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Top Performers for Pacific Coast League Prospects

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013

Below are some of the top performers from the Pacific Coast League who are prospects. For many of these players their performance has led to a major league callup.

Mariners

Mike Zunino C (.229, 6, 31) - Mike is considered one of the best catching prospects in the game. With Jesus Montero getting an opportunity to catch full time for the Mariners there is no rush to promote Mike. He has been driving in runs, but has been having trouble making contact with 38 whiffs in just 28 games. He is far superior on defense than Jesus and has all the offensive tools.

Alex Liddi 3B/OF (.261, 7, 30) - His power is intriguing but his inability to make contact is maddening. He leads the Pacific Coast League with 61 K’s in just 38 games. He has a 13/61 walk to K ratio. His inability to make contact shows his lack of recognition of pitch types. He appears to be a mistake pitcher, which will not allow him to survive in the major leagues.

Nick Franklin SS (.339, 4, 16) - The Mariners are having trouble finding offense from their major league shortstop. Nick could provide a solution to that, though the Mariners would take a hit defensively. Some believe his best position is second base. He has a nice 24/16 walk to whiff ratio which bodes well for his offensive production in the major leagues.

James Paxton LHP (2-3, 3.93) - His ERA is a bit high but he has struck out 44 in 36 innings pitched. James is a step away from pitching for the Mariners.

Giants

Kensuke Tanaka 2B (.348, 0, 13) - He signed as a free agent out of Japan and at 32 years of age is not really a prospect. If the Giants are looking for immediate help he is available. He has a 15/15 walk to whiff ratio and stolen 11 bases in 15 attempts.

Brett Pill 1B (.341, 9, 47) - Brett is a Brandon Belt slump away from getting a major league opportunity. His nine homeruns are tied for the league lead and his 47 RBIs leads the next closest player by 14 RBIs. He just needs to up that average to be considered the Triple Crown.

Gary Brown CF (.213, 1, 14) - Gary was once the top prospect of the Giants with his assault of High A pitching. He has not had that success as he rises up the ladder. He’s only stolen four bases in 8 attempts and he has a 9/40 walk to whiff ratio, not the kind of numbers you want to see from your leadoff hitter.

Dodgers

Scott Van Slyke OF (.397, 9, 30) - The son of Andy was also putting up Triple Crown numbers. He led the league in hitting and was tied for first in homeruns. He was still short of Pill for the RBI lead. He has a .503 OBA. Those numbers were so impressive the Dodgers could not ignore him anymore and called him up.

Dee Gordon SS (.314, 0, 12) - Some questioned his ability to hit. Others were concerned with his inconsistency on defense. No one questions his speed. He leads the Pacific Coast League in stolen bases with 14 in 16 attempts. The Dodgers needed help so he has also been called up.

Athletics

Michael Choice OF (.294, 8, 31) - With Josh Reddick missing time because of a hand injury Michael is showing the power that makes it tempting to call him up. He has been making better contact with only 31 strikeouts in 38 games. He also has walked 23 times putting his OBA at .404.

Sonny Gray RHP (4-1, 2.19) - His 5′11″ height gives many pause for his ability to have success in the major leagues. He is making some noise with his good start in the Pacific Coast League. He already has one complete game to his resume and should be an innings eater.

Diamondbacks

Chris Owings SS (.339, 2, 25) - His numbers are confirming he will be an offensive shortstop. His 32 runs scored are tied for second in the league. He has also stolen 7 bases in 9 attempts. The one cause for concern is his 5/32 walk to whiff ratio, which could drive down the average once he reaches the major leagues.

Cardinals

Jamie Romak OF (.276, 6, 20) - Jamie is a 2012 first round pick out of Florida State and is making pitchers in the Pacific Coast League fear him as much as his college brethren. With both Matt Holiday and Carlos Beltran getting older his opportunity could come next year.

