SB Nation - Adam Pettyjohn

Wednesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:02:44 -0000

Nyjer Morgan hit a leadoff home run last night, but at least the Nats didn't go back-to-back.

Some things to read while not showing up so early.

Time is running out before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, and while the Brewers seem to be headed downhill, Doug Melvin says he's still looking to buy. Trevor Hoffman, meanwhile, says the Brewers have enough to win now. Hoffman, for whatever it's worth, has played on six winning teams in 17 seasons, but also five that lost 90 or more games.

If the Brewers are in fact buying, they may have another hole in the starting rotation to fill. Jeff Suppan underwent an MRI yesterday and was diagnosed with an oblique strain. (Also noted in FanShot.) He hasn't been ruled out for his scheduled start on Saturday, but this is Jeff Suppan we're talking about: do you really want him pitching at less than full strength?

With two games left against the Nationals the Brewers have already clinched a losing homestand, and several more blogs are ready to throw some dirt on the 2009 season:

The Brew Town Beat says the season ended on Sunday.
Brew City Sports thinks the Brewers should be sellers at the deadline.
The Bucky Channel has also left the Brewers for dead.
Miller Park Drunk, though, is still holding out hope.

Ryan Braun has home runs in each of his last two games, and Monday's shot made him the first Brewer ever to hit 20 in each of his first three major league seasons. A recent poll of his peers also ranked Braun the fifth most likely young player to eventually make it to the Hall of Fame. (h/t FanShot)

Meanwhile, after beating the Brewers twice, the Nationals have won four straight games for the first time in 2009, and Ben Goessling of the Washington Times wonders if their luck has turned around.

If you've been watching this week's games, you've probably seen Pat Listach coaching for the Nationals. On top of being one of just three Brewers to steal 50 bases in a season, Listach also holds the major league record for longest at bat to lead off a game. He forced Ron Darling to throw 17 pitches while drawing a walk on September 26, 1992.

Just one minor league note today: Maverick Lasker is the Prospect of the Week over at Between the Green Pillars.

Around baseball:

Astros: Placed LaTroy Hawkins on the DL with shingles.
Giants: Nate Schierholtz has been placed on the DL with a strained hip, and Randy Johnson has been moved to the 60-day DL with tearing in his rotator cuff that will keep him out until at least September.
White Sox: Acquired Mark Kotsay from the Red Sox for outfielder Brian Anderson.
Yankees: Chien-Ming Wang will have season ending shoulder surgery today.

I also found a couple of notes of interest in the most recent Baseball America Minor League Transactions:

The Brewers signed a pitcher out of the independent leagues: lefthander Donald Brandt, who had been pitching for San Angelo of the United League.
Former Brewer farmhand Adam Pettyjohn was released by the Reds (and later signed by the Mets).

Obviously, making the Hall of Fame is a tremendous honor for the players involved, but it's also a huge income opportunity. The Wall Street Journal has a look at the extra revenue made by Hall of Famers, which is especially significant for players from earlier eras who played for much less money. (h/t Beyond the Box Score)

The Brewers travel to LA next week, and if you get the chance, listen to Vin Scully call the game for a few innings. Scully is reportedly retiring after the 2010 season, so you might not get many more opportunities.

Here's a first for the "Odd Ballpark Promotions" file: Cheezburger Night at Safeco Field.

Nyjer Morgan may have hit a leadoff home run last night, but on this day in 1975 the Brewers one upped him, as Don Money and Darrell Porter went back to back to lead off the game. The Brewers won the game, 4-0.

Happy birthday today to Mike Adams, who pitched in 61 games for the Brewers between 2004 and 2006 and turns 31 today. Also, happy birthday to the other Ryan Braun, who turns 29.

Oh, and if you still have some time to kill this morning, here's a nine minute video on counting the M&M's in a jar.

Drink up.

Farmers Only: Weekend Recap

BK — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:00:38 -0000

So not having power for 16 hours on Saturday prevented me from having this up yesterday, so we'll look at the big performances over the weekend bullet-style, plus recap Monday night's games.

