MiLB.com’s weekly news & notes …
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Clippers were 5-2 last week to improve to 15-15. They are tied for third in the West Division with Indianapolis, 4 1/2 games behind front-running Toledo.
WHO’S HOT AND WHO’S NOT: 2B Pete Orr has batted .318 with 10 runs scored in his last 10 contests. … OF Ryan Langerhans has hit .306 with two homers, 10 RBIs and nine runs scored in his last nine games. … 1B Larry Broadway has batted .208 in his last nine games.
YOUTH WILL BE SERVED: Before the season began, the Clippers had a pair of Major League veterans on the roster in Bret Boone and Tony Batista. Both are gone: Boone played 13 games before returning to his native California, while Batista was released on May 1. Boone hit .261 with a homer, while Batista was batting .226 with one homer before his release.
APRIL SHOWERS (OF HITS): OF Ryan Langerhans probably was unhappy to see April end. Over 27 games in the season’s opening month, he hit .315 with three homers, 17 RBIs and 19 runs scored. The 19 runs tied teammate Pete Orr and several others for the league lead.
Harrisburg Senators - link to notes not up as of 2:00PM Monday
WEEK IN REVIEW: The P-Nats had another productive week, going 5-2. Potomac opened and closed the span with a loss, winning five straight in between, including a three-game sweep of Winston-Salem and the first two against Frederick. With a 19-8 mark, the Nationals own the league’s best record and hold down first place in the Northern Division.
WHO’S HOT: RHP Adrian Alaniz refuses to cool off. He has not allowed an earned run in his last three starts, covering 18 innings, though he has only two wins to show for it. In that span, Alaniz has given up 11 hits and four walks while striking out 17 batters, including a season-high eight whiffs in a no-decision against Frederick on May 1.
WHO’S NOT: C Brian Peacock went hitless in three games and eight at-bats last week, and has failed to hit safely in his last seven contests, a span of 22 trips to the plate. SS Seth Bynum has only four hits in his last 27 at-bats over eight games.
HOME SWEET HOME: Jordan Zimmermann likes the comforts of home. In his last 52 2/3 innings while pitching in his home ballpark at either Potomac or Class A Short-Season Vermont, the right-hander has allowed only one earned run. This season, he is 3-0 at Pfitzner Stadium (plus a four-inning save April 8) after tossing seven shutout innings April 30, when he allowed three hits and no walks with nine strikeouts in a 1-0 triumph over Winston-Salem. Zimmermann retired the final 12 batters he faced in a game that took only one hour and 54 minutes to complete. “One thing about Jordan is he has four quality pitches,” Potomac manager Randy Knorr told the Potomac News. “He goes after guys and mixes it up well.”
NO HITS? NO PROBLEM: The P-Nats were no-hit in the second game of a doubleheader April 29 yet still managed to emerge with a 3-2 victory over Winston-Salem. Potomac loaded the bases on two walks and an error in the sixth inning and plated its first run on a passed ball. After Leonard Davis was intentionally walked to reload the bags, RF Edgardo Baez walked to force in the second run. LF Dee Brown then followed with an RBI force out, giving the Nationals all the runs they would need in the seven-inning contest.
WELCOME: Potomac received RHP Clint Everts from Class A Hagerstown on April 30. Everts owned an 0-2 record with a 4.63 ERA in the South Atlantic League at the time of his promotion. LHP Cory VanAllen, who leads the Carolina League with an 0.66 ERA while going 3-0, was promoted to Double-A Harrisburg during the week.
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Suns went 4-3, and at 15-14 through Saturday, were third in the SAL Northern, 2 1/2 games behind Lake County.
WHO’S HOT: 1B Bill Rhinehart pushed his average to .333 (35-for-105) by hitting .438 (7-for-16) last week. He leads the SAL with 23 RBIs. OF Aaron Suess is up to .289 (28-for-97). RHP Martin Beno (0-1, 2.77) has a trio of saves and has allowed just four earned runs in 13 innings.
WHO’S NOT: OF Stephen Englund is battling at .183 (17-for-90). IF Jake Smoliniski is scuffling at .209 (23-for-110). RHP Brad Peacock (0-2, 7.94) has allowed 20 earned runs in 22 2/3 innings.
NEWS & NOTES: Seuss had a career night Friday as the Suns eclipsed West Virginia, 12-3. He was 3-for-4 with his first professional grand slam and a career-high six RBIs. Selected in the 27th round of 2007, the native of Riverside, Calif., hadn’t driven in more than three runs in any previous game. He batted .293 with four homers and 37 RBIs in 69 games with Class A Short-Season Vermont of the New York-Penn League last year.
DID YOU KNOW? The Nationals remain confident that Smolinski, who showed signs of better offensive last week, will have a solid season. He was a second-round pick out of Boylan Catholic High in Rockford, Ill., in 2007 after being named Gatorade Illinois Baseball Player of the Year and Louisville Slugger Player of the Year for Illinois. He hit .305 (32-for-105) in 35 games for the Gulf Coast Nationals in 2007.
Mick | 05-May-08 at 2:30 pm | Permalink
By “returned to California” they mean Boone retired, right? He’s not playing in Cali is he?
Brian Oliver | 05-May-08 at 2:45 pm | Permalink
Mick - “retired” is correct
Louis J. | 05-May-08 at 2:46 pm | Permalink
What’s happened to Langerhans…307-429-465 overall and 300-489-633 w/RISP. Has the Columbus experience turned him around? Is he ready to return to the ML.
BUT, the Columbus experience has not worked for Jesus Flores 170-290-283. Is it possible that he plays worst in AAA than ML? Or, did the demotion take the heart out of him?
Suns Fan | 06-May-08 at 2:13 am | Permalink
Smolinski is doing better. He’s had a few doubles over the past few days and is hitting the ball well. I think his average is back up to .220. He’s a good player.