TheCrew07

Maybe just maybe the issue here is actually how inefficient Yo has been and not getting him wins? Had Macha pitched Yo out to 130 pitches in any of those games to get through the 8th I would have driven down to MP and given him a beat down myself. We're grasping at straws here as justification, for an outing that really doesn't require any justification. TLB made a legitimate point about wear and tear on a young arm that apparently some here are still unwilling to accept (Cole Hamels anyone?). Was it necessary to get Yo the complete game shut out? No it wasn't. Is it going to hurt anything? No. Yo has had much more stressful 6 inning appearances this season alone. However just because Macha didn't screw up this time, doesn't mean that TLB's other point about him managing for his job isn't a valid concern either... This is still the same man that ran Narveson to 130 pitches, the same guy that doesn't proactively get up relievers when his starters are nearing the end, the same guy that rode Gallardo like a rented mule all last season, and so on.

yep because it makes so much sense to have our best pitchers pitching the fewest possible innings.

Manatees blow lead in ninth to Cubs Peralta goes eight strong innings, gets no decision By Frank Longobardo / Brevard County Manatees VIERA - Reliever Mike Ramlow allowed two runs on three hits in the ninth inning as the Brevard County Manatees blew a 3-2 lead in a 4-3 loss to the Daytona Cubs on Monday night at Space Coast Stadium. Manatees starter Wily Peralta went eight solid innings and allowed just two runs (one earned) on four hits, while walking just one and striking out six on 97 pitches. But Peralta didn't come out in the ninth and Ramlow was called upon to face the lefty dominated part of the Cubs order, with the Brevard County ahead 4-3. Ryan Flaherty led off the inning for Daytona with a double and then moved to third on a flyout. Kyler Burke then ripped a triple into center to tie the game and put the go-ahead run 90 feet away. Two batters later, Jake Opitz singled to left to give Datyona a 4-3 lead, their first since the top of the third. Brevard County had a chance in the ninth to tie the game as Juan Sanchez kept hope alive with a one-out single to right. Peter Fatse reached on a force and Sanchez moved to third on an error. With runners on the corners and one out, Josh Prince flied out to right and Sanchez looked to go home but was called back, then Fatse took off for second and was tagged out on a 9-2-4 double play to end the game. The Manatees took a 1-0 lead in the first on a RBI single by Angel Salome that scored Prince and after falling behind 2-1 in the top of the third, got the lead back in the bottom of the inning on a two-run single by Brock Kjeldgaard. Brevard County and Daytona will be back at it again on Tuesday night in Daytona Beach and return to Viera on Wednesday night for the final game of the four-game set. For those who can't make it out to the Wednesday night's game, Stephen C. Smith of SpaceCoastBaseball.com will be doing a live webcast from Space Coast Stadium with all the action of Wednesday night's game. Click here to listen live on Wednesday night.

Final: Daytona (Cubs) 4, Brevard County 3 Brevard County Boxscore Bah! Lame Cubs... Wily Peralta that a boy! Back to back nice starts from Scarpetta and Peralta makes this substitute teacher (wasn't that how Mass referred to me?) very happy. Peralta went 8 complete allowing only 4 hits, 2 runs, 1 earned run, 1 walk, while striking out 6. As frequent contributor trwi7 noted above Mike Ramlow did indeed cough up the game in the top half of the 9th. No Manatee had more than 1 hit, no Manatee had an XBH, Josh Prince stole his 22nd base, and Shawn Zarraga had his second passed ball of the season. Brevard County Recap No outs and bases loaded in the 3rd led to 2 runs... Brevard County Bottom 3rd Josh Prince singles on a ground ball to center fielder Jose Valdez. Erik Komatsu singles on a ground ball to left fielder David Macias. Josh Prince to 2nd. With Angel Salome batting, wild pitch by Kenneth McNutt, Josh Prince to 3rd. Erik Komatsu to 2nd. Angel Salome walks. Sean Halton lines out to second baseman DJ LeMahieu. Brock Kjeldgaard singles on a line drive to left fielder David Macias. Josh Prince scores. Erik Komatsu scores. Angel Salome to 2nd. Shawn Zarraga strikes out swinging. Scott Krieger strikes out swinging. Huge out on the bases cost the Tees in the 7th Brevard County Bottom 7th Peter Fatse grounds out, second baseman DJ LeMahieu to first baseman Rebel Ridling. Josh Prince reaches on throwing error by third baseman Ryan Flaherty. Josh Prince to 2nd. With Erik Komatsu batting, Josh Prince steals (22) 3rd base. Erik Komatsu walks. With Angel Salome batting, Oswaldo Martinez picks off Erik Komatsu at 1st on throw to Rebel Ridling. Angel Salome flies out to right fielder Kyler Burke. BC was right there... runner on 3rd with 1 out in the 9th, no idea how Sanchez didn't score before they got Fatse at 2nd? Brevard County Bottom 9th Smaily Borges remains in the game as the designated hitter. Pitcher Change: Marco Carrillo replaces Oswaldo Martinez. Scott Krieger flies out to right fielder Kyler Burke. Juan Sanchez singles on a soft fly ball to right fielder Kyler Burke. Peter Fatse reaches on force attempt, throwing error by third baseman Ryan Flaherty. Juan Sanchez to 3rd. Josh Prince flies into double play, right fielder Kyler Burke to catcher Mark Reed to second baseman DJ LeMahieu. Peter Fatse out at 2nd on the throw.

I spent most of the night catching up on the pre game audio since last Friday but I tuned into Helena in time to hear Cody Hawn single and Steve project Greg Hopkins ceiling as a player as Freddy Sanchez... no real stand out tools but he does everything well.

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Pre Game Audio Chris interviews a favorite of mine in manager Jeff Isom, it's always an informative interview when these 2 get together. They discuss the series sweep against the Bees, the defensive work team has been putting in, pitching prospect Del Howell, OF prospects Kentrail Davis and Kris Davis, and pitching prospect Nick Bucci. Helena Brewer Pre Game Audio Steve interviews OF prospect Reggie Keen. Reggie is a great story and this is a fantastic interview, I don't want to spoil anything so please just give it a listen.

Helena Brewer Pre Game Audio Chris interviews 1B prospect Cody Hawn. In this lively interview they discuss "the dream", Cody's best tool, having fun at 1B, Garth Iorg, the left center gap, Cody's first impressions of his new teammates, and playing in a professional baseball atmosphere.

