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- Louisville fell to the PawSox on Friday, 4-3. Denis "I Saw Three" Phipps was 2-4 with a tater, Neftali Soto slapped 2 singles, and Billy Hamilton stole a bag after walking. Armando Galarraga took the loss after giving up 4 runs (3 earned) in 6 innings. Saturday was another one-run loss to Pawtucket 6-5. Sir Quix-a-Lot was 3-5, but didn't attempt a steal, and Mike Hessman was 2-4 with a hess'd wanger. Greg "Dennis" Reynolds' outing could've been worse, giving up 5 runs on 11 hits and a walk in 6 1/3, but he and Kevin Whelan couldn't hold a one-run lead and they lost. The Bats were blanked, 5-0, on Sunday for another loss. Pedro Villarreal got the start and lasted just 4 innings, as the PawSox plated 5 in just four innings against poor ol' Señor True House. Denis Phipps (2-3, BB) was the only Bat to reach base more than once. There were certainly plenty of Memorial Day fireworks, but the Bats lost for the fourth time in four holiday weekend tries, 13-11 to Columbus. Josh Fellhauer, Felix Perez, and Mike Hessman all went yard for the Bats, Billy Hamilton stole his 26th base of the year as part of a 1-3, 4(!) walk day. Daniel Corcino was bad again, giving up 5 runs on 8 hits in just 3.1 innings, but the coolest part of this game was that Corky Miller finished it...from the mound. The Mustache formerly known as Prince retired two batters and allowed one hit in the top of the 12th after Pedro Diaz gave up the win. #LetHimStart Up next: Tony Cingrani plans on not giving up an earned run for Louisville at 6:35.
- Pensacola managed just 3 singles in a 1-0 loss to Chattanooga on Friday. Ryan Dennick pitched well, allowing just 1 run on 6 hits in 6 innings, but was bettered by the Lookouts' staff. On Saturday, they had more hits and runs (one of each, to be exact), in a 3-1 loss. Theo Bowe huxtable'd his first homer of the year, but that was about all the offense the Wahoos mustered in support of Danny Renken, who went 6 strong innings (6H, 1ER, 3BB, 5K). Pensacola managed to blow 2 separate leads in a 6-4 loss on Sunday. They added another hit to their total–five of 'em this time!–adding 6 walks, but Josh Smith gave up 5 runs in 6 innings and that was that. How about an 0-8 weekend from the top of the farm? The Blue Wahoos lost big-time on Monday, falling to Chattanooga 11-1. Another 5 hits, another piss-poor pitching performance, another loss, their ninth in a row, to be exact. Not worth getting into. Up next: Chad Rogers (2-2, 1.93) hopes to get some run support to stop the losing streak against Jacksonville at home. First pitch at 7.
- Bakersfield had their six-game winning streak snapped on Friday, losing to Stockton 3-2. Yorman Rodriguez and Marquez Smith each had a pair of hits, but the Blaze wasted a 2-on, no-out situation in the bottom of the ninth on the way to the loss. On Saturday, a 0-0 game went into the ninth, but Kyle "Success Will Never Be" McMyne gave up 3 runs to allow the Ports a 3-0 win. Three total hits won't get it done, Blaze. Mike Dennhardt and Carlos Gonzalez pitched well before getting McMyne'd, but it was not a good night. Sunday was another loss, this time a more lopsided 7-1 affair. The Blaze flickered to 4 total hits, 2 from Ryan Wright, and a Juan Silva homer accounted for the only run. The pitching also sucked. Sweet, sweet relief came on Monday, as the Blaze held on for five hours and came out on top of a 14-inning marathon, 11-9. It was a Cal League special as the Blaze erupted (finally) for 21 hits. Yorman Rodriguez made his only one count, collecting the winning RBI with a 14th-inning single. The pitching was pretty rough in this game, as even El'Hajj Muhammad had a rough night (4 walks and a hit as part of a 2-run inning), but Kyle Lotzkar locked it down in 3 late innings for the win. Juan Perez went yard and Ryan Wright went 4-8 from atop the order to lead the Blaze offense. Up next: Jon Moscot against the Baby Giants at 7:05 Best Coast time.
- Dayton picked up some of the slack for the futility of the rest of the farm, winning 3 of 4 over the long weekend. Friday was the only loss, a 5-2 contest against West Michigan. Sal "Bad Credit No Problem" Romano took the loss with 5.2 innings of 4 run ball, but no extra-base hits by the offense turned out to be a problem. On Saturday, the Dragons beat the Great Lakes Loons 5-1 behind another ace-tastic outing by Robert Stephenson. Bobby Bones struck out 8 in 6 innings, giving up a run on 6 hits and a walk, and has a 33:2 K:BB ratio over his last 4 starts. Jesse Winker reached base all 4 times up (2 walks, a single, and a triple) and Junior Arias stole 2 more bases as part of a 3-4 night. Sunday was less of a sure thing, but the Dragons came out on top in extras, 2-1. It was a serious pitchers duel, as the Dragons staff tossed 11 scoreless innings after allowing a first-inning run. Ismael Guillon is still walking the Western Hemisphere (5 more here), but he allowed just 1 run in 5 innings. Not a ton of offense, but Jeff Gelalich was 2-4 with the game-winning RBI, set up by Junior Arias' 24th steal of the season. Monday's 4-1 win completed the sweep against the Loons. The suddenly surging Dragons have now won 9 of 11 behind clutch hitting and a rock-solid bullpen, and this game was no different. The pen tossed four more run-free innings today (14 scoreless for the series), and, despite going 3-17 with RISP, strung some hits together in the first inning to go up 3-0 before the Loons even came to bat. Jeff Gelalich was 3-5, and Junior Arias stole 3 more bases. Guess who now has more steals on the season than Billy Hamilton? Junior Arias does, 27 to 26. Up next: The red-hot Dragons head home for a series against the South Bend Silver Hawks. Drew "Unleash the Dragon" Cisco (2-3, 3.40) will start the first game, today at 7.