In Louisville, Wes Bankston was 3-for-4 on Friday.
Kevin Barker was 3-for-4 with his 16th HR on Saturday.
Ben Jukich pitched 8 innings of 2-hit, 2-run ball, and struck out 6 on Saturday.
Adam Pettyjohn pitched 4 1/3 innings of relief on Saturday, and gave up 1 unearned run.
Zach Stewart pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief on Saturday.
Kip Wells got lit up on Sunday.
Infielders Michael Griffin and Luis Bolivar both pitched scoreless innings in relief on Sunday, with Bolivar getting the win.
Stephen Chapman had a pinch hit homer for Carolina on Saturday.
Tom Cochran pitched 5 innings of 2-hit ball on Saturday giving up 1 unearned run and striking out 6.
Travis Wood pitched 7 more shutout innings on Sunday, while giving up 4 hits and striking out 8. 18 scoreless innings now, and he hasn't given up a run since July 3rd.
Carson Kainer was 3-for-4 with 2 RBI on Sunday.
For Sarasota, Jake Kahaulelio was 3-for-5 on Saturday.
Scott Carroll gave up 2 runs in 8 innings on Saturday.
Justin Freeman pitched 3 shutout innings in relief on Saturday, striking out 5.
Enrique Rojas was 4-for-4 for Dayton on Saturday.
Lance Janke pitched 7 innings and gave up 1 run on 4 hits on Saturday.
Matt Fairel pitched 6 innings of 1-run ball on Sunday, striking out 7.
Alexis Oliveras was 3-for-5 on Friday for Billings.
Mariekson Gregorius was 3-for-6 on Friday.
Sean Conner was 2-for-4 with 2 HR and 3 RBI on Sunday.
Blair Carson pitched 3 2/3 innings of shutout relief on Sunday.
Donnie Joseph pitched another perfect inning on Sunday to lower his ERA to 0.77.
Harold Johnson and Jeremy Ware pitched 4 shutout innings each for the GCL Reds on Friday.
Danny Vicioso was 3-for-5 with a HR on Saturday.
Tyler Cline pitched 6 innings of 1-hit scoreless ball on Sunday, while striking out 6.

And for Monday's games...

Justin Lehr won his 12th game of the season as Louisville beat Buffalo 5-1. Lehr went 8 innings of 1-run ball, and a likely jetlagged Robert Manuel pitched an inning as well. Darnell McDonald and Chris Valaika both went deep, and Drew Stubbs and Brian Peterson both had two hits. Alex Gonzalez and Chris Heisey both had one hit and drove in a run each. Up next: Matt Maloney takes on Buffalo at 7:05.
Carolina was off. They'll take on Huntsville at 8.
Sarasota won 3-2 against Clearwater. Dave Sappelt went yard, and Kyle Day went 2-for-4 with a double. Rafael Gonzalez went 6 innings of one run ball. Up next: Travis Webb takes on Clearwater at 7.
Curtis Partch had a quality start as Dayton won 6-3 against Beloit. Every position player in the lineup had at least one hit, with Carlos Mendez, Cody Puckett, and Josh Fellhauer having two. Fellhauer also hit his 2nd HR of the year. Up next: Dayton's off.
Billings lost 6-3 to Ogden. Mark Fleury hit his first professional homer, and Mauricio Pimental had 2 hits. Up next: Shea Snowden takes on Ogden at 9:05.
The GCL Reds were rained out yesterday. They're off today.
Roster Moves: Lots of 'em. New faces in Louisville include catcher Brian Peterson and infielder Eric Eymann from Carolina, Alex Gonzalez on rehab, and Sam LeCure is on the DL. Infielder Justin Tordi, catcher Jason Bour, and FSL All-Star reliever Enerio Del Rosario are with Carolina in AA. Even more interesting is the newest Red in Sarasota, pitcher Zach Ward. Remember him? The Reds traded him in 2006 for Kyle Lohse. He's back. Also joining the S-Reds are pitcher Chris Kelly and Kyle Day, who's listed as a DH but has been used as a corner infielder. Alex Buchholz is finally back with them off the DL, too. After a short stint in Billings, Humberto Sosa is back with the Dragons in Dayton.