Kolten Wong 2B (.311, 1, 13) - He looked like the Cardinals second baseman of the future until Matt Carpenter switched positions and shows the ability to play second. Kolten would be the better defensive player but is less of a stick than Carpenter. He is a perfect 5 for 5 in stolen bases.

John Gast LHP (3-1, 1.16) - A Jake Westbrook injury led to a call-up to the Cardinals. He was leading the Pacific Coast League in ERA. The Cardinals have a number of hard throwers in their system, but Gast is not one of them.

Michael Wacha (4-0, 1.99) - He opened some eyes in spring training. Like Jamie he is a 2012 number one pick, selected as the 19th pick, four selections ahead of Ramsey. Michael has only given up 27 hits in 40 innings but he does have a troubling 13/24 walk to whiff ratio, meaning his mid-90s fastball is not getting a lot of swings and misses.

Astros

Jonathan Villar SS (.308, 3, 21) - Marwin Gonzalez is currently occupying the position. Villar could be the future. He has 13 stolen bases in 17 attempts.

Jimmy Paredes OF (.366, 3, 15) - Those numbers got him a callup to the Astros. His defense is something left to be desired, but he will get an opportunity to show he deserves an opportunity in the major leagues. A 14/19 walk to whiff ratio is promising.

Jared Cosart RHP (4-0, 2.08) - Jared is benefiting from the tag team pitching rotation the Astros have established this year for all their minor league systems. In the past he has had command problems, but those have not yet surfaced in the Pacific Coast League. He has struck out 43 hitters in 39 innings.

Mets

Wilmer Flores SS (.272, 3, 22) - For a number of years he was the Mets top minor league prospect. The Mets continue to play him at short even though he lacks the defensive chops to play the position. His best hope may be the outfield, though his bat is not as strong as originally projected.

Zack Wheeler RHP (2-1, 3.74) - The way he is pitching Zack is major league ready with 47 whiffs in 43 innings. Though the Mets deny this, they do not want to promote him too early to get his arbitration clock clicking.

Rockies

Nolan Arenado 3B (.364, 3, 21) - The third baseman of the future is the third baseman of the present. He drove in those 21 runs in only 18 games and stroked 11 doubles.

Drew Pomeranz RHP (5-0, 3.18) - The Rockies are winning and at some point they are going to need pitching. Drew should be the first one for consideration based on his early start. He has struck out 44 in 40 innings of work.

1fdd

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A Darvish Dandy; One Out from Perfect Game

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013

In Japan no hitters are rare. Yu Darvish never threw one while he pitched for the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan. Tonight against the Houston Astros he was one out from pitching a perfect game. Marwin Gonzalez bounced a two out single between the legs of Darvish and into centerfield to get the first hit. The Rangers went on to win the game 7-0.

Darvish was in complete control over what is considered a weak Houston lineup, striking out a major league career best 14 hitters, incuding the side in the second and fourth innings. With two outs in the ninth Gonzalez played a game of croquet, smacking the first pitch beneath the wickets of Yu’s legs, his glove reaching the ground too late to prevent the ball from trickling into centerfield.

Last year the major leagues had three no hitters. One of those pitchers Philip Humber was in an Astros uniform last night. He pitched for the White Sox when he threw his perfect game. His catcher for that game was A.J. Pierzynski. the catcher for Yu Darvish tonight was A.J. Pierzynski.

Last year Matt Cain threw a perfect game for San Francisco against these same Houston Astros. If Yu Darvish could have completed his perfecto it would have been the earliest a perfect game has been thrown in major league history.

The box score for the game can be found here: http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=330402118

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Astros Win Opener Over Rangers

Monday, April 1st, 2013

Myworld spent 15 days and two nights in Kissimmee watching the Astros play. They finished with nine wins, seven losses and one tie. There is no doubt they would take that winning percentage when the regular season ended.

