Texas League notebook
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: It was sadly ironic that though Springfield beat the playoff-bound Travelers, 2-1, in North Little Rock on Saturday night, they were still eliminated from postseason contention. The loss to Springfield was the eighth straight for Arkansas and left the Travelers in the second-half basement, 18 games behind Northwest Arkansas. The Travelers and Cardinals tied for the best first-half record, but Springfield lost because of tiebreaker rules. "Once you get to the playoffs, it's all about getting it done then," Travelers manager Bobby Magallanes told the Arkansas Democrat-Press. "But no one wants to lose eight in a row. We want to win every game. That's what we're trying to do." The Travelers ended the regular season and the eight-game losing streak -- their longest of the season -- on Sunday with a win. But they finished last in the North Division in the second half with a 26-44 record and their 62-78 overall record was the sixth-best in the league. The Travelers host Northwest Arkansas in the first game of the North Division playoffs Wednesday.
WHO'S HOT: INF/OF Adam Morrissey, who batted an icy .210 with one homer and five RBIs in July, hit .382 (29-for-76) in 21 games in August with seven doubles, 10 RBIs, eight runs scored and four of his nine home runs. The Australian homered Friday and Saturday and drove in two runs Sunday to help the Travelers end an eight-game losing streak. Morrissey delivered the 1,000th hit of his 10-year Minor League career Sunday. "I was on the verge of going to the independent leagues twice," Morrissey told the Democrat-Gazette. "I've seen the best and worst of the Minor Leagues." He was called up to Triple-A after Sunday's game.
WHO'S NOT: RHP Amalio Diaz was 3-2 with a 2.75 ERA in his first six starts after arriving from Rancho Cucamonga in the Class A Advanced California League in mid-July. But his loss Friday, which included giving up six runs on 10 hits and three walks in five innings, left him 0-2 in his last four starts. He gave up 17 earned runs on 33 hits in 21 1/3 innings in those starts, which left his season record at 3-4 and his ERA at 4.40.
HONORED: C Ben Johnson was the only member of the Travelers selected to the end-of-the-season Texas League All-Star Team.
NEWS & NOTES: RHP Rafael Rodriguez, who had allowed just one run in his previous 13 relief appearances, gave up a game-winning home run to Springfield 3B Brett Wallace with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning Aug. 24. ... RHP Francisco Rodriguez took the loss Aug. 25 in another 6-5 setback at Springfield. He allowed an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth. The loss left him 5-5 with two saves in five attempts. But that undeserved setback was a blip on a bigger screen for Rodriguez, who Sunday extended a streak to 13 1/3 innings over seven appearances in which he didn't give up an unearned run. ... RHP Robert Mosebach's record fell to 9-12 in a 3-0 loss to Northwest Arkansas on Wednesday. He's 0-4 in his last six starts despite giving up three runs three times, two runs once and one run once. ... C Tim Duff was promoted to Triple-A on Sunday and C Brian Walker joined the Travelers from Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga in time for Monday's season finale.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "I asked him where he wanted to go eat dinner. He didn't want to tell me," Travelers first base coach Eric Owens told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette after he was ejected for arguing with first base umpire Jason Kamisky during a 4-3 loss to Northwest Arkansas on Tuesday.
Corpus Christi Hooks (Houston Astros)
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Hooks finished the second half with a 26-44 record -- the worst mark in the league -- and a 55-85 overall record that also brought up the rear. "It was an up-and-down year with a lot of long innings," C Lou Santangelo told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times after his team finished 16 games off the pace.
WHO'S HOT: Every once in awhile 1B Ole Sheldon goes on a rampage. Against San Antonio on Aug. 24, Sheldon hit a pair of two-run homers, including one with two out in the bottom of the eighth inning, to give Corpus Christi a 9-8 win. Sheldon also singled and had five RBIs. In his last 10 games, Sheldon went 16-for-41, drove in 13, scored 11 runs and hit three homers.