Wisconsin Timber Rattler Pre Game Audio Chris interviews OF prospect Kris Davis. They discuss winning the MWL Home Rome Derby, the second half of the season, and Kris' impressions of the all star game. Helena Brewers Pre Game Audio Steve interviews hitting coach Ned Yost IV. They discuss dealing with a new crop of players, the more advanced group of hitters this season, coaching individual players, the dynamics of being a hitting coach, the new manager this season, the players who jumped out at Ned right away in batting practice, the proper time to coach a player, building team chemistry, and a quote Ned is passing on.

Braun isn't even close to average. He's timid, gets poor jumps, and makes poor judgments in a variety of ways in the field.

Fianl: AZL Brewers 6, AZL Indians 3 AZL Brewers Boxscore Brooks Hall made his second start, only 2IP and didn't give up any runs. Charly Basthara struck out 6 in his 4 innings of work while allowing a run. Ken Allison had 3 hits including 2 doubles. Tyler Robers also continues to rake going 3-5 and Demetrius McKelvie was 1-4 with a double. AZL Brewers Recap The game winning ralley. AZL Brewers Bottom 8th Pitcher Change: Matthew Speake replaces Ryan Morris. Thomas Mittelstaedt hit by pitch. Kenneth Allison doubles (2) on a line drive to left fielder Aaron Siliga. Thomas Mittelstaedt to 3rd. Tyler Roberts singles on a line drive to right fielder Anthony Gallas. Thomas Mittelstaedt scores. Kenneth Allison to 3rd. Jason Rogers hit by pitch. Tyler Roberts to 2nd. Demetrius McKelvie strikes out swinging. Justin Parker singles on a line drive to right fielder Anthony Gallas. Kenneth Allison scores. Tyler Roberts to 3rd. Jason Rogers to 2nd. Maxwell Walla grounds out, second baseman Jorge Martinez to first baseman Jesus Aguilar. Tyler Roberts scores. Jason Rogers to 3rd. Justin Parker to 2nd. With Nick Shaw batting, wild pitch by Matthew Speake, Jason Rogers scores. Justin Parker to 3rd. Nick Shaw singles on a ground ball to center fielder Joel Torres. Justin Parker scores. Yadiel Rivera strikes out swinging.

I really like Marcum, but he's a guy we needed to trade for in 2006, not now in 2010. I would trade Lawrie for a Drabek package.

Final Game 2, 7 Innings: Nashville 8, Round Rock (Astros) 5 Nashville Beats Round Rock On Sunday Night, 8-5 Katin And Koshansky Both Homer In Sounds VictoryNASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Nashville Sounds topped the Round Rock Express, 8-5, in a scheduled seven-inning contest on Sunday night at historic Greer Stadium in the second game of a four-game series. Four Nashville batters recorded two hits in the victory, as the Sounds moved to 41-36 in the tight PCL Northern Division. Joe Koshansky hit a leadoff opposite-field home run to put Nashville on the board at 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning for his eighth home run of the season. Later in the frame, after a hit-by-pitch and two walks to load the bases, Adam Stern singled home Ray Olmedo and Anderson De La Rosa for a 3-0 lead. Nashville scored its final run of the frame on a bases-loaded walk from Brendan Katin. Wright pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the fourth inning as Round Rock's Tommy Everidge and Ramon Vazquez opened the frame with singles, followed by a one-out Kevin Cash walk. Yordany Ramirez then grounded into a 5-3 double play as Mat Gamel stepped on the third base bag gunned a laser to first to end the inning. Nashville tacked on two more runs for a 6-0 advantage in the bottom fourth inning. Trent Oeltjen hit his team-leading 22nd double down the right field line, advanced to third on an Adam Stern groundout, and scored on deep sacrifice fly to right center by Mat Gamel. Katin followed with a solo shot over the left field flag pole for the club's other run, his team-leading 10th home run of the season. The Express got to Wright in the top of the fifth inning, scoring four runs to reduce the Nashville lead to 6-4. After giving up two walks and a single to the first three Round Rock batters to load the bases, Wright allowed an RBI single to Brian Bogusevic and sacrifice fly by Everidge for the first two runs. Wright struck out Ramon Vazquez for the second out, then surrendered a two-run single that ricocheted off Gamel for the other two scores. The Sounds got two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to go up 8-4. Oeltjen ripped his second double down the first base line, advanced to third on a passed ball, and scored on an RBI single from Stern. Later in the inning during a Mike McClendon at-bat, Stern scored from second on a catching error from Everidge, as the first baseman failed to catch the throw from second baseman Luis Maza. The Express scored one run in the top of the seventh inning to bring the score to 5-8, as Vazquez doubled home Bogusevic off McClendon for his first run allowed in relief this season. Wright allowed four runs on eight hits and four walks with four strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings pitched. McClendon (3-2) earned the win giving up one run on three hits in 2 1/3 innings. Express starter T.J. Burton (0-3) took the loss after giving up six runs on six hits and five walks in four innings. The Sounds and Express will are scheduled to play the third game of a four game series at 7:05 pm CT on Monday evening at historic Greer Stadium. Left-hander Sam Narron (1-3, 3.97) takes the hill for Nashville against Express southpaw Andy Van Hekken (4-4, 3.72). Nashville Game 2 BoxscoreChase Wright had a consistent line... 4.1 IP, 8H, 4R, 4ER, 4BB, 4K. Chase was 0-1 with a BB at the plate lowering his AVE to a measly .368 on the season. The sounds batters mentioned above that had 2 hits in the contest were Oeltjen, Stern, Katin, and Koshansky. Mat Gamel was 0-1 with 2BB. It was good to see a nice defensive play mentioned in the summary for Gamel, I'm not sure what to make of the line "a two-run single that ricocheted off Gamel". Was that like certain triple in the MLB game today that happened to ricochet off the RF's glove? Without the benefit of being there to see it, it's awfully hard to form an opinion either way so I highlighted the comment for posterity's sake. Nasville Game 2 Recap The game summary recapped this nicely.

