- Roster Moves: Haven't gotten to recall these in a while, so let's look at who's moved so far. Dallas Buck and Matt Klinker had the biggest switch so far, flip-flopping so that Buck is seeing his first taste of Louisville and Klinker is a Mudcat for the third year in a row. Buck hasn't really been tearing things up, but I'm expecting Klinker to try and get back on track in a lower pressure environment. Also joining the Bats is Frank Pfister, who makes the dubious move from Dayton to Louisville, taking Chris Valaika's vacant roster spot. A 24-year-old, Pfister is playing to his age level, but are they for real putting him there or is he just a stopgap until the big league infield is healthy? In Carolina, a familiar face has joined their rotation in Justin Lehr. Neftali Soto has suffered another injury setback, and is on the 7-day-DL with free agent outfielder Quintin Berry taking his spot. Ryan LaMarre is currently on the shelf in Bakersfield, with Stephen Hunt (Steve Hunt!) taking his place. Dayton's stayed healthy fairly well too, with Porfirio Martinez the only name shipped out for performance reasons. The guy who took his place was Chad Rogers, who may not be a guy most people recognize, but he's our only farmhand to get bit by a shark last summer. On to the games...
- Louisville was rained out. They'll play a doubleheader today (convenient for a Reds off day, if you ask me), starting at 6:05. If you're not familiar with minor league doubleheaders, we'll have two 7-inning games. Chad Reineke and Matt Maloney will be your starters.
- Carolina lost 5-1 to Chattanooga. Matt Klinker was actually pretty solid in his first start back in AA, going 6 innings of 2-run ball, but the offense couldn't do much of anything. Mike Costanzo led the team with 2 hits and David Cook hit a solo homer for the Mudcats' only run. Up next: Travis Webb takes the mound against Tennessee at 7:15.
- Bakersfield were let down by a blown save in the 9th to lose 10-7 to Visalia in a game they led 7-3 at one point. Lance Janke wasn't as good as his no-hit start last time out, but still managed to strike out 8 in 5 2/3 innings with 4 runs given up, and Clayton Shunick pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to bring the game into the 9th inning with a 3-run lead for Andrew Bowman. Bowman pitched to 4 batters and didn't get any of them out, and Doug Salinas didn't do much better as the Blaze gave up 6 9th inning runs. On offense, Josh Fellhauer and Stephen Hunt had 3 hits each, with Fellhauer hitting his 3rd homer of the year. Up next: Josh Ravin takes the hill against Visalia at 10:15.
- Dayton beat West Michigan 6-2 on a day where the pitching held up, but this one was about Yorman Rodriguez. Yorman went 2-for-4 and hit his 3rd homer of the year, a 3-run shot to put the Dragons ahead for good. The pitching was solid too, as Daniel "Thundering" Tuttle started the game and gave up 1 earned run in 6 innings of work with 6 strikeouts. Tim Crabbe pitched the last 3 innings, retiring all 9 men he faced, striking out 6 of them. Impressive. Up next: The Dragons take on Fort Wayne, with Daniel Renken getting the start.
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