Farmers Only: Great starting pitching, Travis Wood is still awesome, and the Rodriguez triplets strike in rookie ball

BK — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:00:35 -0000

The starting pitching was awesome last night. 5 of the 6 starters combined to pitch 30 1/3 innings and only gave up 1 run.

Louisville won 5-3 in 12 innings, with Chris Heisey once again being the hero. He doubled in the winning runs in the 12th, for one of his 3 hits, with one other hit being his 2nd HR in AAA. Drew Stubbs, Darnell McDonald, and Chris Valaika all had two hits. Adam Pettyjohn started the game and pitched 5 innings of 1-run ball. Jeff Kennard, Pedro Viola, and Jared Burton all added scoreless outings from the bullpen, but it was Kip Wells who stole the show, pitching two innings of one hit ball, striking out 3. Up next: Justin Lehr starts against Columbus at 7:05.
OBC'S ADAM ROSALES UPDATE: Adam Rosales was 1-for-3 with 3 walks and a run scored. He started at shortstop, which is kind of interesting. Maybe grooming him for the position for later on in the season?
Carolina won 2-1 in 11 innings, after going scoreless through 9. You're not going to believe this... but Travis Wood had another great start. 7 innings, 3 hits, no runs, 9 K, 1 BB. That's straight up dominance. He's 8-2 with a 1.37 ERA in 105 innings so far. What the hell is he still doing in AA, Walt? Logan Ondrusek pitched two solid in relief, and Sean Watson got the win despite giving up a run in the bottom of the 11th to make it close. Todd Frazier hit his 9th HR of the season to give the Mudcats the lead after Juan Francisco walked, and Jose Castro added two hits. They were supposed to play a doubleheader, but the second game wasn't played for some reason. Probably because the first one took so long. Up next: Tom Cochran takes on Jacksonville at 7:05.
Sarasota won a pitchers' duel 1-0. Rafael Gonzalez went 7 shutout innings, and Mace Thurman added two of his own to combined for the shutout. Denis Phipps drove in the only run. Up next: Sarasota takes on Fort Myers at 7:05, with Travis Webb taking the hill.
Dayton also won a pitchers' duel 1-0 behind the golden arm of Curtis Partch. Partch gave up 6 hits in 6 innings, and Junior Martinez and Aguido Gonzalez pitched hitless outings to close it out. The Dragons were only to score one run on 14 hits, but it turned out to be enough. Josh Fellhauer was 3-for-5. Up next: J.C. Sulbaran takes on the LumberKings at 8.
Billings was the lone loser, losing 7-1 to Orem. Alexis Oliveras and Chris Richburg had two hits each, and Bryan Gardner and Daniel Corcino both pitched scoreless relief outings. Up next: Shea Snowden takes on Orem at 9:05.
Pedro Villarreal and Marcos Molina combined for 8 shutout innings as the GCL Reds won 6-1. If your last name was Rodriguez you had a good game. Yorman Rodriguez, Cristobal Rodriguez, and Henry Rodriguez all had two hits and a RBI, and Petr Cech drove in 2 of his own. As far as I know, they're not related, but still, having three Rodriguez's in the same lineup could get confusing. Up next: They take on the GCL Twins at noon with Tyler Cline starting.