LION TAMER: LHP Andy Van Hekken was dominating in his three starts against Frisco, the top team in the league. He finished 3-0 with a 0.39 ERA against the RoughRiders, while overall he was 6-3 with a 3.19 ERA in 11 starts after joining the Hooks in early July.
WHO'S NOT: RHP Jose Oyervidez gave up eight earned runs on six hits and four walks in one inning in his team's disastrous 21-3 home loss to San Antonio on Aug. 21. That game completed a four-game stretch for Oyervidez in which he allowed 19 runs on 19 hits and seven walks in just 4 1/3 innings.
HONORED: 2B Drew Sutton was the only Hook named to the end-of-the-season Texas League All-Star Team.
WHAT A SEASON: It has been a record-setting season for Sutton, who Saturday became the first Hooks player ever to hit 20 homers and steal 20 bases in a single season. He established team single-season or career records in eight categories this year. Sutton scored twice Tuesday to establish a new single-season team record with 98. OF Hunter Pence, now with the Astros, scored 97 runs to help the Hooks win the Texas League title in 2006. Sutton also cranked his 37th double in Wednesday's loss, another single-season team record. Sutton appeared in his 258th game for Corpus Christi on Saturday, the most by any Hooks player. John Anderson played in 257 games in 2005-'06. Sutton finished first in the league with 165 hits and 39 doubles.
NEWS & NOTES: RHP Chance Douglass, who has struggled through a 4-10 season, gave up just two runs in a no-decision start Thursday. In his last three starts, the right-hander with a 5.09 ERA in 22 starts gave up seven earned runs in 17 innings for a 3.71 ERA. ... RHP Bud Norris, 3-8 with a 4.06 ERA, was 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA after his first five starts, but his loss to San Antonio on Aug. 25 left Norris 0-8 in his last 13 starts. ... The Hooks finished 16-16 against Frisco, the top team in the league. ... Sutton, Brian Bogusevic, 3B Chris Johnson, RHPs Brad James and Sergio Perez and Blazek are scheduled to pitch for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League. ... Ken Schrom, 53, a former Major League All-Star pitcher who was the Hooks' first general manager and won the Texas League Executive of the Year award in 2005, was named the team's new president. He succeeds J.J. Gottsch, who was named to the new position of Ryan Sanders Baseball CEO.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "I don't think it can be any worse," manager Luis Pujols told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times on Aug. 25 after the Hooks took the worst loss in the team's four-season history. "Hopefully we get better next year and are able to show the fans something all year long like we did earlier in the season." The Hooks lost 21-3 to San Antonio, the worst margin of defeat in their history and gave up franchise records in hits (28) and runs.
Frisco Rough Riders (Texas Rangers)
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The RoughRiders weren't brilliant in the home stretch, going 3-6 in their last nine games, but they won their last game to eliminate Midland from the postseason tournament. Frisco won the first-half South Division title and shared the second-half top spot with Midland (41-29).
WHO'S HOT: CF Julio Borbon finished the season on a franchise-record 21-game hitting streak. He raised his average from .298 to .337 during the hot spell in which he had 26 hits, drove in 12 and scored 10 runs.
WHO'S NOT: RHP Andrew Laughter was the losing pitcher against Corpus Christi on Thursday. That game concluded a four-game span, all of which were save situations, that Laughter went 0-2 with one save. He gave up 12 earned runs on 11 hits and seven walks over six innings in those games.
HONORED: Scott Little, who guided the RoughRiders to the South Division first-half title and the best record in the league, was named Texas League Manager of the Year. SS Elvis Andrus and C Max Ramirez were named to the end-of-the-season Texas League All-Star Team.
