Flashback: August in the Southern League
With the 2005 season in the books, MiLB.com takes a month-by-month look back at the biggest stories of the year in each league.
Aug. 1 -- Stephen Drew, considered the top positional player in the 2004 Draft, joined the Tennessee Smokies. In 38 games in the California League, he batted .389 with 10 homers and 39 RBIs.
Aug. 3 -- Rehabbing Chicago Cubs shortstop Nomar Garciaparra went 1-for-3 for the Diamond Jaxx in their 3-2 victory over the Huntsville Stars. In his four-game stint with West Tenn, Garciaparra collected three singles in 13 at-bats.
Aug. 8 -- Major League veteran John Thomson fired six effective innings to lead the Mississippi Braves past the Birmingham Barons, 6-2. Mississippi marked the third rehab stop for Thomson, who was sidelined since mid-May with a strained flexor tendon in his right middle finger.
Aug. 11 -- Stephen Smitherman's grand slam highlighted an eight-run second inning as Chattanooga coasted to a 17-5 victory over Mississippi. The 17 runs were a season high for the Lookouts.
Aug. 11 -- Birmingham sent 15 batters to the plate in a 10-run eighth inning as the Barons rallied to defeat Huntsville, 17-11. Chris Young went 4-for-6 with six RBIs to lead Birmingham.
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Aug. 13 -- Charles Haeger tossed his first career complete-game shutout as Birmingham blanked Huntsville, 6-0. He allowed five singles and two walks while whiffing three.
Aug. 14 -- Corey Smith and Joe Gerber combined for nine hits and eight RBIs to lead Mobile past Montgomery, 13-9. Smith went 4-for-6 with two homers, while Gerber went 5-for-5, falling a triple short of the cycle.
Aug. 14 -- The Jacksonville Suns won their 10th game in a row, defeating Tennessee, 6-2. Russell Martin went 4-for-4 to lead the Suns, who were riding their longest winning streak since 1998.
Aug. 14 -- Chattanooga's Phil Dumatrait pitched six no-hit innings to lead the Lookouts to an 11-0 rout of Mississippi. Brad Salmon came on in the seventh and allowed a one-out single to Gregor Blanco.
Aug. 17 -- The Suns extended their winning streak to 12 games, beating the Braves, 9-4, in a game highlighted by Justin Ruggiano's ninth-inning grand slam.
Aug. 17 -- The Birmingham Barons won their 10th straight game, defeating Carolina, 9-4. The streak allowed the Barons to stay ahead of the hard-charging Suns in the South Division.
Aug. 18 -- Josh Burrus' bases-loaded single in the 10th inning gave Mississippi a 7-6 victory over Jacksonville, snapping the Suns' 12-game winning streak. The run fell four games short of the Southern League record, set by Montgomery in 1968.
Aug. 20 -- Jacksonville's Edwin Jackson was recalled by the Los Angeles Dodgers, nearly two years after his initial call-up to the big leagues. In 11 starts with the Suns, Jackson was 6-4 with a 3.48 ERA.
Aug. 20 -- Jae-Kuk Ryu tossed his first professional shutout to lead West Tenn past Montgomery, 3-0. He allowed two hits, striking out eight while walking one.
Aug. 20 -- Mississippi's Joey Devine became the to reach the Majors when the 21-year-old right-hander was called up by the Atlanta Braves. Devine had been dominating at the Double-A level, striking out 28 in 20 innings.
Aug. 23 -- The Huntsville Stars turned a triple play in a 7-4 loss to the BayBears. With the bases loaded and none out in the fourth inning, Mobile's Steve Baker hit a comebacker to Ty Taubenheim, who threw home for a forceout before catcher Jeff Winchester got Baker at first. First faseman Brandon Gemoll then fired across the diamond to nail Corey Smith as he rounded third.
Aug. 27 -- Chad Billingsley fired his second one-hitter in as many months as Jacksonville blanked Birmingham, 2-0. Pedro Lopez's two-out single in the fifth was the Barons' only hit. Billingsley picked up his 12th win and ran his scoreless streak to 18 innings.
Aug. 27 -- Renyel Pinto tossed a three-hit shutout as West Tenn blanked Chattanooga, 3-0. The 23-year-old lefty struck out seven in his first complete game of the season.
Aug. 27 -- Jeff Duncan and Corey Smith combined for eight hits and eight RBIs in the BayBears' 14-6 rout of Carolina. Duncan went 5-for-5 with three RBIs and four runs scored, while Smith collected three hits and drove in five runs.
Aug. 29 -- The Carolina Mudcats clinched a playoff spot with a 4-3 win over Mobile, securing the North Division's second-best record.
Aug. 29 -- Casey McGehee hit an eighth-inning grand slam and drove in six runs as West Tenn outlasted Chattanooga, 12-10. Ricky Nolasco earned his 13th win, breaking the Diamond Jaxx's franchise record previously held by Brian McNichol.
Aug. 30 -- West Tenn placed a league-leading four players on the year-end All-Star team. Jacksonville placed three players on the squad, Birmingham and Carolina added two apiece, and Tennessee had one.