Farmers Only: Votto to Dayton, Yonder to the shelf

BK — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 11:00:19 -0000

Louisville won 5-0 against Gwinnett on a terrific start by Sam Lecure. LeCure went 6 2/3 innings and gave up 4 hits and no runs. Federico Baez and Adam Pettyjohn both pitched perfect relief to preserve the shutout. Kevin Barker was 2-for-4 with a HR and Daniel Dorn hit his 9th of the season as well. Up next: The Bats take on the Braves again, as Ben Jukich gets the nod.
After breaking a 6-6 tie in the top of the 9th, Carolina gave up 2 runs in the bottom to lose to Tennessee 8-7. Logan Ondrusek was denied his 3rd win of the season in relief, despite pitching 2 perfect innings out of the bullpen. He's up to 20 2/3 innings in AA without giving up an earned run. Sean Henry, Juan Francisco, and Zachary Cozart had two hits each to lead the offense. Some adjustments made as Yonder went on the DL, as Logan Parker will take over everyday at 1B (he was 0-for-3) and Todd Frazier saw his first action of the season at 3B later on in the game. Up next: The Yonder-less Mudcats take on Tennessee at 7:15. No starter listed, but it should be Dallas Buck.
Sarasota's on the all-star break.
Dayton mustered up 3 hits as they got shut out by West Michigan 5-0. Josh Ravin had a good start, going 7 innings and giving up 3 R (2 ER) with 4 strikeouts. It didn't really matter, as the offense had nothing to contribute. Up next: Curtis Partch takes on West Michigan at 7.
Roster Moves: With Yonder Alonso going on the Carolina DL with a broken hand, outfielder Denis Phipps was called up from Sarasota to take his place. Pitcher Lee Tabor was also called up to AA.
Votto Watch: Joey Votto is on his way to Dayton after a start in Sarasota and an intrasquad game with the GCL team.

Farmers Only Featured Farmhand: Cody Puckett

BK — Wed, 27 May 2009 11:00:17 -0000

We're going to again Dayton for the next Featured Farmhand, as we look at who may be the hottest hitter in the system right now, Dragons infielder Cody Puckett.

Cody Puckett was drafted in the 8th round of last year's draft by the Reds, as a junior out of Cal State Dominguez Hills. He played some shortstop in college, but has mostly been at 2B in his pro career so far.
Last year, he put up solid numbers in the GCL and Billings. He's definitely someone to watch, as evidenced by his numbers so far this year.
So far this season he's batting .301/.346/.549 with 9 HR and 27 RBI. He's currently 9th in the MWL in OPS, and tied for 3rd in home runs.
In the last week, Puckett's batting .517 with 4 HR and 9 RBI. If you're in the Dayton area, I'd suggest going down and seeing this kid now, because he won't be there for long.

The games:

Louisville beat Pawtucket 7-5, as Norris Hopper and Drew Stubbs are making their case to get called up to the show. Hopper went 3-for-5 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI, and Stubbs was 2-for-4 to bring his average up to .316. Adam Pettyjohn pitched 6 1/3 innings in the start, and gave up 2 runs on 9 hits while striking out 3. Up next: Matt Maloney takes the bump at 11:05 AM.
Carolina beat Montgomery 5-4, as Alexander Smit struck out 7 in his 5 innings of work. Logan Ondrusek pitched 2 shutout innings for the win, and don't look now, but he's pitched 5 2/3 innings in Carolina so far without giving up a run. Zach Cozart was 3-for-4 to lead the offense, and Juan Francisco and Todd Frazier both added two hits each as well. Up next: Zach Stewart works off of his excellent debut at 7:15.
Sarasota wasn't as lucky, as they lost 10-3 in a rain-shortened 6 inning game. Carson Kainer and Justin Tordi both had two hits to lead the offense, but it would have taken a lot more than that to overcome the S-Reds crappy pitching. Up next: Jeremy Horst takes the hill against Dunedin at 7.
Dayton struggled and lost 7-2 to Wisconsin. Lance Janke was the victim of a few unearned runs, as he went 5 1/3 innings, and gave up 6 R, 3 ER, and struck out 8. Featured Farmhand Cody Puckett was the star of the offense once again, going 3-for-4 with a triple. Up next: J.C. Sulbaran goes at 7 tonight.
Roster Moves: Wilkin Castillo and Darnell McDonald were both added to Louisville's roster, and there's a new face in Sarasota, as infielder Mariekson Gregorius was assigned to the S-Reds. He's another one of the Reds honkballers. Jose Gualdron is on the DL for Dayton.

