Edinson Turns Out Lights on 161st

The Yankees buzz saw ran into the hottest young pitcher in Major League baseball and their 7-game winning streak came to end. Edinson Volquez went 7 innings to push the Cincinnati Reds past the Yankees this evening, 4-2 at Yankee Stadium.

Volquez's ERA actually jumped up from 1.64 to 1.71 as he won his 10th game of the season. The game was tied 1-1 in the 5th inning when the entire evening turned on one play. Johnny Damon lost Edwin Encarnacion's lead off line drive, off of Yankees starter Mike Mussina, in the lights for what was, inexplicably, ruled a double though the ball glanced off of Damon's glove.

Corey Patterson sacrificed the runner to 3rd base and after Paul Bako grounded out with the infield in for the 2nd out, Joe Girardi made a decision that second guessers may still be debating tomorrow. Girardi opted to intentionally walk left-handed hitting rookie Jay Bruce, who was just 8 for his last 43, to set up a righty-righty match up with Mussina against Jolbert Cabrera, who was already 2-2. The move backfired when Cabrera doubled to left to score both runners for a 3-1 lead. Ken Griffey Jr. then singled to right to score Cabrera, who made an innovative slide to avoid Jose Molina's tag.

The Yankees cut the lead in half in the 7th, but blew a chance to get more. Alex Rodriguez and Hideki Matsui hit consecutive one out singles, but Jason Giambi flew out to deep left-center for the 2nd out. A-Rod moved up to 3rd base on the play and scored on Robinson Cano's single to center, but Volquez struck out Melky Cabrera to end the inning.

The Yankees had one last gasp in the 9th against closer Francisco Cordero when Matsui sliced a two out single to left. But Cordero retired Giambi on a chopper to 2nd baseman Brandon Phillips and just like that the Yankees winning streak was over.


News and Notes

Jason Giambi may want to at least trim his mustache. He's gone into a 0-12 skid.

Alex Rodriguez extended his hitting streak to 8 games, while Derek Jeter has now hit in 9 straight games.

It was the 2nd time this season that Mike Mussina pitched 8 innings.

June 20, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Cincinnati	0	1	0	0	3	0	0	0	0		4	10	0
NY Yankees	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0		2	8	1

Cincinnati	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Bruce, RF	4	1	1	0	1	2	0	.315
Cabrera, SS	4	1	4	2	0	0	0	.389
1-Janish, PR-SS	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.179
Griffey, DH	4	0	1	1	0	0	4	.244
Phillips, B, 2B	4	0	0	0	0	1	2	.264
Dunn, LF	4	0	0	0	0	2	0	.224
Hopper, LF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.290
Votto, 1B	4	1	3	1	0	0	0	.286
Encarnacion, 3B	3	1	1	0	1	0	1	.242
Patterson, CF	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	.192
Bako, C	4	0	0	0	0	0	3	.235
Totals	35	4	10	4	2	5	13
1-Ran for Cabrera in the 7th.
BATTING 2B: Encarnacion (15, Mussina), Cabrera (1, Mussina), Votto (15, Mussina). HR: Votto (12, 2nd inning off Mussina, 0 on, 2 out). TB: Bruce; Cabrera 5; Griffey; Votto 7; Encarnacion 2. RBI: Votto (37), Cabrera 2 (2), Griffey (31). 2-out RBI: Votto; Cabrera 2; Griffey. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Griffey; Bako; Phillips, B; Patterson. S: Patterson. Team LOB: 7. BASERUNNING PO: Votto (2nd base by Molina). FIELDING DP: (Cabrera-Votto).

Cincinnati	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Volquez (W, 10-2)	7.0	7	2	2	1	5	0	1.71
Burton (H, 7)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.58
Cordero (S, 14)	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2.76

