Auburn won and Charleston split a twin-bill, but Syracuse, New Haven, and Pulaski all lost. If you know (without looking it up) who Endy Ozuna is and why he started for Charleston last night, you can take over this gig.
Syracuse 1 at Scranton 4
Jayson Werth homered and singled and Jorge Sequea drew a walk; no other SkyChief reached base. Pete Walker threw three solid innings (2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR) before turning the ball over to Mike Smith, who took the loss on three runs in four innings.
Smith turns 26 on September 19. He was a fifth-round pick in 2000 and turned 23 that year, so the pressure was on him to advance quickly. He didn't disappoint, moving from low-A ball to AA in 2001 without missing a beat. His record in Syracuse last year was good on a superficial level (8-4, 3.49 ERA), but his strikeouts collapsed (76 K's in 121.2 IP, as opposed to 55 K's in 51 IP in Tennessee the year before). His strikeout rate has fallen even further this year and his walks have climbed. Jordan's comparison of Smith to Pasqual Coco is right on the money, except that Smith hasn't stolen $500 from Vinny Chulk yet.
New Haven 1 at New Britain 2
Chris Baker threw seven fine innings, allowing a lone run on five hits and a walk while striking out three. However, that was the only run scored in the first eight innings. In the ninth, Alexis Rios doubled and scored on Anthony Sanders' single. Enter the dreaded boxscore tags: "Gustavo Chacin pitched to two batters in the ninth" and "None out when winning run scored." New Haven is still six games up on a weak field with 21 left to play.
Who is Anthony Sanders? See post 42 in this thread. (Thanks, David)
Savannah 3-6 at Charleston 8-4
Charles Talanoa pitched six strong innings for the Alley Cats in the opener (4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 6 K, 0 HR). Endy Ozuna didn't take the hint, allowing five runs on as many hits and two walks in two frames in the nightcap. Tracy Thorpe pitched ineffectually in relief of Ozuna. Rodney Medina went 4 for 5 with two doubles and two walks in the twin-bill.
If you look at the Jays' Dominican Summer League team stats, you'll find an Endy Ozuna; however, he's a shortstop, not a pitcher. (He didn't appear to be a particularly good shortstop, either, hitting .206/.271/.302 in 63 AB and making 17 errors in 23 games at short.) I have no idea whether this is the same person and, if so, why he is now pitching for Charleston. If anyone would care to research this matter, I'd love to hear the answer.
Medina is hitting .274/.342/.444 in a pitchers' league; he's 10 months younger than Jason Waugh and one level behind him, not that the odds of either one making it past Wells/Kielty/Cat/Sparky/Werth/Gross/Rios/Griffin are especially good.
Jamestown 1 at Auburn 11
Jordy Templeton started for the D-Days and threw two innings (2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K). Templeton, the Jays' 17th-rounder this year out of the University of Louisiana - Lafayette, is a 6'2", 180-lb righthander who turns 22 in ten days. Jeremy Harper did his best Jamie Vermilyea impression, whiffing five in four relief innings and only allowing a single man to reach base (by hitting him with a pitch). Brian Patrick went 3 for 5 with a steal; Paul Richmond went 3 for 4 with a homer; Mike Galloway went 2 for 3 with a double; Christian Snavely went 2 for 3; Don Vito went 1 for 4.
Pulaski 1 at Martinsville 11
The P-Jays must have been tired of swinging the bats. Yuber Rodriquez hit a single and a solo shot in four trips, and Robinzon Diaz went 1 for 4.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20030809122105999