Farmers Only: A Horst is a horse, of course, of course

BK — Fri, 22 May 2009 11:00:17 -0000

Louisville lost to Syracuse 7-4. Adam Pettyjohn got a quality start, but the offense didn't get anything together until the game was out of reach. Federico Baez got a not-so-warm welcome to AAA, giving up 2 runs in his 2/3 of an inning of work, and Jonny Gomes kept hitting with a double on the night. Drew Stubbs is also hitting, as he went 2-for-3. Up next: Matt Maloney takes on Syracuse at 7:05.

Smit

Carolina beat Chattanooga by the same score, 7-4. As was expertly predicted in these parts yesterday, honkballer Alexander Smit(.com) made his first start of the season for the Mudcats, and was pretty solid. Smit(.com) went 5 innings and gave up 2 runs on 4 hits, while striking out 6 and walking none. He also got plenty of offensive help, as Chris Heisey showed that he's back in the groove by going 2-for-5 with a double. Chris Kroski was 2-for-4 with a HR, Zach Cozart and Juan Francisco both had two hits, and Sean Henry belted his 3rd HR of the season. Up next: Zach Stewart makes his AA debut against Chattanooga at 7:15.

Horst

Jeremy Horst pitched a complete game, but was the tough luck loser to Jupiter 1-0. Horst went 8 innings and gave up 1 run on 3 hits, and struck out 6. The S-Reds had trouble getting runs in though, as Alex Buchholz, Yonder Alonso, and Neftali Soto having two hits each, but no runs were scored on the night. Up next: Justin Walker makes his first start of the season against Jupiter at 7:05. Who's Justin Walker, you ask? He's a 41st round pick out of Lamar who pitched in relief in 3 games for the GCL Reds last year. Umm... we'll see how this goes.
Dayton won 8-5 on a big night for the Dayton offense. Carlos Mendez and Humberto Sosa were both 3-for-5, and Cody Puckett had two hits including his 7th HR of the season. David Sappelt and Miguel Rojas also had two hits each. Lance Janke started for the Dragons, and was solid, but the bullpen did a great job keeping them in the game. Mace Thurman and Aguido Gonzalez combined to pitch 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Up next: J.C. Sulbaran takes on Quad Cities at 8.
Roster Moves: Kyle Aselton was somehow acquired by Carolina from Birmingham (White Sox). Not sure if it was a trade of a free agent signing, but I'm sure we'll find out soon. it's not the most exciting signing, a former 11th round pick of the Twins, but it's something. Also, Mike Bohana and Josh Beal are now in Sarasota, after starting the season in Dayton and nowhere respectively. Both of them pitched in Billings last year.

Farmers Only: El Nino Destructor picks up where Rosie Red left off

BK — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 11:00:15 -0000

Francisco

Ramon Ramirez struggled for the Bats, as Louisville lost to Indy 8-6. Ramon went 4 1/3 innings and gave up 8 R, 6 of them earned. The bullpen was much better, with Jeff Kennard, Pedro Viola, and Adam Pettyjohn combining for 4 2/3 shutout innings, but the deficit was too much for the offense to overcome. Featured Farmhand Adam Rosales was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI before his callup to the major league club in the afternoon, and Drew Stubbs went 3-for-5 as well. Jonny Gomes hit his 3rd HR of the season, a 3-run shot, but it wasn't enough. Up next: Louisville has the day off today.
Carolina won a tight one with Tennessee 7-5, as James Avery pitched a great game. Avery went 8 innings, and gave up 3 runs to get the win, his first of the season. Juan Francisco had 3 hits for the Mudcats, including his 4th HR of the season, and Zach Cozart and Eric Eymann had two hits apiece. Up next: Misael DeJesus was supposed to start yesterday, but he'll start today instead, a day game at 11:30.