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	4	0	1	1	0	1	0	.330
Jeter, SS	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.276
Abreu, RF	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.274
Rodriguez, 3B	3	1	1	0	1	1	0	.335
Matsui, DH	4	0	2	0	0	0	1	.324
Giambi, 1B	4	0	0	0	0	1	4	.254
Cano, 2B	3	0	2	1	0	0	1	.232
Cabrera, CF	3	1	1	0	0	1	3	.253
Molina, C	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	.218
a-Betemit, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.250
Moeller, C	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.262
Totals	32	2	8	2	1	5	10
a-Flied out for Molina in the 8th.
BATTING TB: Damon; Jeter; Rodriguez; Matsui 2; Cano 2; Cabrera. RBI: Damon (34), Cano (25). 2-out RBI: Cano. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cano; Cabrera. GIDP: Cabrera. Team LOB: 4. BASERUNNING SB: Rodriguez (9, 2nd base off Volquez/Bako). CS: Jeter (2, 2nd base by Volquez/Bako), Damon (6, 2nd base by Volquez/Bako). FIELDING E: Cano (6, throw). Outfield assists: Abreu (Cabrera at 1st base). DP: (Abreu-Giambi). Pickoffs: Molina (Votto at 2nd base).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Mussina (L, 10-5)	8.0	10	4	4	2	4	1	3.93
Traber	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3.86

WP: Volquez, Mussina.
Balk: Volquez.
IBB: Bruce (by Mussina).
Pitches-strikes: Volquez 103-63, Burton 11-7, Cordero 21-11,
Mussina 110-76, Traber 7-6.
Ground outs-fly outs: Volquez 7-7, Burton 2-1, Cordero 2-1,
Mussina 10-8, Traber 2-0.
Batters faced: Volquez 26, Burton 3, Cordero 4,
Mussina 35, Traber 3.
Umpires: HP: Brian Runge. 1B: Scott Barry.
2B: Charlie Reliford. 3B: Greg Gibson.
Weather: 75 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 8 mph, Out to LF.
T: 2:46.
Att: 53,421.

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Yankees vs. Reds - June 20

The Cincinnati Reds come to the Bronx tonight for the first time since 1976 and that forgettable (except for the fact we finally got back there) World Series. The 3-game series is the first time the two teams have met since 2003 when they played at the Great American Ball Park in Cincy. The Yankees lost the first 2 games of that series, 6-2 and 4-3, before winning in a laugher, 10-2, in the finale. Al Osuna and Mike Mussina took the losses while Jose Contreras picked up the lone win.

On to today- the Reds are struggling. They sit 8 games under .500 and 12.5 games back of the Cubs in last place in the NL Central. They are currently mired in a 5-game losing streak. This comes a season after they finished 72-90 and cost Jerry Narron his manager's job. Dusty Baker was hired to turn things around, but so far that has not happened, mainly because of the same problem most teams have. A lack of pitching.

The Reds do have some good young players to build with though. Pitcher Edinson Volquez, who starts tonight's game, was acquired in the Josh Hamilton trade. He leads the NL in ERA and strikeouts. Fellow pitcher Johnny Cueto opened the season with a 10 strikeout performance, but has had the ups and downs of most rookie seasons. And then there's super prospect Jay Bruce, who made a fantastic splash in his first dozen games in the bigs- a .457 average with 3 home runs and 11 RBI, and a 1.293 OPS. But he's come back a bit to Earth since then, going 7-42 (.167) with 1 HR and 1 RBI. They also have highly touted pitcher Homer Bailey who struggled in a brief call up.

As for the veterans, Ken Griffey Jr. is struggling with some aches and some poor hitting. He attained his 600th career home run, but is hitting just .244-7-30 and has a .746 OPS. The Reds would love to find a taker for him, but Jr. may not want to be moved, even if its a contender.

Adam Dunn is having his typical year. Mediocre average, lots of strikeouts, and lots of home runs (.228, 18, 72). So much so that Blue Jays G.M. J.P. Ricciardi insulted him the other day. Dunn's 43 RBI lead the ball guy club, while Joey Votto has the highest average for a regular at just .278.

The Reds also have former Yankee Andy Phillips on their squad.

Pitching Probables for the Series

Friday: Edinson Volquez (9-2, 1.64) vs. Mike Mussina (10-4, 3.87)
Saturday: Daryl Thompson (0-0, 0.0) vs. Dan Giese (1-1, 1.23)
Sunday: Johnny Cueto (5-7, 5.19) vs. Andy Pettitte (7-5, 4.29)


Tonight's lineup via Peter Abraham:

Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Giambi 1B
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF

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Around the Horn - 6/9

Tampa is still in a feisty mood even though they are no longer playing the Red Sox. During yesterday's game with the Rangers, catcher Dionner Navarro and starting pitcher Matt Garza had to be separated. Garza was then yanked from the game by manager Joe Maddon, who later downplayed the incident.

