Buffalo 2-2 at Syracuse 5-5
In the first game, Vinnie Chulk pitched 6.1 innings and gave up two homers, a double, two singles, and two walks that luckily added up to only two earned runs. Jeff Tam got two outs for the save. In the nightcap, Mike Smith went the distance (7 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HR). Josh Phelps went 2 for 6 with a home run; I think he can hit AAA pitching. Kevin Cash went 1 for 3; Gabe Gross went 1 for 6; Dave Berg went 1 for 5 with an HBP.
New Haven 1 at Altoona 0
Cam Reimers outdueled John VanBenschoten with a masterful 8 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K outing. Danny Solano and Dominic Rich hit consecutive doubles in the second inning for the game's only run. Russ Adams went 1 for 5; Alexis Rios made four outs in four trips; John-Ford Griffin went 2 for 4; Guillermo Quiroz went 1 for 4; Rich went 2 for 4 with the double. Adam Peterson pitched an uneventful ninth for the save.
Lake County 6 at Charleston 1
John Wesley had a strong outing for the Alley Cats: 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 8 K, 0 HR. However, as is so often the case with Charleston, three runs was enough to lose the game. None of the good guys did anything impressive with the bat.
Auburn 3 at Staten Island 7
Josh Banks would like a mulligan on this one: 2.2 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR. Mark Sopko, Bill Wheeler, and Brian Reed gave up four hits and five walks in 5.1 relief innings while striking out seven. Aaron Hill didn't do anything in four plate appearances.
Burlington 12 at Pulaski 4
The best that can be said about this game is that Robinzon Diaz is still swinging a hot bat. A single and a double in four trips pushed him up to .412, for what that's worth.
***
I want to say that I think Cam Reimers is for real. However, the numbers just aren't there.
Pitcher Year $H $BB $K $HR
Cam Reimers 2003 .306 .060 .156 .012
Chris Baker 2003 .313 .066 .155 .018
Dave Gassner 2003 .287 .066 .159 .018
Chris Baker 2001 .252 .057 .163 .030
Vinnie Chulk 2002 .258 .083 .168 .019
EL average 2003 .347 .098 .184 .020
Reimers' only discernable advantage over Chris Baker (v.2001 or v.2003) or Dave Gassner v.2003 is his low rate of allowing home runs, which could very well be a statistical fluke. His stats from previous years (17 HR allowed in 116.1 AA/AAA innings last year) certainly don't suggest that he's unusually good at keeping the ball in the yard. Reimers is also a year older than Baker was in 2001 and a year older than Chulk was last year. I hope Cam can keep up the streak of Blue Jay farmhands winning EL Pitcher of the Year, but it would be quite an underdog story if he made it to the majors and pitched well.
John Wesley went mediaeval (or at least Reformation) on the Pioneer League last year, recording 38 K's against 8 walks and a single long ball in 28-plus innings. His stats so far in the Sally League (.314 $H, .068 $BB, .211 $K, .007 $HR) aren't far off what Brandon League put up earlier in the year (.300 $H, .067 $BB, .226 $K, .004 $HR), and he's the only current member of the Charleston starting five whose strikeout rate approaches league average:
Pitcher $K
SAL average .218
John Wesley .211 (7 starts)
Sandy Nin .185
DJ Hanson .177
Ismael Ramirez .147
Charles Talanoa .154 (2 starts; .278 $K in Auburn)
As far as I can tell, Wesley's roughly on a par with Sandy Nin, for good or for ill, although it would be nice to see him rack up some more innings.