NEWS & NOTES: RHP Brandon Puffer struck out dangerous Midland OF Jon Zeringue with runners on second and third in the top of the ninth to end a 5-4 Frisco win that sent Midland home for the winter. Puffer was 8-0 with one save in two chances with the RoughRiders. ... On Thursday SS Elvis Andrus had a 14-game hitting streak in which he drove in a dozen and scored 11 runs. ... For the 14th time, the RoughRiders won a game in their final at-bat when RF Dustin Majewski hit an opposite-field walkoff homer to beat Corpus Christi, 9-8, on Wednesday. ... RHP Neftali Feliz (4-3), who had thrown five innings in a combined, rain-shortened no-hitter in his previous start, didn't give up a hit for the first 4 1/3 innings at Midland on Aug. 24. He allowed three runs on three hits and a pair of walks in his five innings. He wrapped up his regular season with a loss, but yielded just two runs -- one earned -- on six hits over five innings against Corpus Christi. ... RHP Michael Schlact had his record over eight starts fall to 1-6 against Midland on Sunday and finished the season 7-11 with a 5.23 ERA.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "We've had a number of guys come up and continue to play well," Little said after the final game. "We had some big league guys and Triple-A guys in the first half that just sat back and banged the baseball around. We've had more of a speed team in the second half and one that did all the little things right."
Midland RockHounds (Oakland Athletics)
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: It came down to one game for the whole enchilada and the RockHounds had to settle for crow after losing the last game of the regular season to have their playoff aspirations dashed. Midland, during a stretch that included 11 straight wins, won 22 of 27 games through Aug. 22 and then finished up 4-6. The RockHounds lost two of three at home to Frisco before letting San Antonio back in the Wild-Card race by losing 3 of 4 at home to the Missions. Over the final weekend, Midland won its first two games at Frisco and needed a win in the last game to win take the second-half division title over the RoughRiders. But Frisco scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in a 5-4 win that left the 'Hounds howling. San Antonio, 21-11 against Midland during the season, took the Wild Card. Midland, 41-29, shared the second-half title with Frisco and was 75-65 overall.
WHO'S HOT: The RockHounds handed out team awards before they wrapped up their home schedule Friday and 1B Tommy Everidge was named MVP. He then went out and went 3-for-5 with a homer, four RBIs and two runs scored. The effort helped keep Midland's playoff hopes alive. Everidge doubled home a run in a four-run first inning in the 12-1 win over San Antonio. He then smacked a three-run homer, his 22nd, in the second. The homer pushed Everidge's RBI total to 115, the most by a RockHound since Dan Johnson had 114 in 2003. The big night left Everidge with a .277 average and 80 runs scored.
A TOUGH SPOT: RHP Jason Windsor, who is still recovering from 2007 labrum surgery, was thrown into a pennant race without a full set of armor. He was the losing pitcher in a 9-3 setback to Frisco on Aug. 24 in which he gave up six earned runs on two hits, four walks, two hit batsman and one wild pitch. "There probably weren't too many balls near the zone," Frisco manager Scott Little noted to the Midland Reporter-Telegram. "I feel for Windsor. It's a tough situation to be in. It's tough on the whole team, it's tough for the guys on the field and it's tough on the bullpen." The loss left Windsor 2-2 in seven starts. The RockHounds took action and disabled the pitcher.
HONORED: RHP Vince Mazzaro, who was promoted to Triple-A Sacramento in early August, was named Pitcher of the Year for his 12-3 record and 1.90 ERA. OF Aaron Cunningham, Everidge and RHPs James Simmons and Mazzaro were named to the end-of-the-season Texas League All-Star Team.