The Angels have very quietly put together a 7-game winning streak, which ended with their loss to Oakland on Sunday. They're still not hitting, but their pitching continues to stand out. Imagine if they get Kelvim Escobar back healthy.

Every team in the American League is playing .500 ball or better, but it doesn't seem to be very good ball for most of the teams.

Despite a penchant for issuing walks, the Red Sox Justin Masterson is 3-0 after beating the Mariners yesterday. He'll get at least one more start until Dice-K comes back.

The White Sox have won 6 straight to take a 5.5 game lead on 2nd place Minnesota. Chicago is the only team over .500 in the AL Central.

The Tigers have probably lost Jeremy Bonderman for the season due to a blood clot in his right shoulder.

The Indians have definitely lost Jake Westbrook for the season after it was announced he'll undergo Tommy John surgery.



















The Padres turned up the heat again on Willie Randolph with a 4-game sweep. San Diego came into the series 13 games under .500. They won three straight 2-1 games and rallied on Sunday for an 8-6 victory.

In case you haven't checked Jay Bruce's stats lately - in 13 games he's hitting .429 with 3 home runs and 11 RBI, has 14 runs scored, and a 1.227 OPS. His teammate Ken Griffey Jr. still waits for that 600th home run.

Chipper Jones has a slight tear in his quad, but is only expected to miss a couple of games.

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Around the Horn - 6/3

The Red Sox received shocking news when it was learned that David Ortiz will miss at least a month with a torn tendon in his hand. For now he's got his wrist immobilized in a cast for the next 2 weeks. According to the Boston Globe, it is unlikely that he'll need surgery.

Boston's first game without their big slugger didn't go to well due a rare blow up by Hideki Okajima. The Orioles reached him for 4 runs in the 8th inning for a 6-3 win. Jim Johnson won his first major league game.

Bobby Crosby's 9th inning single gave the A's a 3-2 win over the Tigers, sending Detroit to 9 games below .500. Rich Harden and Kenny Rogers both pitched well in their starts, but neither figured in the outcome. Harden has made 5 consecutive starts without interruption for the first time in over 2 years.

Casey Blake had the kind of night that hitters dream of. Two home runs, a 3-run double, and 7 RBI. The Indians out scored the Rangers 13-9, though not before blowing an 8-3 lead. Josh Hamilton celebrated his choice as AL Player of the Month for May with a home run in 3 consecutive games.

Jeff Mathis slugged a 2-run home run and Ervin Santana won his 8th game in the Angels 4-2 victory over the Mariners. Vlad Guerrero missed the game with a sore knee.

Brian Horwitz hit his first major league home run, and along with Ray Durham, drove in 3 runs as the Giants bombed the Mets 10-2. Mets starter Oliver Perez only retired one batter before being pulled in the 1st inning. Bengie Molina also picked up his 1,000th hit in the game.

John Smoltz's return from the DL to the closer role was an unsuccessful one, but the Braves beat the Marlins 7-5 in 10 innings. Smoltz allowed 2 runs in the top of the 9th, but Jeff Francoeur scored on a wild pitch to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th, and Yuniel Escobar hit a walk-off 2-run shot in extras.

Carlos Zambrano is doing it all these days. He went 3-3 yesterday to raise his average to .366 and pitched 5 innings for his 8th win. Zambrano's won his last 7 decisions. The Cubbies are now 15-2 against the NL West.

The Rockies (20-38) rocky season continued last night as the Dodgers pounded them 8-2. Matt Kemp had 3 hits and one of the Dodgers 3 hits to help Derek Lowe earn his 3rd win.

The Pirates came back from a 4-0 deficit to beat the Cardinals 5-4. Jason Michaels hit a game tying grand slam in the 7th and Jason Bay drove in the go ahead run in the 8th.

Prince Fielder homered for the 3rd time in 4 games to give the Brewers a much needed 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks. Doug Davis allowed just 1 earned in 6 innings for AZ.

Chase Utley hit his major league leading 21st home run and the Phillies held off the Reds 5-4. Pedro Feliz and Chris Coste each added home runs for the Phillies. Jay Bruce hit his 3rd home run for the Reds and went to 2-4 to "drop" his average to .577.

The Nationals have lost 3B Ryan Zimmerman indefinitely with a partial tear of the labrum in his left shoulder.