The Astros now find themselves with the best record in baseball. While it is only one game against interstate rival Texas it is still an accomplishment they will be proud to point to. By the time the season ends they may be trying to ignore the comments about them reaching three digits in losses.

Bud Norris proved his selection by Bo Porter as the Astros opening day starter to be a good one by tossing five shutout innings, before tiring in the sixth. He yielded to Eric Bedard, who finished the game going the last three plus innings to pick up the save. Bedard was scheduled to be the Astros fourth starter, but with a day off on Monday that is still a possibility.

Justin Maxwell got the scoring started for the Astros in the fourth with a booming shot off the wall that scored the first two runs. They then took advantage of a Nelson Cruz bobble in the fifth, Brandon Barnes streaking around three bases to score after a Ronny Cedeno single. A Jose Altuve single scored Cedeno to give the Astros a 4-0 lead.

The Rangers finally got to Bud Norris in the sixth, a leadoff walk to Ian Kinsler proving his undoing. Ex-Astro Lance Berkman reminded fans of his borderline Hall of Fame credentials by stroking a single. Norris hit the showers after back to back two out RBI singles from David Murphy and Nelson Cruz pulled the Rangers to within a duece. Bedard got A.J. Pierzynski to fly to center to end the inning.

Matt Harrison had his good moments and bad for the Rangers. His nine strikeouts were part of the good. Two walks in the sixth were part of his bad. Derek Lowe came on to relieve Harrison and Porter chose Rick Ankiel to hit for Barnes. In his first at bat as an Astro Ankiel took Lowe for a ride over the right field wall to give them a commanding 7-2 lead. That hit has got to be a better experience for Ankiel than it was for Lowe, giving up a homerun to the first batter he faced in a Ranger uniform. Lowe did strike out Cedeno to avoid the infinity ERA, but a 27.00 ERA is not pretty to look at on the scoreboard.

The Astros scored their last run in the eighth on a Matt Dominguez infield single scoring Jason Maxwell. Maxwell finished the game with two runs scored, two RBIs and two hits. Early last year he was a Yankee. The Astros picked him up after the Yankees released him. With their decimated outfield situation and a surplus of lefthanded hitters he might have looked good this year wearing pinstripes.

Before one gets too excited it must be remembered it is only opening day. Tuffy Rhodes hit three homeruns on opening day in 1994 for the Cubs and finished the season with only eight. He had his best years in Japan where his 474 homeruns are the best for all foreign players. He only hit 13 in the majors, three of those on opening day.

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Singleton Blows Lead Astros Over Tigers

Thursday, March 28th, 2013

Jonathan Singleton will spend the first 50 days in extended spring training as he serves out his 50 day suspension for testing positive for a drug of abuse. He may have been the Astros starting firstbaseman this year, but he will have to wait until the All Star break to make an impact. Today he blasted two homeruns to lead the Astros over the Tigers 11-4.

Anibal Sanchez gave up a solo homerun to Singleton in his first at bat in the second inning, a shot tagged over the right centerfield fence. Anibal struggled in the third, giving up four straight hits, including a 2-run double to Rick Ankiel down the first base line. After retiring the next two hitters Anibal had to face Singleton again and Jonathan roped a line drive over the right field fence for a 2-run shot, just inside the foul pole to give the Astros a 6-0 lead.

Phillip Humber pitched will for the Astros for the first four innings. The Tigers got to him for four runs in the fifth, all the result of the Astros defense, specifically Ronny Cedeno giving the Tigers five outs. Ronny made a high toss to the dimunitive Jose Altuve at second for the error. Chris Carter and Cedeno allowed a shallow fly ball to left to drop between them to give the Tigers a second extra out. Prince Fielder made them pay roping a shot that hit the scoreboard in right centerfield.

The Astros pulled away from the Tigers again with a 2-run homer from Jason Castro in the fifth. Rick Ankiel added a solo shot in the sixth to give the Astros an 11-4 win.