Final: Helena 10, Great Falls (White Sox) 1 Helena Boxscore An excellent bounce back performance for Hiram Burgos and the H-Crew just keeps chugging along. Hiram went 6.1 IP, allowing 4 hits, 1 ER, 1 BB, while striking out 9! He left the game after issuing his first walk with 1 out in the 7th. Chad Robinson also bounced back nicely recording 5 straight outs and Alex Jones pitched the 9th to cap the victory. Reggie Keen was 4 for 4 at the plate, Cody Hawn was 2-4 with 2 doubles, Greg Hopkins was 2-4 with a double, Shea Vucinich was 2-5 with a triple, and finally Brent Dean added a double. Quick, without cheating which Brewer has the best AVE thus far this season? Answer below. The Brewers did not commit and error in the field. Helena Recap These Helena recaps have been quite a bit of fun so far this season. Helena Top 2nd Shea Vucinich triples (1) on a fly ball to center fielder Randall Thorpe. Michael Walker singles on a fly ball to center fielder Randall Thorpe. Shea Vucinich scores. John Dishon strikes out swinging. Brent Dean doubles (1) on a fly ball to right fielder Ryan Hamme. Michael Walker to 3rd. Carlos George singles on a ground ball to second baseman Jeffrey Tezak. Michael Walker scores. Brent Dean to 3rd. Reggie Keen singles on a soft fly ball to right fielder Ryan Hamme. Brent Dean scores. Carlos George to 3rd. Reggie Keen to 2nd on the throw. Franklin Romero reaches on a fielder's choice out, shortstop Kyle Davis to catcher Michael Blanke. Carlos George out at home. Reggie Keen to 3rd. Cody Hawn walks. Franklin Romero to 2nd. Gregory Hopkins singles on a ground ball to center fielder Randall Thorpe. Reggie Keen scores. Franklin Romero scores. Cody Hawn to 2nd. Shea Vucinich singles on a ground ball to second baseman Jeffrey Tezak. Cody Hawn scores. Gregory Hopkins to 3rd. Shea Vucinich to 2nd on the throw. Michael Walker grounds out, second baseman Jeffrey Tezak to first baseman Leighton Pangilinan. Helena Top 8th Pitcher Change: Nelson Curry replaces Douglas Murray. Gerard Ogrinc grounds out, pitcher Nelson Curry to first baseman Ryan Hamme. Carlos George grounds out, shortstop Kyle Davis to first baseman Ryan Hamme. Reggie Keen hit by pitch. Franklin Romero singles on a ground ball to third baseman Juan Silverio. Reggie Keen to 2nd. Cody Hawn doubles (3) on a fly ball to center fielder Randall Thorpe. Reggie Keen scores. Franklin Romero scores. Gregory Hopkins doubles (5) on a ground ball to left fielder Michael Earley. Cody Hawn scores. Shea Vucinich flies out to right fielder Ryan Lee. Greg Hopkins has a team leading .583 batting average thus far.

Final, Game 1 (Completion of Suspended Game): Round Rock (Astros) 9, Nashville 1 Express Down Sounds In Suspended Game Completion NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The visiting Round Rock Express erupted for seven runs in the top of the eighth inning en route to a 9-1 defeat of the Nashville Sounds on Sunday evening at historic Greer Stadium in the completion of Saturday's contest which had been suspended due to heavy rains. Express catcher Brian Esposito provided the big hit of the evening for the visitors, slugging a grand slam to highlight the seven-run eighth. The Express scored the game's first run in the top of the fourth when Wladimir Sutil led off the frame with a single and later came plateward on Tommy Everidge's two-out double down the right field line off Sounds starter Chuck Löfgren. Round Rock held a 1-0 lead in the middle of the fourth inning at the time of suspension on Saturday, which came following a 33-minute rain delay. Round Rock starter Polin Trinidad worked three scoreless frames on Saturday night and was replaced on the hill by right-hander Yorman Bazardo for the bottom of the fourth as play resumed on Sunday. Nashville left fielder Trent Oeltjen (2-for-4) evened the game at 1-1 in the home half of the sixth when led off the frame with his seventh home run of the year, a solo shot to right off Bazardo. Round Rock regained the lead in the top of the seventh when David Cook led off with a double to left off Sounds reliever Tim Dillard and later scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Sutil. The Express tacked on seven insurance runs in the eighth against Mitch Stetter, upping its lead to 9-1. A pair of Round Rock players belted their first home runs of the year in the frame as the visitors sent 10 batters to the plate against the Sounds left-hander. Esposito provided the big jolt of the inning, slugging a one-out grand slam to left. Luis Maza tacked on a two-run roundtripper for Round Rock later in the frame. Esposito's slam was the first allowed by a Nashville pitcher in almost two seasons. Tacoma's Craig Wilson had hit the most recent bases-loaded bomb against the Sounds on July 25, 2008. Bazardo (2-1) picked up the win in relief for Round Rock after allowing one run over three innings of work. Dillard (1-4) took the loss for the Sounds after allowing one run on two hits over three innings of relief work. Nashville Game 1 Boxscore Chuck Lofgren had one of his better outings of the year in his rain shortened affair. Mitch Stetter has been laboring since June 3rd which has ballooned his ERA up over 8 for the season. While I'm admittedly not high on the LOOGY concept at all, I hate to see a guy struggle like Mitch does moving beyond that limited role, there's really no place for LOOGYs in the minors. Mat Gamel committed his 7th error and went 0-4 with 3Ks. Nashville Game 1 Recap You guessed it, Stetter's 8th inning. If Don didn't have to worry about a 2nd game today I would have hoped that Mitch would have been pulled before the inning got absurd. Round Rock Top 8th Defensive switch from left field to center field for Trent Oeltjen. Pitcher Change: Mitch Stetter replaces Tim Dillard, batting 7th, replacing center fielder Norris Hopper. Defensive Substitution: Adam Stern replaces pitcher Tim Dillard, batting 9th, playing left field. Brian Bogusevic singles on a ground ball to right fielder Brendan Katin. Tommy Everidge singles on a ground ball to center fielder Trent Oeltjen. Brian Bogusevic to 2nd. Matt Kata hit by pitch. Brian Bogusevic to 3rd. Tommy Everidge to 2nd. Andrew Locke singles on a ground ball to left fielder Adam Stern. Brian Bogusevic scores. Tommy Everidge to 3rd. Matt Kata to 2nd. Coaching visit to mound. David Cook flies out to right fielder Brendan Katin. Brian Esposito hits a grand slam (1) to left field. Tommy Everidge scores. Matt Kata scores. Andrew Locke scores. Jonah Bayliss pops out to first baseman Erick Almonte in foul territory. Wladimir Sutil singles on a ground ball to center fielder Trent Oeltjen. Luis Maza homers (1) on a fly ball to left field. Wladimir Sutil scores. Brian Bogusevic strikes out swinging.