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Around the Horn - 6/2

Late afternoon edition of Around the Horn....

First off congratulations to the man-child himself Manny Ramirez on home run #500 (and #501). We didn't have much time this weekend or we would have posted something more deserving. We're shocked that Manny is standing by home plate still admiring his shot.

Manny's Red Sox still trail those Rays. Tampa took 3 of 4 from the White Sox to maintain a 1 game lead in the AL East. These guys are NOT going away.

2 more home runs and 5 more RBI for Josh Hamilton from the weekend. Chase Utley upped his major league home run total to 20. We picked the guy to be the '07 MVP. Perhaps we were just a year off.

The Indians have to get a bat, no? They scored just 8 runs in a 3-game series with the Royals. KC snapped their 12 game losing streak on Saturday and won again on Sunday.

The Diamondbacks posted back-to-back shutouts of the Nationals. Brandon Webb won his 10th game on Saturday with a complete game effort. Dan Haren got some help from the pen to duplicate the feat on Sunday.

Trevor Hoffman is the all-time leader in saves, but he doesn't do so badly in blowing them either. He got his 3rd of the year yesterday when the Giants scored 3 off of him in the bottom of the 10th to win. The Padres may want to think about moving Josh Banks to the starting rotation full-time. He threw 6 shutout innings in last Sunday's 18 inning marathon with the Pads and followed it up with a complete game win on Saturday. He allowed just 1 unearned run and 6 hits. He's yet to allow a run in 17 innings this season.

How bummed does Justin Verlander have to be? He's 2-8 now. He can blame us for picking him to win the CY Young. Felix Hernandez was back on the beam, throwing 2-hit ball for 7 innings to beat him.

Joe Torre's trip back to NYC wasn't so great. The Mets took 3 of 4 from Torre's Dodger blue.

The Jay Bruce ERA is fully underway in Cincinnati. He had the walk off home run in the 10th on Saturday and hit another one on Sunday. So far, the 21-yr old is 13-22 (.591) with 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3 doubles, 6 walks, and 2 steals. His OBP/SLUG/OPS is .690/1.000/1.690.

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Around the Horn - 5/28

Josh Hamilton's rise back from the depths has been well documented and that rise continues this season. Last night, playing against his original organization, the Tampa Rays, Hamilton belted a grand slam and drove in 5 runs in the Rangers 12-6 win.

Franklin Gutierrez hit a grand slam in the Indians 8-2 win over the White Sox. The Indians were also credited with a triple steal. With the bases loaded, Jamey Carroll was picked off 1st Base, but got into a run down. Eventually all runners were safe with David Dellucci scoring. Which just goes to show you that official scoring rules definitely need to be changed.

Indians DH Travis Hafner could be headed to the DL with a bad shoulder.

Mark Teahen hit a game tying inside the park 3-run home run for the Royals in the bottom of the 9th, but the Royals still lost their 8th straight. Michael Cuddyer's 12th inning single gave the Twins a 4-3 win. Teahen's temporary heroics gave Joe Nathan his first blown save of the year.

Jeremy Bonderman was breezing along with a 2-0 shutout against the Angels, but LA tied it with 2 runs in the 8th and won it on Gary Matthews Jr.'s RBI single in the bottom of the 9th. Ervin Santana allowed just 3 hits in picking up the complete game win.

Greg Smith continues to impress for the A's. He tossed 6.2 shutout innings last night in the A's 3-1 win over the Blue Jays. It snapped the Jays 5-game winning streak. Frank Thomas had to leave the game with a strained quad.

The Mariners blew a 3-0 lead to the Red Sox, but snapped their 7-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory. Jose Lopez singled in the game winner off of Mike Timlin in the bottom of the 9th. Yunikesky Betancourt may be facing disciplinary actions by the Mariners after throwing a 9th inning tantrum when he was pinch-hit for.

Johan Santana is a good cure for what ails ya. Santana went out and got a much needed win for the Mets, 5-3 over the division leading Marlins.

Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Kouzmanoff hit back-to-back home runs off of former Yankees prospect Charlie Manning to give the Padres a 4-2 win over the Nationals.

The Brewers overcame a strong outing by the Braves' Tim Hudson and rallied late from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2. Mike Cameron's 9th inning sac fly capped the comeback.

