The Clippers jumped out to an early 7-0 lead before rallying back for an 11-8 victory over Durham (box). RHP Tyler Clippard had a rough time of it, allowing seven runs (all earned) on seven hits and a walk over 3 2/3 innings, though he did strike out six. LHPs Mike Bacsik & Charlie Manning and RHP Brian Sanches provided 5 1/3 innings of solid relief with Manning and Sanches holding the Bulls hitless for the final three innings. Bacsik picked up his first victory on the season and Sanches his third save. 1B Larry Broadway led the way on offense with three doubles, three runs scored and two RBI. CF Ryan Langerhans was 3/4 with a two-run fifth inning double that allowed Columbus to retake the lead 9-8. RF Tommy Murphy, DH Tony Batista, and SS Rey Olmedo each had a pair of hits for the Clippers.
Tonight: RHP Jason Bergmann (NR) wraps up the series in Durham against RHP Mitch Talbot (0-2, 11.12) at 7:05PM
Harrisburg fell behind early 4-0, before scoring eight unanswered runs (including a grand slam by RF Roger Bernadina) en route to an 8-4 win over New Hampshire in their return to City Island (box/gamer). Every Senators starter managed a hit, led by Bernadina (2/5) and his grand slam. CF Justin Maxwell was 2/5 with an RBI and three stolen bases. CA Luke Montz was 2/3 with a double, RBI and run scored and LF Mike Daniel was 2/5. The starting pitching from RHP Marco Estrada was shaky as he battled his control and was not helped by his defense. Over five innings of work, Estrada gave up five hits and walked six. He allowed all four of his runs came in the second inning, though only one was earned. LHP Mike Hinckley and RHP Beltran Perez slammed the door on the Fisher Cats, with a combined four innings of two-hit relief. Hinckley was credited with his first win on the season and Perez his first save.
Tonight: RHP Ismael Ramirez (0-2, 10.00) faces New Hampshire RHP Jean Machi (0-0, 4.38) at 6:05PM
Potomac’s ten-game winning streak came to an end on Thursday with a 5-4 loss to Wilmington (box/gamer), the loss also snapped the P-Nats 14-game home winning streak (dating back to last season). LHP Ross Detwiler struggled with his command, walking five Blue Rocks hitters over his four innings of work. His final line was 4IP allowing two runs on four hits with four strikeouts. The Potomac bullpen, a strength in the winning streak, could not hold the lead as RHPs Craig Stammen and Adam Carr allowed a combined three runs on four hits and two walks, though they did strike out seven. On offense, 2B Matt Rogelstad, 3B Ofilio Castro, SS Seth Bynum, and CA Brian Peacock each had an RBI.
Tonight: RHP Jordan Zimmermann (1-0 0.93) takes on Wilmington RHP Mario Santiago (0-1 11.81) at 7:05PM
Continuing the trend, the Hagerstown Suns allowed a lead to slip away late in a 6-4 loss to Delmarva (box/gamer). RHP Cole Kimball struggled with his control over 3 1/3 innings, surrendering three runs on three hits and five walks. RHP Clint Everts bounced back from a couple of tough outings with 2 2/3 innings of no-hit shutout relief, striking out three. LHP Atahaulpa Severino took the loss allowing two unearned runs on three hits over his two innings of work. Two errors by 2B Jake Smolinski led to three unearned runs on the evening. RF Michael Burgess broke out of a mini slump, going 2/3 with a triple and one RBI. 1B Bill Rhinehart was 1/4 with a double and two runs scored. CF Francisco Plasencia was 1/4 with a solo home run.
Tonight: Hagerstown and RHP Colton Willems (1-0, 3.27) hit the road to face Lake County at 7:05PM
Gil.. | 18-Apr-08 at 8:06 am | Permalink
Hi Brian, thanks for a great site.. My question is about Detweiler, seeing that he was the 6th overall pick in last years draft, shouldn’t he be a bit more dominant than he’s shown ?
He seems kinda average at this point..
thanks..