NEWS & NOTES: 3B Jesus Guzman, one of the hottest hitters in the Texas League when he was promoted to Triple-A Sacramento on June 21, returned to the RockHounds on Aug. 25 and made an immediate impact. He lined a two-out, two-run double to right-center field in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Midland a 6-5 win over Frisco. Through Saturday, he had hit safely in all five games since his return, going 12-for-27 with two doubles, a homer and seven RBIs. ... RHP Jared Lansford had a near-spotless record in his first 12 games with Midland, going 3-0 with five saves in six changes and without giving up any runs over 22 1/3 innings. Then on Thursday in a game the RockHounds had to win, Lansford yielded two runs on five hits in a 6-4 loss to San Antonio in Midland. ... RHP Ryan Webb (9-8) who had allowed 13 runs on 24 hits over 9 1/3 innings in his previous two starts, righted the ship Friday, giving up one run on five hits over five innings in a win over San Antonio. ... Simmons, who was 4-0 in his five previous starts, had one of his worst outings against Frisco on Aug. 25. He gave up a season-high 12 hits that resulted in five earned runs in just 4 1/3 innings. ... RHP Jason Fernandez didn't have much success out of the gate upon arriving at Midland from Class A Advanced Stockton. He was 0-3 in six starts and on Tuesday lost his third straight start. But on Sunday, Fernandez was the winner in a must-have game at Frisco when he allowed two runs over six innings. ... It was RHP Justin Murray's turn to falter in a 10-3 loss to San Antonio on Wednesday. He gave up four runs in the second inning and the Hounds couldn't recover. ... Olympians RHP Trevor Cahill (6-1) and LHP Brett Anderson (2-1) rejoined the team. Anderson was activated in time to pitch Thursday and allowed four runs on nine hits and struck out nine in six innings in a no-decision effort against San Antonio. ... Midland finished the season a dismal 11-21 against San Antonio. ... The team drew a franchise record 289,563 to Citibank Ballpark.
AN ODD CHOICE: Though he had other pitchers with much better numbers, manager Webster Garrison chose RHP Henry Rodriguez to pitch the eighth inning of a 4-4 game in Frisco in the final game of the season Monday. A win and Midland won the second-half division title, while a loss would send Midland home. Rodriguez walked the based loaded and threw a wild pitch that made it 5-2 RoughRiders. Rodriguez, in 14 games with Midland (nine starts) was 2-7 with a 7.46. He gave up 51 hits in 41 innings pitched and walked 44 while throwing 16 wild pitches and hitting one batter.
Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Kansas City Royals)
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Naturals, who faded in the stretch run of the first-half North Division race, charged to a playoff spot in the second half. They won their eighth straight game to clinch the second-half title Saturday. The Naturals boasted the best defense in the league and finished 42-28 in the second half and 75-65 overall.
WHO'S HOT: 1B Juan Richardson, who played the past two seasons with Springfield, spent a good part of his week doing his best to eliminate the Cardinals from playoff contention. Richardson's two-run homer in the 10th inning Tuesday was the difference in a 4-3 Naturals' victory at Arkansas. On Thursday, Richardson woke up the Northwest Arkansas offense with a three-run homer in the seventh that gave his team a 3-2 lead over the Travelers. He hit a two-RBI triple in a five-run eighth that sealed the deal in an 8-2 victory. Richardson went 3-for-4 with a double Friday and knocked in a run to raise his RBI total to 81. He went 2-for-4 and scored twice in Saturday's division clincher. He was 7-for-17 with two homers, a triple, a double, eight RBIs and five runs scored in helping his team sweep a potential playoff rival in a four-game series at Arkansas. "That's a presence," Travelers manager Bobby Magallanes told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "A veteran hitter who knows how to hit and knows the league, that's huge." Richardson hit safely in his last 10 games and 12 of his last 13.
WHO'S NOT: LHP Rowdy Hardy allowed a season-high nine earned runs on 11 hits in just 3 2/3 innings -- his shortest start since June 28 -- in a loss to Tulsa on Sunday. He is 0-2 in his last two starts and 6-11 with a 4.97 ERA in 28 games (27 starts) overall.
WHAT A FINISH: RHP Daniel Cortes improved to 10-4 overall and to 6-0 in eight starts since his last loss July 18. He pitched six no-hit innings against Arkansas on Friday that cut the Naturals' magic number to win the second-half North Division title to one. He threw 79 pitches before being removed because of an organization-mandated pitch count. "I had a great feel," Cortes told the Democrat-Gazette. "Fastball, curveball, changeup, everything was outstanding." Poldberg explained that since Cortes wasn't going to pitch a complete game that six innings of work was enough, especially late in the season with playoffs a good possibility.