Game Notes: Ronny Cedeno defensively does not look like the answer at short for the Astros. He booted a ball and made a bad throw for two errors and allowed a popup to fall between him and Chris Carter. Myworld was not clear whether Carter called for the ball, but if I’m Cedeno I don’t assume Carter catches anything…In the first three at bats myworld witnessed Jonathan Singleton hit a triple and two homeruns. He walked and popped to third in his last two at bats…Carlos Correa played short and shows a good arm. He grounded to third in his only at bat, barely beating the throw to first to prevent a double play. Carlos does not show a lot of speed, at least from the burst out of the batter’s box in his one at bat….If anything will prevent the Tigers from winning their division it will be their poor defense and their slim bullpen…Matt Tuasosopo was referred to as Mr. T…The Astros showed their future in the last two innings hitting Domingo Santana, Correa and Delino Deshields. Deshields was the only one of the three to get a hit.

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Singleton Leads Astros Over Nats

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013

Jonathan Singleton has been the invisible man this spring. The Astros are looking for someone to play first base and Singleton is not in the equation. At least not for the first 50 games. Singleton was suspended by major league baseball for fifty games for a drug of abuse and will start the season in AAA to get his spring training at bats.

Jonathan came up in the seventh inning with the bases loaded and one out, entering the game as a late inning substitution for Carlos Pena. The previous inning the Astros had loaded the bases with one out and a Jason Castro strikeout and Carlos Corporan pop up ended that threat. The Astros were down 4-1. Singleton popped a line drive over the head of Denard Span, who appeared to have played the ball poorly in the gusting winds and the ball rolled to the fence for a triple, tying the game. Trevor Crowe drove in Singleton with a single and Matt Dominguez lined a double past the plodding Micah Owings in left field to put the Astros up for good 6-4.

The Nationals started Chris Young. It was their last opportunity to see him before making a decision about keeping him or releasing him as a free agent. He limited the Astros to one run in four innings of work, not impressive enough for the Nationals to put him on their 25-man roster. The only run he gave up was in the fourth when a fly ball hit off the heel of the glove of a charging Bryce Harper for a two base error, scoring Fernando Martinez from first. Davey Johnson could be seen talking to Chris after the fourth telling him day was done and so appeared to be his career as a National.

The Astros started Alex White. He was fine the first time through the order, limiting the Nationals to one hit in seven at bats with one walk. The second time through the order he gave up seven hits in 13 at bats, not counting the single by Chris Young. Pitcher Young started a rally off him in the third by bouncing a single past the first base bag. Many Astro fans thought the ball was foul, but their opinion did not count. Singles by Jayson Werth and Bryce Harper scored Young for the first run.

The Nationals stroked three hits off White again in the fourth to score a run, Wilson Ramos getting the RBI single. They scored two more in the fifth, a ground ball double play plating one and an Adam LaRoche solo shot scoring the other to make it 4-1.

Xavier Cedeno came on to get the last three outs for the Astros, giving up one hit to end the game and picking up the save.

Game Notes: Jonathan Singleton showed some speed motoring around the bases for his triple…Brandon Barnes appears to have made the 25-man roster as an extra outfielder, but he didn’t help his cause in the seventh after a strikeout with the go ahead run on third. The ball scooted past the catcher and there was some confusion as to whether he should run or not. He broke for first and then stopped, but eventually he was thrown out after Wilson Ramos tried to give the home plate umpire the ball and he wouldn’t accept it…Bryce Harper went 3 for 3, though his first hit should have been ruled an error. It skipped under the glove of Carlos Pena, a ball he should have had…Danny Espinosa had another two strike single, lining an 0-2 curveball up the middle. He also had a wasted at bat when he popped up with runners on first and second with no out. Davey would have been better off bunting him…Jose Veras looked good for the Astros. He retired the side in order in the seventh, the first time myworld has seen that from him…The onfield microphone was not working so the national anthem had to be sung without it. They finally brought the microphone out in the seventh, but it was still spotty…Marwin Gonzalez had a bunt single to start the game and had a seeing eye hit between first and second in the seventh inning rally…The Nationals played sloppy tonight. They had a popup drop between Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond. Fortunately there was a runner on first and they were able to force him out. Chad Tracy also misjudged a popup and Desmond was there to bail him out as the ball curved into fair territory. The winds were blowing. Bryce Harper also had a ball bounce off the heel of his glove as he was charging in for it from left field, scored as a two base error. Finally, Wilson Ramos tried to return a ball to the umpire after a swing and a miss on a third strike with a runner on third and no out. Fundamentals will be important if the Nationals want to appear in the World Series…Micah Owing does not play the outfield well. He is a slower version of Mike Morse. If he makes the team it will be strictly to pinch hit.