Final, 6 innings: Jacksonville (Marlins) 6, Huntsville 0 Stars Fall to Suns in Rain Shortened affair By Aaron Morse The Huntsville Stars (2-4, 35-41) were shutout for the second time in their six game series with the Jacksonville Suns (4-2, 44-32) as they dropped the finale by a score of 6-0 in five plus innings Sunday afternoon. The Stars threatened in the first against Suns’ starter Elih Villanueva as Brett Lawrie and Caleb Gindl both singled. But Zelous Wheeler lined into a double play to end the threat. Huntsville would manage only two more hits the remainder of the game as Villanueva (7-4) tossed a “complete game” going 5.1 innings until the rains came, giving up no runs, walking one and striking-out two. The Suns scored one in the first, two in the third, and three in the fifth against Stars’ starter Michael Bowman. Greg Burns started the first with a single to center. He advanced to second on a ground-out and moved to third on a wild pitch. Brandon Tripp hit a grounder to first base that drove home Burns as the Suns took the 1-0 lead. The third inning didn’t go well for the Stars as Burns got things going again, this time with a lead-off walk. Osvaldo Martinez doubled him home to make the score 2-0. One out later Vinny Rottino doubled Martinez in as the Suns extended their edge to 3-0. Rottino would help add some insurance when he singled to right with one away in the fifth. Jason Delaney doubled Rottino across the plate and Matt Dominguez singled to left; Delaney was able to score when Lee Haydel bobbled the ball for his first error of the year. Dominguez advanced to second on the play and scored after Bowman uncorked back-to-back wild pitches. The 6-0 lead was more than enough even though the Stars put two runners on base with only one away in the sixth. The skies opened up and the game was called due to rain. Huntsville has a day off Monday before they return to “The Joe” to host the Chattanooga Lookouts on Tuesday. First pitch is at 7pm central time and all the action can be heard on the Huntsville Stars Radio Network beginning at 6:45 with the Window World Pre-Game Report. Huntsville Boxscore Well I had high hopes for Michael Bowman coming into the season, I was hoping he'd establish himself as a back of the rotation kind of starter but that just hasn't happened so far. Lorenzo Cain singled and walked... FREE LO CAIN! Huntsville Recap Aaron pretty much detailed the entire game in the summary, these sequences are especially disheartening. Jacksonville Bottom 5th Brandon Tripp grounds out to first baseman Steffan Wilson. Vinny Rottino singles on a line drive to right fielder Caleb Gindl. Jason Delaney doubles (6) on a line drive to left fielder Lee Haydel. Vinny Rottino scores. Matt Dominguez singles on a line drive to left fielder Lee Haydel. Jason Delaney scores. Matt Dominguez to 2nd. Fielding error by left fielder Lee Haydel. With Tim Torres batting, wild pitch by Michael Bowman, Matt Dominguez to 3rd. With Tim Torres batting, wild pitch by Michael Bowman, Matt Dominguez scores. Tim Torres grounds out, shortstop Zelous Wheeler to first baseman Steffan Wilson. Chris Hatcher flies out to right fielder Caleb Gindl.

