Iowa Notes
In Des Moines, Iowa’s bats came alive to fuel a 13-6 win over Oklahoma on
Wednesday. OF David Kelton tallied four hits and SS Ronny Cedeno
finished with three. Cedeno now has five multi-hit games in the past week
while Kelton has overcome his slow start to the month with 13 hits in his
last 33 at-bats. Veterans Ben Grieve, Scott McClain and Calvin Murray all
drove in three runs as every Iowa starter recorded at least one hit. Coupled
with the offense, LHP Ryan O’Malley’s five innings in relief was
enough to get the job done. O’Malley (3-2) scattered three runs and six
hits. He has allowed a home run in each of his last five outings and has
given up at least one earned run in all seven of his Iowa appearances this
season. Jon Leicester started the game and allowed three runs (one earned)
and three hits in 2 2/3 innings. Leicester has allowed 12 runs in his last
14 2/3 innings at Iowa for a 7.36 ERA.
West Tenn Notes
In Jackson, LHP Sean Marshall picked up a no-decision in his 2005
Double-A debut, as West Tenn fell 5-4 to Jacksonville in 11 innings on
Wednesday. Marshall, another Class-A all-star at Daytona who was promoted to
West Tenn for the start of the second half, surrendered three runs in five
innings, striking out two and walking two. In seven starts at Double-A
dating back to last year, Marshall is 2-2 with a 5.82 ERA. (Fellow Florida
State League all-stars Carlos Marmol and Randy Wells, both
right-handers, were also promoted recently.) Ultimately, it was LHP Jon
Connolly (2-2) who took the loss, allowing the game-winning run to score
in his third relief appearance of the season. OF Adam Greenberg hit
his third home run as one of three hits on the afternoon. Greenberg picked
up his first back-to-back multi-hit games since May 4-6. 1B Brandon Sing
launched his 13th home run, and his first since June 3, to up his RBI total
to a team-best 38.
Daytona Notes
In Palm Beach, Fla., Daytona officially kicked off the second half with a
7-4 win over the Cardinals' Class-A affiliate on Wednesday. Six players
recorded an RBI, including OF J.J. Johnson, who hit his seventh home
run as part of a three-hit game. Johnson has seven multi-hit games this
month and is batting .375 (21-for-56) since June began. 1B Brian Dopirak
also tallied three hits and upped his average to over .300 for the month.
For the year, Dopirak is now batting .260 for the first time since May 8. 2B
Enrique Cruz, a new name to the Inside The Ivy minor league
notebooks, finished with a two-run home run and his first two-hit night as a
Cub. The 23-year-old Cruz has just three hits in 24 at-bats since coming
over from the Yankees. RHP Anderson Tavarez started and went six
innings, allowing two runs and four hits to go with four strikeouts and one
walk. Tavarez (3-5) picked up his first back-to-back wins since last August.
RHP Jason Wylie, who underwent shoulder surgery last season, made his
second appearance out of the bullpen and allowed a run and two hits in one
inning of work.
Boise Notes
In Everett, Wash., four Boise pitchers combined to toss a four-hit
shutout as the Hawks blanked the Everett AquaSox 3-0 on Wednesday. Starter
Andy Santana allowed two hits in four innings of work before
departing. (Santana pitched in 10 games a season ago at Mesa and went 3-2
with a 1.61 ERA.) The win went to RHP Roger Evenson, the Cubs’ 15th
round pick in this year’s draft. Evenson (1-0) pitched two innings and faced
eight batters without allowing a hit. Boise pitching combined for 14
strikeouts in the game. Offensively, the Hawks recorded only five hits but
made the most of them by taking advantage of three Everett errors in the
first three innings. Only C Mark Reed was credited with an RBI. The
Cubs’ third round pick in 2004 went 1-for-4 and picked up the 10th hit of
his ‘05 season between Boise and Peoria. CF Davy Gregg, the 24th
round pick from the University of South Carolina earlier this month, stole
three bases and now has four SB’s in his first two games. LHP Luke
Hagerty is scheduled to make his highly anticipated 2005 debut in game
three of the series.
Mesa Cubs Notes
In Mesa, the Cubs’ rookie affiliate kicked off the Arizona League
schedule with a 9-3 loss to the Angels. Scott Williamson started the
game as part of his rehab assignment and surrendered six runs (two earned)
in 1 1/3 innings. Williamson faced 10 batters, notched three strikeouts, and
walked one. The Cubs hope Williamson can return to big league action by
either late July or early August. Meanwhile, RHPs Felin Santana, 21,
and Jose Pina, 19, pitched the final 7 2/3 innings in relief,
allowing three runs and eight hits combined. At the plate, 1B Russ
Canzler, a 2004 draft pick out of high school in Pennsylvania, drove in
two runs despite a 0-for-3 performance at the plate. 3B Nikolaus Crouch,
a mid-round pick from Vanguard University in this year’s draft, and LF
Victor Liriano, the Cubs’ 18th round pick from El Paso Community
College, were the only rookies to record two hits. CF Randy Brown, a
draft-and-follow out of Jonesboro HS in Arkansas last year, recorded the
team’s only double. Liriano and 2B Eduard Serrano each tripled.
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