HONORED: 1B Kila Ka'aihue, who batted .314, led the league with 26 homers and 79 RBIs before he was promoted to Triple-A in late July, was named Texas League Player of the Year. ... Naturals pitching coach Larry Carter, the longest tenured coach in the league, was selected as the 2008 Mike Coolbaugh Texas League Coach of the Year. The award, named after the Tulsa Drillers coach who was killed after being struck by a foul ball last season, was established to honor a Texas League coach who represents baseball on and off the field with the same passion and integrity demonstrated by Coolbaugh. ... Ka'aihue and Cortes were both named to the All-Star Team.
NEWS & NOTES: Veteran DH/OF Cory Aldridge was named the league's top player of the final week along with San Antonio 1B Kyle Blanks. Aldridge hit his fifth home run in six games to help the Naturals clinch the North Division's second-half title Saturday. He had his biggest game of the season Aug. 25, hitting a pair of three-run homers and driving in seven runs in a 14-1 cruise at Tulsa. The veteran drove in another run Sunday, giving him 17 RBIs in his last seven games. ... RHP Chris Nicoll pitched three near-perfect innings of relief in which he struck out four and walked only one to earn his third save in five chances on Aug. 24 at Tulsa. But on Thursday, Nicoll had to leave after giving up one run to Arkansas in two innings due to soreness in his right shoulder area. He was placed on the seven-day disabled list Friday with a sore shoulder. Nicoll was 4-1 with a 3.09 ERA in 19 games. ... RF Brian McFall, Cortes, Nicoll, Hardy and RHP Chris Hayes are bound for Surprise in the Arizona Fall League.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "I think I aged another 10 years," Poldberg told The Morning News after his team escaped with a 4-3 win at Arkansas on Tuesday and went one game up on Springfield in the tense North Division second-half race. Richardson hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning.
San Antonio Missions (San Diego Padres)
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The key to San Antonio's playoff berth may have the team winning three of four games in a crucial series at Midland Aug. 26-29. The series loss forced Midland to sweep its three games at Frisco to end the season. The Missions and RockHounds entered Monday tied for the Wild-Card spot and San Antonio, 21-11 against Midland during the season, got into the playoffs when the RockHounds lost a one-run decision at Frisco. The Missions, who won seven of their last nine games, finished the second half with a 36-34 mark that left them five games behind Frisco and Midland. They were 75-65 overall.
WHO'S HOT: C Chris Lobaton hit two home runs, scored four times and drove in three runs in San Antonio's record 21-3 win at Corpus Christi on Aug. 25. But the spotlight was on 1B Kyle Blanks, who tied a 72-year-old Missions team record with nine RBIs. He went 5-for-6 with five of his RBIs coming in the ninth inning. Blanks, named the league's co-player of the week, hit a two-run homer and three-RBI double in the ninth, a two-run double in the eighth, singled home a run in the fourth and drew a bases-loaded walk in the second. Charlie Grant drove in nine runs for the Missions on June 16, 1948 and Sig Gryska did likewise on June 27, 1936. The big effort also brought Blanks' RBI total to 101, which ranked second in the league. Blanks kept swinging when the Missions traveled to Midland for a four-game series. He went a combined 8-for-17 with four runs scored and three RBIs. He hit two homers against Corpus Christi on Saturday. Blanks finished second in the league with a .325 average, 107 RBIs and 160 hits.
LAST MINUTE REWARD: RHP Ernesto Frieri, called up from Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore to pitch Tuesday, threw seven innings of two-hit ball in his Texas League debut, yielding only a pair of solo homers in a 4-2 win. For his efforts Frieri was reassigned to Lake Elsinore on Wednesday. But on Monday he was beckoned back to San Antonio in time for the playoffs.