Brian Oliver | 18-Apr-08 at 8:43 am | Permalink
Gil - I have not had a chance to see him in person yet but the folks I have spoken with have had mixed opinions about him. He reportedly looked really solid in his first start but his control has been an issue in his subsequent appearances.
There is a certain amount of caution with basing all analysis on the numbers. He could be working on pitches, repeating his delivery, etc which would not show up (or might show up negatively) in his statistics.
Mama B | 18-Apr-08 at 10:02 am | Permalink
Brian - before making all the negative remarks about Potomac, try watching them in person. You’d pick up a lot more about the team than just numbers.
Brian Oliver | 18-Apr-08 at 10:11 am | Permalink
Mama B - I’ve been to Potomac three times so far this year. I talk to people who are at the home games and try and get their perspective. Prior to last night’s game, the team has done practically everything positive you could hope. The folks I have spoken with have been pretty consistent in their opinions of some of the poorer performances.
Andrew S | 18-Apr-08 at 2:08 pm | Permalink
Mama B - Who is your guest player?
Greg | 18-Apr-08 at 2:41 pm | Permalink
Brian, despite what Mama B thinks, please continue to do what you do, and report as you do, as we rely on you to be our eyes and ears out there.
Mama B | 18-Apr-08 at 3:51 pm | Permalink
My comment has more to do with the verbiage than anything else. Your comments read to the negative even when positive. Pitching seems to be blamed for everything, even when fielding errors or lack of run production figure into a loss. While a pitcher’s performance is most visible in its effect on the outcome of the game, there are many other factors that contribute. Those factors should be mentioned as well.
Ric | 18-Apr-08 at 5:27 pm | Permalink
Mama B - not that he needs a defense, but:
Brian has another job. And he can’t attend games for one affilaite on a regular basis, let alone four different affiliates (or even six once short season and rookie ball start). When he has non-statistical information, he includes it (such as when he attends Potomac games, and he provides live updates on the site).
The place for observations like yours is in the comments from people like you who attend in person. Readers like me appreciate the additional information and I think you’ll see Brian does also - he regularly updates his posts with information from the comments (or at least acknowledges them in the comments directly).
Let’s just be thankful for Brian’s (quite excellent) volunteer efforts.
MiLfan | 18-Apr-08 at 5:47 pm | Permalink
Not to belabor the point, what Mama B raises has nothing to do with the worth of Brian’s blog, but the coverage and insight balance in some of his entries. There is a significant difference between the two. Unless I missed it, I did not read that he should stop what he is doing; rather, if a player makes an error and that leads to a run, well, maybe that is as important to point out as a pitcher having trouble finding the strikezone.
We are all aware that Brian has a “real job” – what we all would give to play baseball as our job – and that his entries allow Monsters, Suns, P-Nat, Senators, Clippers fans to know what is going on. Passion and differences of opinions in following baseball are as American as…well as baseball.
dd | 18-Apr-08 at 6:16 pm | Permalink
WOW!!!!
This is a free site that allows fans to get a viewpoint of what is going on in the Nats minors.
I totally appreciate all the work and effort that goes into updating the site.
I would suggest that if anyone would like “different slants” as to what goes on in the minors, he/she should start another website and share their experiences.
It would ge great to have a place to check out a fan’s perspective for each of the minor teams. Many of us would contribute opinions.
For now, nothing but kudos, praise and gratefulness for this fine site.
Much appreciative!!!
hartmanbirge | 19-Apr-08 at 7:41 am | Permalink
Well back to our regular programming…. interesting how thus far some of our better prospects are struggling, and how some of last year’s so-so guys are really turning it on (Souza comes to mind). Most pleasing to me is that Ballister is really turning it on lately. I had soured on him a bit but he’s beginning to dominate - a bit of a surprise frankly. Colton Willems has been impressive. Zimmerman impressive (though no surprise). Detwiler is struggling with his command - another surprise. Burgess seems like he’s REALLY messed up. Maxwell and Davis have both under delivered but it’s early. Marrero likewise.