Final: Dayton (Cubs) 15, Brevard County 7 Game Summary from Daytona site Daytona Bests Jays 15-7 Archer picks up team-leading seventh win By Nathan Moore The Daytona Cubs (37-37, 3-1) won the series opener 15-7 over the Brevard County Manatees (29-44, 2-2). The D-Cubs scored seven runs in the first inning, and Chris Archer continued his dominance over the Florida State League in lieu of his seventh win of the season. D.J. LeMahieu blasts first pro home run. The Cubs jumped all over Manatees' starter Dan Merklinger (3-3) in the first inning. With Brett Jackson getting called up to Tennessee prior to the game Jose Valdez got the nod atop of the lineup and didn't disappoint in his first at-bat. Valdez singled and promptly stole second base before scoring on a D.J. LeMahieu RBI double. With one out the D-Cubs would then get four straight hits including an RBI double from Rebel Ridling to score LeMahieu from second. Kyler Burke drove in Ridling with his base-hit, and Smailey Borges singled to left to set up a first and third scoring situation. Michael Brenly doubled to deep center to drive in Burke and Borges. The scoring affair wouldn't stop until David Macias scored on another RBI from LeMahieu on a fielder's choice to give Daytona 7-0 lead. Daytona with Brevard County reliever Trey Watten on the mound continued the high scoring affair in the third inning. A two-out walk to Junior Lake and two wild-pitches allowed Lake to score giving Daytona a 8-0 lead. The Manatees cracked the scoreboard with an unearned run in the top of the fourth inning of Cubs' starting pitcher Chris Archer. With one-out Angel Salome and Sean Halton singled giving Brevard County life, but it was the fielding error by Ryan Flaherty at third base off the bat of Brock Kjeldgaard to score Salome to cut the deficit 8-1. The Daytona Cubs batting in the fourth inning up 8-1 added two more runs off Manatees' reliever Trey Watten. A lead-off hit by pitch to Rebel Ridling would prove costly as he would eventually score on a sacrifice-fly off the bat of Smailey Borges to give him his second RBI of the game. Michael Brenly would add his third RBI of the night by scoring Kyler Burke on a one-out single to give Daytona a 10-1 lead. In the bottom of the seventh inning Dan Meadows entered the ballgame for the Manatees' and allowed a two-out single to Jose Valdez. With Valdez at second D.J. LeMahieu launched his first professional home run to extend the Cubs lead 12-1. The Manatees down 12-1 in the eighth inning scored a run off Cubs' reliever Jeff Beliveau. Brock Kjeldgaard roped an RBI single with one-out to score Angel Salome from second base to pull within 12-2. David Patton in relief got Scott Krieger to ground into a inning ending double play to escape further damage. David Macias drove in Daytona's 13th run of the ballgame with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning which scored Rebel Ridling from second base. Jose Valdez continued his impressive day in the leadoff role by adding his third hit and first RBI of the night by scoring Borges from second base. D.J. LeMahieu tried to finish the cycle in the eighth inning, but wound with an RBI hit by pitch to give Daytona a 15-2. LeMahieu ended the ballgame with three hits and five RBI including his first home run of the season. Cubs' reliever David Patton closed out the ninth inning, but allowed five runs on four hits including a two-run home run to Sean Halton, to preserve the 15-7 victory in the series opener. Chris Archer (7-1) pitched six quality innings and allowed just one unearned run to go along with five hits and six strikeouts to pick up his fifth straight win. Manatees' starter Dan Merklinger (3-3) took the loss in the series opener. The Cubs will continue their four-game series with the Manatees on Monday at Space Coast Stadium at 7:05. Listen online at daytonacubs.com for Trey McNutt's first start in a Daytona Cubs uniform. Brevard County Boxscore Well I have no idea why the Jays are mentioned in the title? Not like it mattered, another 1st inning blowup by a starting pitcher, this time Dan Merklinger as described in agonizing detail above. Just a horrible day on the mound all the way around. Every Manatee pitcher gave up at least 2 earned runs and Dan Meadows continues his recent struggles. At the plate the boys battled till the end; Josh Prince, Sean Halton, Angel Salome (RF), and Brock Kjeldgaard all had multiple hit games, the XBHs were detailed above. Also a curious note but Logan Schafer was credited with 2 ABs including a hit as a replacement, I'm guessing that was actually Peter Fatse? Hopefully the information will correct itself later, but that's about what I'd expect from a Cubs official scorer. Brevard County Recap Well this is the ugly, Merklinger and Watten's 1st inning. Daytona Bottom 1st Jose Valdez singles on a line drive to center fielder Erik Komatsu. With DJ LeMahieu batting, Jose Valdez steals (8) 2nd base. With DJ LeMahieu batting, wild pitch by Dan Merklinger, Jose Valdez to 3rd. DJ LeMahieu doubles (12) on a line drive to left fielder Brock Kjeldgaard. Jose Valdez scores. Ryan Flaherty grounds out, shortstop Josh Prince to first baseman Sean Halton. DJ LeMahieu to 3rd. Rebel Ridling doubles (16) on a fly ball to center fielder Erik Komatsu. DJ LeMahieu scores. Kyler Burke singles on a ground ball to right fielder Angel Salome. Rebel Ridling scores. Smaily Borges singles on a ground ball to right fielder Angel Salome. Kyler Burke to 3rd. Michael Brenly doubles (4) on a fly ball to left fielder Brock Kjeldgaard. Kyler Burke scores. Smaily Borges scores. With David Macias batting, wild pitch by Dan Merklinger, Michael Brenly to 3rd. David Macias walks. Junior Lake walks. David Macias to 2nd. Pitcher Change: Trey Watten replaces Dan Merklinger. With Jose Valdez batting, passed ball by Michael Roberts, Michael Brenly scores. David Macias to 3rd. Junior Lake to 2nd. Jose Valdez walks. DJ LeMahieu grounds into a force out, shortstop Josh Prince to second baseman Sergio Miranda. David Macias scores. Junior Lake to 3rd. Jose Valdez out at 2nd. DJ LeMahieu to 1st. Ryan Flaherty grounds out, second baseman Sergio Miranda to first baseman Sean Halton. The Manatee 9th. Brevard County Top 9th Michael Roberts walks. Juan Sanchez singles on a line drive to center fielder Jose Valdez. Michael Roberts to 2nd. Josh Prince doubles (7) on a line drive to center fielder Jose Valdez. Michael Roberts scores. Juan Sanchez to 3rd. Sergio Miranda grounds out, second baseman DJ LeMahieu to first baseman Rebel Ridling. Juan Sanchez scores. Josh Prince to 3rd. Logan Schafer singles on a ground ball to left fielder David Macias. Josh Prince scores. Angel Salome flies out to center fielder Jose Valdez. Sean Halton homers (6) on a fly ball to center field. Logan Schafer scores. Brock Kjeldgaard grounds out, third baseman Ryan Flaherty to first baseman Rebel Ridling.

Final: Wisconsin 6, Burlington (Royals) 3 Wisconsin wins fifth straight By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers beat the Burlington Bees 6-3 on Sunday afternoon at Time Warner Cable Field. Kentrail Davis broke a 2-2 tie with a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning to lead Wisconsin to their fifth straight victory. Del Howell earned his first win of the season with six solid innings. Khris Davis continued his hot hitting with a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the first inning to give the Rattlers (3-0 second half, 29-42 overall) a 1-0 lead. Cutter Dykstra tripled to start the Wisconsin second inning and he scored on a Chris Dennis RBI grounder. Rattlers starting pitcher Del Howell pitched five scoreless innings, but ran into trouble in the sixth against the Bees (0-3, 22-50). Carlo Testa and Rene Oriental tied the game with back-to-back one-out RBI singles. Howell got out of the inning with a couple of grounders to short. He went six innings, walked three, and struck out four. But, he needed the offense to take the lead to qualify for the win. Wisconsin did not take long to break the tie. In their half of the sixth, D'Vontrey Richardson walked and Scooter Gennett doubled to start. Kentrail Davis followed with a single to center that sent both runners home for a 4-2 advantage. Later in the inning, Cutter Dykstra singled in a run for a 5-2 lead. Richardson singled home Austin Stockfisch in the bottom of the seventh for an insurance run. Testa homered off Efrain Nieves in the top of the eighth. That was the only hit allowed by Nieves as he pitched two innings in relief. Jon Pokorny worked a scoreless ninth inning for his fourth save. Wisconsin starts a three game series with the Quad Cities River Bandits on Monday night at Time Warner Cable Field. The first 1,000 fans into the stadium receive a poster of Rattlers All-Star pitcher Jake Odorizzi courtesy of Express Convenience Centers. Wisconsin sends Nick Bucci (3-3, 3.06) to the hill. Quad Cities has Deryk %@%*+! (3-3, 2.44) as their scheduled starter. Fans may tune into the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:45pm. Game time is 7:05pm. HOME RUN: BUR: Carlo Testa (7th, 0 on in 8th inning, off Efrain Nieves, 1 out) WP: Del Howell (1-2) LP: Sugar Ray Marimon (1-2) SAVE: Jon Pokorny (4) TIME: 2:26 ATTN: 2,824 Wisconsin Boxscore Del Howell has certainly come around. In his last 10 appearances his ERA is 3.31 over 35.1 IP (remember he's been part of the tandem system). In those 35+ innings he's allowed 26 hits, 14 runs but 13 earned, he's issued 19 walks but struck out 27. From where he where started he's made phenomenal progress over the course of the season. Of course I'd love to see the walks come down and the strike outs go up but just keep making incremental progress Del. Wisconsin Recap From looking at this inning it appears as though D'Vo may been better server holding the runner at first, did he really gun it to the plate when the runner was on 3rd? All part of the learning process for him out in the field and possibly could have saved a run in the process? Burlington Top 6th William Myers doubles (19) on a line drive to left fielder Khristopher Davis. Joey Lewis grounds out, third baseman Cutter Dykstra to first baseman Hunter Morris. William Myers to 3rd. Carlo Testa singles on a fly ball to center fielder D' Vontrey Richardson. William Myers scores. Carlo Testa to 2nd on the throw. Rene Oriental singles on a fly ball to left fielder Khristopher Davis. Carlo Testa scores. Jose Bonilla grounds out, shortstop Michael Marseco to first baseman Hunter Morris. Rene Oriental to 2nd. Deivy Batista grounds out, shortstop Michael Marseco to first baseman Hunter Morris.

