While I saw Riley Gowens throw seven strong innings against Rocket City over the weekend -- the kind of performance that will cement Fortnight's Finest bona fides -- I didn't get a chance to ask a whole lot about his recent run. The Barons have now won 20 of their last 22, so a lot of guys are either new to the scene, playing out of their minds, or are merely effective in weirdly specific ways. Gowens has now thrown 32 starts and 150 innings of sturdy right-hander baseball for Birmingham over the last two years, making him more of a constant than a variable.
Fortunately, this "local boy makes good" story from the Lake County News-Sun last Thursday does a lot of the background work into the Libertyville product -- the Tommy John surgery in high school, the largely unimpressive body of work at the University of Illinois, and his work with fellow Illinoisan Neal Cotts.
Syracuse 11, Charlotte 0
- Dru Baker singled and struck out thrice.
- Tim Elko and Jacob Gonzalez both were 0-for-4 with a K.
- Will Robertson, 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Bryan Ramos went 1-for-4.
- Duncan Davitt threw six scoreless innings before hitting a wall in the seventh in his org debut: 6.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 48 of 80 pitches for strikes.
- Ben Peoples didn't help: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 WP, 12 of 20 pitches for strikes.
- Jairo Iriarte, yikes: 0.1 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 12 of 26 pitches for strikes.
Birmingham 6, Chattanooga 1
- Rikuu Nishida went 2-for-4 with a strikeout and his 10th outfield assist.
- William Bergolla, also 2-for-4.
- Sam Antonacci was 0-for-2 with a sac bunt and an HBP.
- Ryan Galanie, 0-for-3 with a sac fly.
- Wilfred Veras went 1-for-3 with a double and a sac fly.
- Braden Montgomery was 1-for-4 with a K.
- Tanner McDougal completed the assignment: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 28 of 45 pitches for strikes.
- Tyler Schweitzer's Birmingham ERA is still 0.00: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 35 of 44 pitches for strikes.
Bowling Green 7, Winston-Salem 4
- Samuel Zavala went 1-for-3 with his seventh homer and a walk.
- Jeral Perez went 2-for-4 with his 20th double.
- Kyle Lodise made his professional debut, finishing 1-for-4 with a stolen base.
- Lyle Miller-Green was 0-for-3.
Salem 3, Kannapolis 2
- Caleb Bonemer played short, going 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
- George Wolkow, 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Ronny Hernandez went 1-for-3 with a walk.
- Anthony DePino played first in his pro debut, going 0-for-4 with a K.
- Adrian Gíl was 0-for-2 with two walks, a strikeout and a stolen base.
- Colby Shelton played second in his pro debut, going 1-for-3 with a walk, strikeout and CS.
- Ely Brown played center in his pro debut, going 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
DSL White Sox 1, DSL Blue Jays Blue 0 (7 innings)
- Jose Mendoza went 1-for-3 with a strikeout.
- Alejandro Cruz, 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
- Eduardo Herrera was 1-for-3 with a K.
- Yordani Soto, 2-for-3.