WHO'S NOT: RHP Manny Ayala continued to struggle in August. He gave up six runs over five innings in a no-decision start at Corpus Christi on Aug. 24, then was removed after just one-third of an inning in which he allowed four runs on four hits, walked one and hit a batter in a 12-1 loss at Midland on Friday. His August numbers included an 0-2 record over five starts in which he gave up 27 earned runs on 31 hits and nine walks in 20 1/3 innings. He was 6-4 with a 5.23 overall.
HONORED: RHPs Will Inman and Matt Buschmann and Blanks were named to the end-of-the-season Texas League All-Star Team.
NEWS & NOTES: League strikeout leader (140) RHP Will Inman, 0-5 in 10 starts since his last win June 23, pitched five innings of one-hit shutout ball in a 3-0 win over Corpus Christi. ... San Antonio, next-to-last in the league's home run department, slammed five in a come-from-behind 9-7 win over Corpus Christi on Saturday. ... RHP Stephen Faris (8-5) allowed two runs on five hits in Monday's blitz at Corpus Christi and finished the season 4-1 with a 1.66 ERA in six starts against the Hooks this season. But in his final start, a no-decision effort Saturday, he gave up seven runs -- six earned -- on 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings. ... RHP Mike Ekstrom, who had to be moved out of the bullpen to spot start due to injuries, allowed just one unearned run over five innings in San Antonio's 10-3 win at Midland on Wednesday. Ekstrom improved 11-7 with a 4.68 ERA. ... San Antonio finished the season 21-11 against Midland. ... OFs Mike Baxter and Huffman and Ekstrom and RHP Greg Burke are scheduled to play in the Arizona Fall League.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "We needed to win three of four at Midland, and we needed to win three of four against Corpus Christi," manager Bill Masse told the San Antonio Express-News. "The guys really came through the last 11 days."
Springfield Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals)
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: Even though Springfield won for the eighth time in 10 games Saturday and had the best overall record in the North Division (76-62), the Cardinals were eliminated from playoff contention when Northwest Arkansas (75-63) clinched the second-half title with a win over Tulsa. Ironically, Springfield beat Arkansas, the first-half champion, 2-1, in North Little Rock on Saturday to leave the Travelers 18 games out of first place in the second half and with a 60-78 record overall. "We talked about that as a staff," Arkansas manager Bobby Magallanes told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "Springfield might have the best team in the league and not make the playoffs. But that's just the way the playoff format is here." Springfield finished the first half in a tie with Arkansas, but lost that title on a tiebreaker. The Cardinals were 40-30 in the second half and their 76-64 record was the second best overall mark in the league.
WHO'S HOT: 3B Brett Wallace, St. Louis' first-round pick in this year's Draft, hit a one-out home run, his second homer in the game, in the bottom of the ninth inning Aug. 24 to give Springfield a 6-5 win over Arkansas. Wallace, who drove in two runs in that game, sent home two more runs with a double Aug. 25 in another 6-5 win over the Travelers. Wallace went 14-for-35 with 11 RBIs, 10 runs scored, four doubles and three homers and hit safely in each of his first nine games with Springfield. He failed to hit safely for the first time Friday, going 0-for-3, but still drew a walk and scored twice. He went 2-for-3 with a double and a walk Saturday in his team's 2-1 win at Arkansas and then boosted his average to .400 over 12 games with two more hits Sunday. He finished the season with an 0-for-4 on Sunday to settle at .367 with three homers, 13 runs scored and 11 RBIs in 13 games. Wallace began his professional career in Quad Cities in the Class A Midwest League and was promoted after batting .327 with five homers and 25 RBIs in 41 games.
WHO'S NOT: On Aug. 24, one day before being named to the Texas League All-Star team, RHP Fernando Salas blew his eighth save in 32 attempts this season. The closer gave up three runs in the top of the ninth inning that enabled the Travelers to tie the game, 5-5. The Cardinals eventually won the game when Wallace homered with one out in the bottom of the ninth. But in a three-game stretch through Aug. 24, Salas allowed seven earned runs in 4 2/3 innings, blew two saves and earned one win.