Horst

Sarasota lost a game because of their bullpen to Charlotte, 8-1. Jeremy Horst actually had a great start in this, going 6 innings and giving up 0 ER, but the bullpen blew up in a Lincoln-esque manner to lose the game. Not much going on offensively, but Justin Reed kept up his hot hitting with 2 hits to extend his hitting streak to 6 games. Up next: Jerry Gil takes the hill against Charlotte again, 7:00 start.
Dayton split their doubleheader with South Bend, dropping the first game 8-0 and winning the nightcap 6-3. In Game 1, Josh Ravin got knocked around, and David Sappelt, Cody Puckett and Byron Wiley collected a hit each for the Dragons 3 hits in the game. In Game 2, Curtis Partch went 5 innings of 3 run ball to get the win, and Sappelt and Puckett each homered for the Dragons, with Kevin Coddington getting two hits. Up next: Oscar Castro is the scheduled starter for the Dragons, as they open up a new series in Beloit at 7:30.

Farmers Only: Dayton lets the Baby Dragon out of the basket!

BK — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 11:00:13 -0000

Dayton!

Our top story tonight... Dayton wins 7-5 to snap their 11 game losing streak! Byron Wiley went 2-for-3 with 4 RBI to lead the Dayton offensive attack, and Mace Thurman pitched well out of the bullpen, giving up no hits or runs in his two innings of work, striking out 5. Congrats, Dragons! Up next: Maybe I'm getting cocky here, but I think they can make it a two game winning streak tomorrow in South Bend. That one starts at 2 ET.
Louisville's blows a good start by Matt Maloney to lose 5-4 to Toledo in 10 innings. Maloney went 6 innings, gave up 5 hits and 1 run, and struck out 7 while walking 0. Arguably, he's pitching the best baseball in Louisville right now. He left with a 4-1 lead, which was blown when Josh Roenicke gave up 2 runs in the 9th for his 2nd blown save of the year. Adam Pettyjohn gave up the winning run in the 10th. Offensively, Adam "Pete" Rosales extended his hitting streak to 8 games, going 2-for-5 with a double. He's still batting over .400. Chris Valaika was 2-for-5 with a solo HR, Norris Hopper went 2-for-5 with a triple, and Kevin Barker went 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Up next: TheBobblehead takes on Toledo, game time 7 ET.

Wiley

Carolina loses to Huntsville, 12-9. Errors were pivotal in this one, as the Cats gave up 5 unearned runs. A pivotal error by pitcher Federico Baez led to 3 runs given up by the Mudcats, which isn't good in a tie game in the 9th. Starter Misael DeJesus wasn't much better on the mound, giving up 9 R (6 ER) in 3 1/3 innings of work. The offense was decent, with Chris Heisey having a big night going 3-for-6 with a HR and 3 RBi, and Zach Cozart making up for his defensive miscues (2 errors at SS) by going 3-for-5. Logan Parker had two hits, including his 2nd HR of the season, and El Nino Destructor Juan Francisco claimed his third life of the season with one of his two hits. Chris Kroski also had two hits and a homer, but with the pitching as bad as it was, the Mudcats couldn't hang on. Up next: Dallas Buck takes on Tennessee, 7:15 ET start.
Sarasota lost big time to Palm Beach, 10-3. Jerry Gil keeps proving that the Rick Ankiel experiment doesn't work as well the other way around, giving up 4 runs in 5 to drop to 0-3 on the season. Alex Buchholz and Neftali Soto had two hits each, and Dan Perales had two hits and an RBI. Up next: Sarasota takes on Palm Beach again, 6 ET.

Farmers Only: Yonder!

BK — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:00:18 -0000

There was a full slate of exciting games last night, which all would have been better than watching the big league club suck in Chicago.