2aed

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Astros Win Rain Shortened Game

Sunday, March 24th, 2013

The Astros downed the Miami Marlins 4-1 after a deluge hit Florida in the bottom of the fifth to finish the game. David Martinez gave up eight hits in four innings but only gave up one run to get the win. Jose Veras gave up two hits in the fifth put still picked up the save. The rains came with two out in the fifth and the Marlins in the process of changing pitchers.

The Marlins struck first on a Giancarlo Stanton opposite field single to right to score Juan Pierre. The Astros erased the lead in the second when Fernando Martinez doubled into the gap to score Rick Ankiel. Fernando scored on a fly ball by Matt Dominguez. Brett Wallace slugged a 2-run homer in the third to expand the lead to 4-1.

The Marlins stranded eight runners, leaving runners on third in the last three innings. Jacob Turner got the start for the Marlins and pitched four plus innings. He walked four, with two of those walks crossing the plate.

Game Notes: Ronny Cedeno made his debut and should have been charged with an error on the first ball ball hit to him. He backed up on a high bouncer which took a quick hop to scoot past him…Wilson Valdez was recently released by the Phillies and got the start at short for the Marlins…Trevor Crowe made a nice diving catch on a fly ball hit by Ginacarlo Stanton. With J.D. Martinez sent down he could win an outfield job. He is seeing more playing time…Greg Dobbs had two doubles and a single in three at bats…Fernando Martinez has lost a lot of speed on the bases and in the outfield…Rick Ankiel stroked two hits with a walk in three at bats…Despite a torrential downpour no tarp was placed over the infield. The only tarp was placed over the mound and over the home plate area. It will be interesting to see what shape the infield is in on Monday evening when the Astros play the Nationals.

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Teheran Tosses Six Innings of No-hit Ball in Braves Win Over Astros

Saturday, March 23rd, 2013

The last time myworld watched Julio Teheran pitch he threw five innings of no hit ball, striking out six. Today he threw six innings of no hit ball, striking out 10. The Braves only managed three hits, but all three ball travelled over the wall to give the Braves a 3-2 win over the Astros.

Myworld has never been to a game in which no singles were hit. Myworld has also never been to a game with only five hits, four of them travelling over the fence. Both hits for Houston were by Rick Ankiel, a double in the seventh and a 2-run homer in the ninth inning off Craig Kimbrel that pulled the Astros to within 3-2.

The only inning in which Julio struggled was in the first when he walked two. He also struck out three in the inning, his last skipping past the catcher. Even though Fernando Martinez reached first after the strikeout the umpires still ruled him out, so we can only assume he was running on the inside part of the baseline. No throw was made, but it appeared Evan Gattis could have made a throw but perhaps yielded so as not to hit the baserunner.

Philip Humber pitched for the Astros. He pitched well, only giving up three hits in six innings. All three of the hits were homeruns. Dan Uggla and Evan Gattis connected on pitches in the second inning to give the Braves a 2-0 lead. Jordan Parraz connected in the fifth to up the lead to 3-0.