HONORED: 3B Alan Craig and RHPs Jess Todd and Salas were named to the end-of-the-season Texas League All-Star Team.
NEWS & NOTES: RHP Josh Kinney -- the first Springfield player to appear with the St. Louis Cardinals -- pitched a scoreless innings of relief Sunday, Wednesday and again Friday, but was tagged for three runs in two-thirds of an inning Sunday. He was on a rehabilitation assignment and trying to come back from two elbow surgeries in 2007. ... INF/DH Andrew Brown hit a three-run homer in the first inning and then walked and scored the Cardinals' winning run in the bottom of the eighth Aug. 25. ... LF Daryl Jones, reigning Texas League Player of the Week, went 0-for-4 on Aug. 25, but in his three previous games the outfielder went 9-for-15 with two homers and six RBIs. ... LHP Brad Furnish, making his third Double-A start, pitched six shutout innings over which he struck out six in an Aug. 24 win over Arkansas. ... LHP Justin Fiske won a second straight start Wednesday and improved to 4-0 this season when he fired six innings of one-run, five-hit ball in a 5-3 win over Tulsa. He tossed 6 2/3 innings of two-hit ball Monday to finish 4-0 with a 2.81 ERA in 10 starts after compiling a 3.44 ERA in 16 games as a reliever.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "It's one of the best moments of my career so far, with all the fans here for the last home game," Jim Rapoport said after his third hit of the game sent home the game-winning run in the bottom of the 13th and kept Springfield's fading playoff hopes alive in a 6-5 win over Tulsa on Friday. The next night his RBI single in the sixth plated what proved to be the deciding run in a 2-1 win at Arkansas. In 28 games in August, he batted .296 with 15 runs scored and 10 RBIs.
Tulsa Drillers (Colorado Rockies)
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: Tulsa finished 4-5 down the stretch but won its last two games to wrap up the second half with a 29-41 record that left the team in third place in the North Division, 13 games off the lead. The Drillers' 58-82 overall record ranked seventh in the league.
WHO'S HOT: RHP Brandon Hynick wrapped up his third professional season by pitching seven innings of three-hit, shutout ball against at Springfield on Tuesday. "You can chalk that up to their guy was better than we were tonight," Springfield manager Pop Warner told the Springfield News-Leader after the 4-2 loss. An eighth-round Draft pick by the Rockies in 2006, Hynick won his last three starts, was 6-1 in his last 11 starts and finished the season with a 10-7 record and 4.44 ERA in 27 starts. Tulsa won just three of 13 games from Aug. 15 through Tuesday and Hynick was the winning pitcher in all three of those victories.
WHO'S NOT: RHP Alan Johnson, the league's biggest loser, lost for the 14th time in 18 decisions when he gave up a season-high eight earned runs in a 14-1 loss to Northwest Arkansas on Aug. 25. He allowed a whopping 217 hits and walked 55 in 175 2/3 innings in 28 starts.
HONORED: INF Eric Young Jr. and OFs Dexter Fowler and Matt Miller were named to the end-of-the-season Texas League All-Star Team.
NEWS & NOTES: CF Dexter Fowler had plenty to celebrate after wrapping up the season with a 3-for-5 day in a win at Northwest Arkansas that included two doubles and a triple. His .335 average ranked second in the league and his nine triples tied for the top spot. He was called up to the Colorado Rockies after Monday's final game. ... OF Matt Miller, who was promoted to Triple-A at the end of July, became the first Springfield player to finish first in the league in batting. He hit .344. ... RF Justin Nelson went 3-for-6 with a homer, a triple and four RBIs in a an 11-4 road win against the Cardinals on Thursday. He also went 3-for-6 with a homer and two RBIs on Friday.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "I didn't understand the scoring in gymnastics, but once it was explained to me I was OK with it," Fowler told the Tulsa World about his experience on the U.S. Olympic baseball team, echoing the sentiments of millions of people. Fowler and fellow Olympian RHP Casey Weathers rejoined the Drillers on Aug. 25 and were activated Tuesday.