If you couldn't tell from his line -- 1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 0-for-2 stranding inherited runners -- Mike MacDougal is back. It's a different MacDougal, but the results were the same
in today's loss to the Pirates.
In contrast to his disastrous May in which he allowed 10 walks and 18 hits in eight innings spread out over 14 appearances, MacDougal actually threw strikes today. Thirteen of his 18 pitches found the zone, and he started all six batters he faced off with a strike.
That's good. The problem was that all but two of his pitches were middle-away or outside to right-handed hitters. Xavier Nady's two-run single came on the third consecutive attempt at low-and-away, and his body language indicated he was expecting to have to cover the plate. Jose Bautista provided what would prove to be a key insurance run by slapping an opposite-field RBI double on an outer-half pitch. Toby Hall had set up inside.
On the one pitch he threw on the inside corner for a strike, he sawed off Rajai Davis for a weak comebacker. I suppose this constitutes an improvement, because at least he's giving his teammates a chance to help him out, but he still has a lot to work on.
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Out-of-context blurb time! Josh Fields, via the AP recap:
"I think all of us were blowing everything we could."
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Minor league round-up:- Charlotte 8, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 7
- Outside of two solo homers, Lance Broadway pitched a great game. He struck out eight over seven innings, allowing only five hits, two runs and one walk on only 93 pitches.
- The bullpen made it interesting -- Carlos Vazquez walked three of the four batters he faced, and Jason Childers and Ehren Wassermann didn't fare much better. Wassermann closed out the game with the tying run on first.
- Ryan Sweeney raised his average to .303 with a 2-for-4 game, including a double. He's batting .463 (19-for-41) over his last 10 games.
- Kenny Kelly hit a three-run homer, and Tomas Perez hit a two-run shot. Scott Podsednik went 0-for-4 and was caught stealing.
- Huntsville 3, Birmingham 2
- Kris Honel allowed one run (a solo homer) over five innings. He only gave up two hits, but walked four. Corwin Malone exceeded Honel's control issues, walking six over 3 1/3.
- Ricardo Nanita and Mike Myers had two hits apiece, amounting to two-thirds of the Barons' hit total.
- Winston-Salem 5, Wilmington 2
- Derek Rodriguez improved to 7-1 with six solid innings, allowing two runs on only one hit. He walked three and struck out five.
- Daron Roberts had a pair of RBI, and David Cook scored two runs, going 0-for-2 with three walks.
- Kannapolis 7, Greensboro 5
- Chris Carter continues to hit -- 2-for-3 with two walks. Anderson Gomes went 3-for-5 with two runs scored out of the leadoff spot, and Brandon Allen hit a three-run homer.
- Kanekoa Texeira had an excellent outing in relief -- 2 1/3 perfect innings with four strikeouts for the win.