Alonso

Louisville won a close one in Columbus, 3-2. Homer Bailey started the game for the Bats, and had his first good start of the season, going 6 innings, giving up 2 runs, and striking out 3. The bullpen was nails too, with Adam Pettyjohn throwing 2 hitless innings and Robert Manuel pitching the 9th for his second save of the season. Break up the Bats, they've won 4 straight, in a strikingly similar fashion to the Reds recently... without much hitting. Wes Bankston had a hit with 2 RBI, and Norris Hopper, Adam Rosales, and Craig Tatum all had one hit each. Those four guys were the only ones in tonight's Bats lineup batting over .200. Up next: Ramon Ramirez takes the hill in the finale at 11:35 AM ET.
Tough loss for the Mudcats, as they lose a close one 2-1 to Huntsville. Carolina starter Travis Wood was the story of this one, taking a no-hitter into the 7th. He allowed two runners in the inning (on a hit and walk), and Derrik Lutz allowed both of them to score. Wood is 0-2 right now, but is posting a 0.57 ERA, which is why W-L record is a terrible statistic. Sean Watson also pitched a perfect inning of relief. Not much offense in this one... Todd Frazier had 2 of the 4 Mudcat hits. Up next: Day game today at 11:00 AM.
Sarasota won 7-5 over the Charlotte Stone Crabs on a brilliant performance by Yonder Alonso. Yonder went 3-for-4 with 2 doubles and a HR, and 4 RBI total. Dan Perales and Justin Reed added two hits each as well, which was good because the pitching wasn't. Up next: Zach Stewart is scheduled to start tonight at Charlotte, a 7:05 start.

Fairel

Dayton blew a 5 run lead in the 8th to lose their 9th in a row, 7-6 to Great Lakes. It's a shame too, because an awesome start by Matt Fairel was pretty much wasted in the late innings. Fairel gave up 1 run in 6 innings, striking out 12 (!) and walking only 1. Unfortunately, Aguido Gonzalez gave up 4 in the 9th to drop the lead and earn him the loss. Offensively, Frank Pfister went 3-for-4, and David Sappelt and Tony Brown were both 2-for-4 with 2 RBI each. Up next: Josh Ravin tries to get the Dragons back on track, game time 7:00.

HAVOC to Homers, Reds beat Red Sox 9-8

Slyde — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:38:10 -0000

The Reds opened up a can of HAVOC on the Red Sox this afternoon, and as you can see, HAVOC, when properly executed can have positive results:

The Reds got the scoring going with a single and stolen base by Norris Hopper in the 4th. Later, the scoring progressed with a single and stolen base by Brandon Phillips with a throwing error that allowed Phillips to go to third base. Oh, and there were 2-run home runs by Jay Bruce and Edwin Encarnacion thrown in there as well, but clearly it was the HAVOC that led to the runs. Without the steals, do you think those runners would have scored? They weren't even in scoring position.
In the 7th inning, the Reds loaded the bases on a walk and two hit batsmen. Chris Valaika followed with an RBI single and the Jonny Gomes followed with the Frisch's Big Boy Big Play of the Game: a four-run home run to right field that put the Reds up by a score of 9-2. Gomes has to be looking appetizing to the Reds right now as at least a platoon option in LF.
The pitching left something to be desired today. Micah Owings was solid but got into some trouble in the 4th inning and wasn't helped by his bullpen when Jared Burton surrendered a double allowing 2 runs to score. Both runs were charged to Owings, who finished with 3.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K on the day.
Robert Manuel and Carlos Fisher both had decent outings from the bullpen. Manuel pitched a shutout inning, striking out one. Fisher pitched 1.2 innings and allowed two hits, one of which scored a run charged to Adam Pettyjohn, but he struck out two and closed the game when it was tight in the ninth. Both have a slim shot to make the pen, but unless someone gets hurt I doubt they start the year with the big squad.
The two pitchers in between those guys maybe have missed their shot this year as Jeff Kennard and Adam Pettyjohn each gave up 3 runs. Kennard gave up 2 home runs, though he did strike out the side. Pettyjohn could not make it more than a third of an inning after allowing 2 walks and 2 hits, incluidng a home run. Both pitchers were long shots, but their shots are pretty much exstinct at this point.

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game goes to Jonny Gomes for his game winning grand slam. For the honor, Gomes gets to box Coco Crisp. Or is that a box of Cocoa Crisps? I can't tell, there is a smudge on the notecard.