A very quick update today, catching you up on significant developments from last night's games:
- Jason Arnold won his second start as a Skychief in the first game of a doubleheader sweep of Richmond. Arnold's line: 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. The solitary walk is a very good sign. He beat Jason Marquis, BTW. Kevin Cash had a couple of hits to raise his line to a still-not-ready-for-prime-time .252/.298/.355. Is he maybe hearing G. Quiroz's footsteps?
- Not often you see a pitcher throw 7 1/3 innings of relief, but that's what Diegomar Markwell did to get the win in a 4-2 triumph over Altoona. Rehabbing Pete Walker threw a scoreless inning before giving way to Markwell, who allowed just 5 hits, no runs and 2 walks, striking out 4 in his first decent outing in ages. Maybe the pen agrees with him. Simon Pond homered again and now stands at .368/.480/.611 in 144 AB. Alexis Rios update: cooling off to the tune of .383/.460/.600. The game now is to see where his line bottoms out; my guess is, not below a 900 OPS.
- Florida State League, meet Vince Perkins: 6 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 4 BB, 3 K in a 1-0 shutout of St. Lucie. The walks, as suspected, remain potentially problematic, but this is a terrific introduction to High-A ball for a pitcher who's rapidly moving up the organizational charts. Hey, how'd you like to face Dunedin in a four-game set these days? Vince Perkins, Dustin McGowan, David Bush and Chad Pleiness, with Jordan DeJong in relief. A night off for Russ Adams, whose on-base and slugging numbers are improving: .280/.373/.394. But it's worth mentioning a worrisome stat on his CV: 15 errors in just 44 games at shortstop. Hello, second base.
- Rain in Charleston.
- Jason Arnold won his second start as a Skychief in the first game of a doubleheader sweep of Richmond. Arnold's line: 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. The solitary walk is a very good sign. He beat Jason Marquis, BTW. Kevin Cash had a couple of hits to raise his line to a still-not-ready-for-prime-time .252/.298/.355. Is he maybe hearing G. Quiroz's footsteps?
- Not often you see a pitcher throw 7 1/3 innings of relief, but that's what Diegomar Markwell did to get the win in a 4-2 triumph over Altoona. Rehabbing Pete Walker threw a scoreless inning before giving way to Markwell, who allowed just 5 hits, no runs and 2 walks, striking out 4 in his first decent outing in ages. Maybe the pen agrees with him. Simon Pond homered again and now stands at .368/.480/.611 in 144 AB. Alexis Rios update: cooling off to the tune of .383/.460/.600. The game now is to see where his line bottoms out; my guess is, not below a 900 OPS.
- Florida State League, meet Vince Perkins: 6 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 4 BB, 3 K in a 1-0 shutout of St. Lucie. The walks, as suspected, remain potentially problematic, but this is a terrific introduction to High-A ball for a pitcher who's rapidly moving up the organizational charts. Hey, how'd you like to face Dunedin in a four-game set these days? Vince Perkins, Dustin McGowan, David Bush and Chad Pleiness, with Jordan DeJong in relief. A night off for Russ Adams, whose on-base and slugging numbers are improving: .280/.373/.394. But it's worth mentioning a worrisome stat on his CV: 15 errors in just 44 games at shortstop. Hello, second base.
- Rain in Charleston.
