Portland won 3-2
Justin Germano had his longest outing of the
year, going seven innings and surrendering two runs on six hits while
striking out ten. The last time he recorded double-digit strikeouts was
June 23, 2002 while pitching with Fort Wayne. Germano has allowed two
earned runs or less in each of his past five starts but did allow a homer
for the seventh consecutive game.
Adam Hyzdu is just 3-for-27 since joining
Portland. In seven games he has struck out 13 times, including three times
on Friday and at least twice in each of his past five games.
Jon Knott extended his hitting streak to six
games with a homer that drove in two. Knott has played most of the season
in left field but when he plays first base, as he did through the first
eight innings on Friday, he is hitting .276, as opposed to the .235 average
he has when playing left field. Knott has knocked in five runs over the
last five games and seven of his last eight hits have gone for extra bases.
Mobile lost 8-1
Sean Thompson made his Southern League debut,
not as successfully as he had hoped. The lefty allowed five runs, four
earned, on five hits and three walks. Thompson had not allowed a run in the
first frame of the game this season until Friday when he allowed three.
Ditto for inning five, an inning when he allowed one run. Thompson has
allowed 11 runs over his last two starts, eight earned, in a span of 11
innings in two separate leagues.
Jack Cassel pitched his fifth straight
scoreless outing and seventh straight without allowing an earned run.
Cassel has also stopped all but one of the last eight inherited runners from
scoring. He has allowed runs in four of his 16 appearances on the year.
Dustin Delucci went 1-for-4 with the lone
Mobile RBI. Delucci was hitting just .158 with runners in scoring position
for Tacoma and went 1-for-2 in such situations on Friday. Delucci did
ground into a double play with two men on and no one out in the sixth.
Lake Elsinore lost 1-0
In his longest outing of the year, Clark Girardeau allowed one run on six hits in six innings of work, taking the
hard luck loss in his first California League start of the year. The
right-hander had nine starts with the Storm last year and allowed one earned
run or less in four of them. He had six starts with Fort Wayne to begin the
year and surrendered three runs or more in each of his last four starts.
Brian Burgamy had his second consecutive
multi-hit game, just the second time he has accomplished that feat on the
year. When he bats sixth in the lineup, Burgamy is hitting .310 but he is
hitting just .200 when he bats seventh. The switch-hitter has struck out
only three times in his last 34 at bats.
Wilmer Villatoro pitched a scoreless inning for
the 12th time in 18 appearances. The lanky right-hander has 21
strikeouts in 18.2 innings but only two have come over his last six
outings. Villatoro has limited hitters to a .197 average on the year but
they are swatting .467 when runners are in scoring position.
Fort Wayne postponed
The Fort Wayne Wizards and Southwest Michigan
Devil Rays were rained out in the finale of their four-game series on
Friday, May 13. The two teams will play a doubleheader during Southwest
Michigan's return to Memorial Stadium between Monday, June 13, Tuesday, June
14 or Wednesday, June 15.
Craig Johnson has been sent to extended spring
training in Peoria, Arizona. Brian Fryer, who began the year in Lake
Elsinore, will take his place.
Johnson was hitting .156 with two doubles, one
triple, four runs scored and one run batted in after ten games with the
Wizards.
Fryer was the Padres’ 20th round selection in
the 2004 June Amateur Draft from New Mexico Highlands University. In 11
games with the Storm, he was hitting .120 with seven runs scored, one
double, one triple and one run batted in.