I'm not going to argue semantics based on statistical analysis. The majority of his outs were weak ground balls, pop ups, or soft fly balls. Yes he walked too many batters but I'm not going to sit here and say he lucked his way into it when Jackson made pitches when he had to. It's very comforting to know that players no longer possess various levels of skill, just varying degrees of luck. It's too bad we've had so many unlucky players in this organization over the years. Maybe instead of looking for impact players in the draft we should come up with a way to measure their luck factor so we can win more games. The guy has more natural ability than 99% of the pitchers in baseball, he can get away with mistakes other pitchers aren't able to because of his god given talents. Give the guy his due, we aren't talking about Dave Bush, we're talking about a pitcher who can miss his spot by 2 feet and still blow his FB past a batter. That's not luck, that's a special arm.

Final: Jacksonville (Marlins) 8, Huntsville 7 Huntsville Boxscore I know this is a shocker, but another game and more runs allowed in the first inning. Remember when it was fun to follow a Chris Cody line in the boxscores? I wonder if they made a mechanical change to his delivery or he's pitching hurt because he's just never pitched this bad before. Chris gave up 7 runs in 3.1 IP, on 7 hits, 3 walks, and 1 strike out. Eddie Morlan was charged with a run in 1.1 IP, while Nick Green and Donovan Hand kept Jacksonville of the board. Brett Lawrie once again led the charge offensively going 3-5 with a 2B. Lorenzo Cain was 1-2 with a double and 2 walks, and Taylor Green was 2-4 with a 2B. If Cain doesn't get promoted soon I'm going to have to update my sig, this is ridiculous. The Stars committed 4 errors, 2 in the outfield, which certainly didn't help the pitching. Huntsville Recap Cody's 1st and 4th innings, Morlan didn't pickup Cody in the 4th. Free bases on BB, HBP, and Es hurt the Stars in both innings. Jacksonville Bottom 1st Ryan Curry grounds out, shortstop Zelous Wheeler to first baseman Steffan Wilson. Osvaldo Martinez singles on a fly ball to center fielder Lorenzo Cain. Brandon Tripp hit by pitch. Osvaldo Martinez to 2nd. Vinny Rottino singles on a ground ball to center fielder Lorenzo Cain. Osvaldo Martinez scores. Brandon Tripp advances to 3rd, on fielding error by center fielder Lorenzo Cain. Mark Saccomanno walks. Vinny Rottino to 2nd. Matt Dominguez singles on a ground ball to center fielder Lorenzo Cain. Brandon Tripp scores. Vinny Rottino to 3rd. Mark Saccomanno to 2nd. Greg Burns strikes out swinging. John Otness flies out to right fielder Caleb Gindl. Jacksonville Bottom 4th Greg Burns singles on a fly ball to center fielder Lorenzo Cain. John Otness singles on a fly ball to right fielder Caleb Gindl. Greg Burns to 2nd. With Lee Mitchell batting, Greg Burns steals (2) 3rd base. Lee Mitchell triples (2) on a fly ball to center fielder Lorenzo Cain. Greg Burns scores. John Otness scores. Coaching visit to mound. Ryan Curry singles on a ground ball to shortstop Zelous Wheeler. Lee Mitchell scores. Ryan Curry to 2nd. Fielding error by shortstop Zelous Wheeler. Osvaldo Martinez out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Chris Cody to first baseman Steffan Wilson. Ryan Curry to 3rd. Brandon Tripp hit by pitch. Pitcher Change: Eddie Morlan replaces Chris Cody, batting 9th. Coaching visit to mound. Vinny Rottino doubles (6) on a line drive to right fielder Caleb Gindl. Ryan Curry scores. Brandon Tripp scores. Vinny Rottino advances to 3rd, on fielding error by right fielder Caleb Gindl. Jose Ceda pops out to second baseman Brett Lawrie. Matt Dominguez grounds out, shortstop Zelous Wheeler to first baseman Steffan Wilson. Stars comeback rally comes up short. Huntsville Top 9th Pitcher Change: Jhan Marinez replaces Todd Doolittle, batting 5th. Zelous Wheeler strikes out swinging. Taylor Green singles on a soft fly ball to center fielder Greg Burns. Steffan Wilson strikes out swinging. With Lee Haydel batting, wild pitch by Jhan Marinez, Taylor Green to 2nd. Lee Haydel singles on a ground ball to right fielder Brandon Tripp. Taylor Green scores. Coaching visit to mound. With Sean McCraw batting, Lee Haydel steals (14) 2nd base. Sean McCraw strikes out swinging.

Suspended, top of the 4th: Round Rock (Astros) 1, Nashville 0 Sounds Game Suspended Due To Rain NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Saturday evening's Pacific Coast League contest between the Nashville Sounds and Round Rock Express was suspended due to heavy rainfall in the middle of the fourth inning on Saturday evening at historic Greer Stadium. Round Rock held a 1-0 lead at the time of suspension, which came following a 33-minute rain delay. The Express scored the game's only run in the top of the fourth when Wladimir Sutil led off the frame with a single and later came plateward on Tommy Everidge's two-out double down the right field line off Nashville starter Chuck Lofgren. The game will be resumed at 5:05 p.m. on Sunday evening and completed to its nine-inning entirety. Sunday's regularly-scheduled game between the Sounds and Express will be a seven-inning affair that will begin approximately 30 minutes after the first contest. Left-hander Chase Wright (6-3, 3.79) is scheduled to start that contest for Nashville. Round Rock has not announced its starter.