Game Notes: The Astros only two hits were by late inning replacement Rick Ankiel, who doubled in the seventh and homered in the ninth…In all the games we have watched Houston play myworld rarely sees Jose Altuve swing at a poor pitch. He struck out twice today swinging at poor pitches, one that broke low and away and the other that crossed the plate at his eyes…Andrelton Simmons played some gold glove defense today, robbing Astro hitters of at least two hits…The guy who sang the national anthem at the game sat in the same row two seats down from me. That is when I thought about buying a powerball ticket…Rhiner Cruz came in to pitch and hit 97 on his fastball. He retired the Braves in order, one via the strikeout.

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Norris Sharp in Astros Exhibition Win Over Cardinals

Friday, March 22nd, 2013

Bud Norris was announced as the Astros opening day starter and he showed the choice was wise, tossing six innings of shutout ball in the Astros 3-2 win over the Cardinals in his next to last tuneup before the season starts. Daniel Descalso lined what appeared to be a homerun down the leftfield line called back in the second inning when the umpires huddled together, reversing the decision without video replay. Norris gave up only three hits.

Jamie Garcia pitched well for the Cardinals. He gave up a run in the first after issuing a leadoff walk to Jose Altuve. A Chris Carter bloop double advanced Altuve to third where he scored on a wild pitch. Garcia retired 12 straight hitters after the Carter double.

Altuve was also involved with the Astros scoring in the sixth inning, leading off the inning with a double. He scored on a Chris Carter single.

Jose Veras came on to pitch for the Astros after Norris left. He coughed up the 2-0 lead. The hot hitting Shane Robinson mashed a double over the head of Brandon Barnes in left to lead off the seventh. A wild pitch advanced Robinson to third and a walk to Daniel Descalso put runners on first and third with no outs. Altuve made a nice play on a Tony Cruz grounder, getting the out and allowing Robinson to cross the plate for the first run. Descalso stole third and scored on a fly ball out by pinch hitter Matt Adams. Veras departed after the fly ball.

Altuve was responsible for breaking the 2-2 tie in the eighth. Tyler Greene started the inning with a single and Altuve executed the perfect hit and run with a single past the vacated second base area advancing Greene to third. Greene scored on a fly ball to right from Rick Ankiel.

Chia-Jen Lo pitched the ninth and appears to be a better closing alternative than Veras. He gave up one hit and retired the other three hitters on fly balls into the outfield. Those fly ball outs may not translate well at Minute Maid Park.

Game Notes: Jose Altuve has little legs that don’t give him a lot of distance between strides and he just doesn’t churn them fast enough to be considered a fast runner. Amazing he was able to steal 33 bases last year…Matt Carpenter played second base and led off, which could be his role when the regular season starts. He dropped a ball thrown by the third baseman when he tried to throw it to first before he caught the ball to complete the double play…The Astros played with the DH. The Cardinals had the pitchers hit. Chris Carter got two big hits from the DH spot to give the Astros the win. The Cardinals went 0 for 3 with one RBI on a sacrifice fly combining the pitchers at bats and the pinch hitter…Oscar Taveras went 0 for 4, failing to get the ball out of the infield in his first three at bats.

2023

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Mets Down Astros in Windy Exhibition

Thursday, March 21st, 2013

It was cold, wet and windy in Kissimmee with the Mets beating the Astos 7-5. Cold is relative when compared to the East Coasts freezing temperatures with high 50 degree temperatures in Florida, but with a heavy, biting wind blowing out to right field and at the backs of fans sitting in the seats, it felt colder than the high 50s. Matt Den Decker used that wind to blast a ball over the head of J.D. Martinez in right field to drive in two and give the Mets the victory the 7-5 win.

The game did not start off too well for the Mets and Dillion Gee. The Astros scored five runs off Dillion in the first two innings, with Carlos Pena slugging a 2-run homer to the opposite field in the first. In the second the Astros collected four hits and a walk to put a three spot on the board and build a 5-0 lead.

