is normal, but he’s making the routine plays, which is what we’re looking for.”
On Cusick:
“He’s showing the ability to hit everything he sees in Lexington,” Bennett said. “He recently started to take ground balls at third base. We’re trying to increase his value and give him some versatility.”
Sounds like Salem is in Cusick’s near future.