Final: Helena 10, Great Falls (White Sox) 3 Helena Boxscore Another pitching performance and more runs given up in the first inning, though none were earned this time around. Tyler Cravy went 6 IP, all 3 runs, 1 earned, while walking 1 and striking out 2. Rob Currie and Brian Garman were stellar to close out the game, neither pitcher allowed a hit. Offensively the first hit of the game was a double by Reggie Keen, the last 2 hits were doubles by Cody Hawn and Greg Hopkins, the 18 hits between those 3 doubles were all singles. That's right link report readers, the H-Crew pounded out 21 hits tonight against Great Falls, another fun game to listen to this evening. Every player in the lineup had at least one hit, only the 7-9 batters didn't have multiple hits. Greg Hopkins was 5-6 to lead the charge (Mass has to be lovin his season thus far). Cody Hawn, Michael Walker, and Sean Vucinich had 3 hits a piece. The defense did commit 3 errors but Keen had at OF assist on the evening as well. Helena Recap No monster inning, just solid offense all the way throughout the game. Here's Tyler Cravy's 1st where he hurt himself with his own error. Great Falls Bottom 1st Dusty Harvard reaches on fielding error by third baseman Michael Walker. Ross Wilson reaches on force attempt, throwing error by pitcher Tyler Cravy. Dusty Harvard to 2nd. Juan Silverio doubles (4) on a line drive to left fielder John Dishon. Dusty Harvard scores. Ross Wilson to 3rd. Leighton Pangilinan grounds out, shortstop Shea Vucinich to first baseman Cody Hawn. Ross Wilson scores. Juan Silverio to 3rd. Ryan Hamme pops out to third baseman Michael Walker. Robert Vaughn strikes out swinging.

Final, (11 Innings): Brevard County 4, Lakeland (Tigers) 3 Another night, another walk-off for Manatees Brevard County wins on wild pitch in the 11th VIERA - With a full moon in the sky, it was déjà vu for the Brevard County Manatees and the Lakeland Flying Tigers on Saturday night as for the second straight night, the Manatees won in walk-off fashion in the 11th inning, 4-3. For the second straight night, Lakeland jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning against Manatees starter Michael Fiers. Fiers would settle in and not allow a run in his last five innings of work as he threw six innings and struck out five. Flying Tigers starter Brayan Villarreal kept Brevard County in check for five shutout innings as he allowed just two hits, while walking one and striking out seven. Lakeland then dipped into their bullpen and the Manatees jumped on Robert Waite in the sixth to score two runs. A one-out double by Erik Komatsu drove in Josh Prince, who led off the inning with a single and Matt Cline scored on a ground out by Angel Salome. Lakeland looked like it would get the go-ahead run in the eighth on a two-out double by Brent Wyatt to right, as Billy Nowlin tried to score from first, but he was gunned down on a perfect relay throw from Scott Krieger to Cline to Shawn Zarraga, who stuck his leg out and blocked the plate perfectly and tagged out Nowlin at home. Corey Frerichs, who replaced Fiers on the hill in the seventh, had kept Lakeland off the board until the ninth as Carmelo Jaime's two-out single to right gave the Flying Tigers a 3-2 lead. The Manatees though would counter with a two-out RBI single of their own by Zarraga that sent the game into extras for the second straight night. Ruben Flores came in the game in the tenth and gave up a lead-off single to Brandon Douglas, but then got out of that jam in a hurry as Nowlin lined into a 6-3 double play. In the bottom of the 11th, Sean Halton ripped the first pitch he saw to left field to lead-off the inning with a single. Juan Sanchez then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move Halton to second. Krieger then grounded out to second as Halton moved to third. Lakeland then decided to intentionally walk Zarraga, but the decision backfired in a big way as Erik Crichton's first pitch sailed to the backstop as Halton raced home to score the winning run. Komatsu and Halton had two hits each as Flores got the win in relief as he threw two scoreless innings. The win puts the Manatees record in the second half of the season to 2-1 With a six-game homestand finished, the Manatees will open up a four-game set with the Daytona Cubs beginning on Sunday evening at 5:35 p.m. in Daytona Beach. Sunday and Tuesday's games will be played at Jackie Robinson Ballpark and Monday and Wednesday's games will be played at Space Coast Stadium in Viera. Brevard County Boxscore No this is not a repeat and I did not mix up the boxscores, I too had to double and triple check to make sure the Manatees walked off in the 11th inning again tonight. The only thing better than a walk off win, or 2 walk off wins in a row, is a walk off win against a Cubs affiliate, but we'll take what we can get. Mike Fiers was effective giving up 2 ER in 6 IP while walking 2 and striking out 5. Corey Frerichs pitched the next 3 innings allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 2 Ks. Ruben Flores gets the win pitching the final 2 innings. Sean Halton and Erik Komatsu had 2 hits a piece, and Komatsu and Brock Kjeldgaard each doubled. Josh Prince stole his 20th base of the season and Kjeldgaard committed his 5th error. Brevard Countty Recap Mike had a tough 1st, not helped by his defense. Lakeland Top 1st Gustavo Nunez singles on a ground ball to right fielder Scott Krieger. Brandon Douglas doubles (2) on a line drive to left fielder Brock Kjeldgaard. Gustavo Nunez scores. Fielding error by left fielder Brock Kjeldgaard. Billy Nowlin singles on a ground ball to left fielder Brock Kjeldgaard. Brandon Douglas to 3rd. Jordan Lennerton grounds into double play, shortstop Josh Prince to second baseman Matt Cline to first baseman Sean Halton. Brandon Douglas scores. Billy Nowlin out at 2nd. Brent Wyatt called out on strikes. The game winning rally. Brevard County Bottom 11th Sean Halton singles on a ground ball to left fielder Brent Wyatt. Juan Sanchez out on a sacrifice bunt, first baseman Jordan Lennerton to second baseman Brandon Douglas. Sean Halton to 2nd. Scott Krieger grounds out, second baseman Brandon Douglas to first baseman Jordan Lennerton. Sean Halton to 3rd. With Shawn Zarraga batting, wild pitch by Erik Crichton, Sean Halton scores.