Dillion settled down after that, pitching two scoreless innings and striking out the side in the fourth after the home plate umpire appeared to expand his strike zone to get the game in under threatening dark clouds.

The Mets whittled at the lead, Collin Cowgill striking the first blow with his 2-run homer to left in the third inning. Ironic the only two homers hit were to left when the wind was blowing out to right. The Mets added another run in the fifth on an RBI triple from Brian Bixler that one hopped the wall in center. Bixler and Brandon Hicks are getting a lot of playing time with the injury to David Wright.

A crucial Tyler Greene error in the seventh allowed the Mets to score four and take the lead in the game.

Game Notes: With the cold wind, and the sprinkles from the night sky, myworld only stayed seven innings for this game…Jordany Valedspin led the game off with a bunt single. Jose Altuve led off the bottom of the first with a bunt single that hit the bag…There were a number of line drive double play outs that were the result of poor baserunning or failed hit and run attempts. Mike Baxter lined to second in the second inning where Jose Altuve caught the ball just above the ground. Lucas Duda had strayed too far from second and was doubled off to end a potential Met rally. In the third Trevor Crowe hit into a line drive double play to short on a attempted hit and run. In the sixth Landon Powell flew out to right field and Ike Davis assumed the ball would drop. The wind held the ball up and Davis was easily doubled off second…The home plate umpire had an awful game. He called two eyeball strikes on Jose Altuve and called a strike three on Jake Elmore, but didn’t appear to make the call until Jake was halfway down to first thinking it was ball four. He also seemed to expand his strike zone in the fourth to get the game in, resulting in a very inconsistent strike zone…It was fun watching Matt Den Decker streak like a lightening bolt to third on his triple. That kid can fly. At 25 years of age, if he can learn to make consistent contact he will be the Mets centerfielder by mid-year. Unfortunately, Matt has had lots of trouble making contract, striking out at least 150 times in his last two years. Myworld has already seen him play major league defense against the Tigers.

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Astros Bomb Blue Jays Second Team

Monday, March 18th, 2013

The Blue Jays did not have a split squad game today, but the team they sent to Kissimmee did not have one player whose name will be included in the opening day starting lineup. They did have their number four starter Brandon Morrow pitch the game but the Astros treated him badly in their 11-2 rout over the Blue Jays.

Chris Carter sent two balls deep to drive in four runs and more importantly made a couple defensive plays out in left field to lead the Astros to victory. The Astros also got homeruns from Brandon Laird and Jason Castro.

Bud Norris had a solid game. He retired the Blue Jay second team pretty easily in four of the five innings he pitched. In the third he gave up a double to Mike McCoy and two sacrifice flies to allow two runs to score. The Blue Jays had closed the gap to 3-2, but the two Chris Carter 2-run homers broke the game wide open.

Erik Bedard worked the last three innings. He allowed only one runner to reach and struck out five hitters, four of them lefthanders. If he does not make the starting rotation he could be an effective pitcher in the bullpen against lefthanded hitters. Last year with the Pirates, lefthanders hit him at a .218 clip. His achilles heel was that righthanders hit him at .278.

Game Notes: Luis Jimenez got the start at first for the Blue Jays. He made his major league debut last year with the Seattle Mariners at 30 years old. He only got one hit in 17 at bats for a .059 average, but he could be used as a left handed power bat for pinch hitting purpsoses or an occasional designated hitter agaisnt righthanders…Myworld has seen three Blue Jay games and in all of them Ryan Langerhans has started in the outfield. He plays a solid defense, but is not much of a bat. It does appear the Blue Jays are giving him every opportunity to win the fourth or fifth outfielder job…Eugenio Velez showed a smooth glove and a strong arm at third base. He began his career with the Blue Jays in 2001 and after more than a decade has returned to the Blue Jays. He made his major league debut with the Giants in 2007 but will not be much more than a utility player.

Posted in Blue Jays, Astros 344e | No Comments »