Final: Wisconsin 11, Burlington (Royals) 7 Odorizzi K's 10; Rattlers beat Bees 11-7 By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - Jake Odorizzi and the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers offense were firing on all cylinders on Saturday night at Time Warner Cable Field. Odorizzi struck out a career-high ten batters over six scoreless frames and earned his fourth win of the season. Chris Dennis and Khris Davis both homered for the Rattlers as they raced to an 11-0 lead. The Rattlers held on to top Burlington 11-7 for their fourth straight win. Wisconsin (28-42 overall, 2-0 second half) gave Odorizzi a comfortable lead in the bottom of the third inning. Scooter Gennett drove in three runs with a bases loaded double to right. Kentrail Davis knocked in Gennett with an infield grounder for a 4-0 lead. Odorizzi poured it on over his next three innings of work. The right-hander struck out two batters in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to run his total to ten for the game. He allowed four hits and did not walk a batter. The Rattler offense made the score 10-0 with a six-run sixth inning. Davis knocked in the first run with a double. He would score on an RBI single by Cameron Garfield. The third run of the frame scored on a passed ball with the bases loaded. The next pitch was to Dennis and he launched a three-run homer to center. Dennis's seventh homer of the season put the Rattlers up ten. Khris Davis lined a homer to left with one out in the top of the seventh and the Rattlers had a very comfortable 11-0 lead. But, Burlington (22-49, 0-2) made it interesting in their final two at bats. Carlo Testa broke up the shutout with an RBI fielder's choice. Rene Oriental doubled in two runs and the Bees cut into the Rattler lead against reliever Matt Costello. Andy Sauter got the first two outs of the top of the ninth inning. He had a runner at first and got JD Alfaro to pop out. But, the ball dropped in for a double. A walk on a close 3-2 pitch loaded the bases. Then, Joey Lewis doubled to right and knocked in three runs. Testa followed with another double to get the Bees to within 11-7. Sauter got the final out on a fly ball to right. Sunday is a Brewers Sunday presented by 107.5 The Fan. Timber Rattlers players will be wearing jerseys and caps based on those of the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers. Plus, the first 1,000 fans into the stadium will receive a Timber Rattlers Rally Towel courtesy of US Cellular. Fans may play catch on the field before the game. There is also a post-game autograph session with the players. Additionally, Time Warner Cable subscribers may bring in their bill and receive up to four half priced reserve seat tickets. Del Howell (0-2, 6.08) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Burlington sends Sugar Ray Marimon (1-1, 13.50) to the hill. Game time is 1:05pm. If you can't make it to the stadium, you may tune into the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 12:45pm. HOME RUNS: WIS: Chris Dennis (7th, 2 on in 6th inning, off Dusty Odenbach, 1 out) Khris Davis (10th, 0 on in 7th inning, off Scott Kelley, 1 out) WP: Jake Odorizzi (4-1) LP: Keaton Hayenga (1-6) TIME: 2:25 ATTN: 4,342 Wisconsin Boxscore It's always fun when one of our top pitching prospects is just flat out dominant, thank you Jake Odorizzi! I'm digging this WI rotation right now. Thankfully the offense built up that 11 run lead because Matt Costello and Andy Sauter sure struggled in relief. The boxscore isn't matching up, the line score has the WI with 11 hits, but when you add them up in the box only 8 are showing. Hopefully that issue corrects itself over night. Wisconsin Recap The fun 3rd and 6th Wisconsin Bottom 3rd Cutter Dykstra singles on a line drive to right fielder Rene Oriental. Chris Dennis walks. Cutter Dykstra to 2nd. Michael Marseco singles on a bunt ground ball to third baseman Fernando Cruz. Cutter Dykstra to 3rd. Chris Dennis to 2nd. D' Vontrey Richardson called out on strikes. Ryan Gennett doubles (19) on a line drive to right fielder Rene Oriental. Cutter Dykstra scores. Chris Dennis scores. Michael Marseco scores. Ryan Gennett to 3rd on the throw. Kentrail Davis grounds out, pitcher Keaton Hayenga to first baseman Joey Lewis. Ryan Gennett scores. Khristopher Davis grounds out, second baseman Gerard Hall to first baseman Joey Lewis. Wisconsin Bottom 6th Ryan Gennett singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher Keaton Hayenga. With Kentrail Davis batting, throwing error by Keaton Hayenga on the pickoff attempt, Ryan Gennett to 2nd. Kentrail Davis doubles (2) on a ground ball to right fielder Rene Oriental. Ryan Gennett scores. Kentrail Davis advances to 3rd, on fielding error by right fielder Rene Oriental. Khristopher Davis grounds out, shortstop J. Alfaro to first baseman Joey Lewis. Keaton Hayenga intentionally walks Hunter Morris. Cameron Garfield singles on a line drive to left fielder Carlo Testa. Kentrail Davis scores. Hunter Morris to 2nd. Pitcher Change: Dusty Odenbach replaces Keaton Hayenga. Cutter Dykstra walks. Hunter Morris to 3rd. Cameron Garfield to 2nd. With Chris Dennis batting, passed ball by William Myers, Hunter Morris scores. Cameron Garfield to 3rd. Cutter Dykstra to 2nd. Chris Dennis homers (7) on a fly ball to center field. Cameron Garfield scores. Cutter Dykstra scores. Michael Marseco called out on strikes. D' Vontrey Richardson walks. Ryan Gennett grounds out, shortstop J. D. Alfaro to first baseman Joey Lewis.

Edwin Jackson consistently throws harder as a starting pitcher than any pitcher in the Brewers system, only Jeffress and Manzanillo have enough gas to work 97, 98 MPH and they do it in relief. Jackson has always been effectively wild with his FB, but in less you watched the entire game, spare us the "he got lucky" mantra. He was completely dominant after the 3rd inning, scroll down this link for the PBP. Where are the ton of hard hit balls right at people? Yes he walked a ton of batters in the first 3 innings, but he gave up 2 lineouts all game long. I admit that I like Jackson, I always have, and I admit that he's never full harnessed his control, but the truth is the Rays didn't get many good swings on him all day. He was probably a bit too amped up early in the game given he was going up against his old team, but he still pitched a no hitter. He also isn't the first pitcher to walk a ton of batters and pitch a no hitter either. Edwin Jackson can pitch on my team anytime he wants. I'd rather get "lucky" with a player of his ability than be "unlucky" with the likes of Davis, Bush, Suppan, etc...

I can definitely see both sides of the argument here. Personally, I'm interested in extending Yo's career than I am caring about CGSO... I agree that 9 innings and 120 pitches isn't the end of the world, that was one of the least stressful outings of his entire career by inning. I have a huge problem when he's being run 120 pitches in 6 innings though. I'm much more into the mental aspect of sports than it seems many on this site are, so from a development standpoint we need him to become more efficient with his pitches and a strong argument can be made that this string of outings is moving him towards that end. I must say that if Yo can getting through the 7th with a reasonable pitch count and Parra continues to improve, I'm suddenly pretty excited about next year's rotation, especially if a pitcher like Rivas makes the opening day roster.