After scoring 20 runs the night before, the Phillies put up 7 in the first two innings against the Rockies last night and held on for a 7-4 win.

The Jay Bruce ERA began in Cincinnati in a big way. Talk about a memorable debut- 3-3 with a double, 2 singles, 2 walks, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored, and a stolen base. And a post-game double shaving cream pie in the face celebration. The Reds won 9-6 over the Pirates with some help from red hot Adam Dunn who homered and drove in 4.

After 10 no-decisions, Shawn Chacon has won 2 straight. The right-hander pitched the Astros to an 8-2 win over the Cardinals. Hunter Pence was 5-5 with a couple of ribbies.

The Cubs scored 3 times in the 7th to beat the Dodgers 3-1. Hiroki Kuroda took a tough loss after a well pitched game. The Japanese media was excited about this one with Kuroda facing fellow countryman Kosuke Fukudome. Fukudome drove in the Cubs final run.

Bengie Molina hit a 3-run home run and Jose Castillo added a solo shot as the Giants beat Dan Haren and the Diamondbacks 6-3. Tim Lincecum improved to 7-1 with 7 K's in 7 innings.

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Around the Horn - 5/27

Willie Randolph survived a Monday meeting with management, but for how long?. The verdict, "he's still manager, for now". That's not a rave. Then the Mets went out and looked flat against the NL East leading Marlins and lost 7-3. Luis Gonzalez drove in 3 runs to out do Jose Reyes who hit a pair of solo home runs. Mike Pelfrey was awful yet again in taking the loss. Perhaps he's been vastly overrated by Mets management.

Another manager hanging by a thread is Mariners skipper John McLaren. And you can understand how the front office would be upset with him after his handling of young gun Felix Hernandez yesterday. Hernandez and Bartolo Colon were locked in a great pitchers duel as the Mariners and Red Sox met. The game was tied 1-1 in the 8th when The King rang into trouble.

Sean Casey singled before Hernandez got 2 quick ground outs. It appeared he might escape trouble and maybe that's why McLaren left him in so long. Dustin Pedroia's ground rule double scored pinch-runner Julio Lugo to put the Sox up 2-1. The Mariners elected to walk David Ortiz and pitch to Manny Ramirez. That backfired when Ramirez singled to right. 3-1 Sox. Maybe a good time to take Hernandez out. No? An infield single by Mike Lowell made it 4-1. Okay, pull him now. No? A J.D. Drew single loaded the bases. You have to take him out now. NO???

McLaren finally pulled Hernandez after he walked Jason Varitek to force in a run. Great job taking a kid's great game and turning it into a fiasco. The Mariners scored twice in the bottom of the 9th, but it was too little too late at that point. Perhaps it might not have been had McLaren had the smarts to go to the bullpen about 4 batters earlier.

Clint Hurdle and the Rockies front office must be wondering what happened to their playoff team from a year ago. Granted the Rockies weren't much better at this time last year, just 3 games ahead of their current (20-31) pace. But the great pitching they got in '07 has not been there. Yesterday they were pounded by the Phillies 20-5. Chase Utley homered and drove in 6 runs and Chris Coste and Pedro Feliz knocked in 4 runs each. Jamie Moyer picked up career win #235.

No such outburst in Anaheim, where it took 12 innings before anyone scored. The Angels pulled out a 1-0 win over the Tigers when Garrett Anderson drew a bases loaded walk. Jose Arredondo picked up his first major league victory. Starters Kenny Rogers and John Garland both threw 7 scoreless innings. Gary Sheffield had to leave the game with an oblique injury and will be re-evaluated today.

Eric Hinske belted a 3-run home run to help boost the Rays to a 7-3 win over the Rangers. The victory moved the Rays to 11 games over .500. Scott Kazmir was dealing- 3 hits and 10 Ks over 7 innings. Meanwhile Sidney Ponson crashed back to earth with a 5 inning, 5 run, 12 hit performance.

Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez homered and Ryan Dempster improved to 6-2 in the Cubs 3-1 win over the Dodgers. Kerry Wood picked up his 11th save.

Team meetings don't always work. Royals manager Trey Hillman tried it before yesterday's game with the Blue Jays. But a few hours later the Royals had lost their 8th straight, 7-2. Marco Scutaro and Greg Zaun homered to help Shaun Marcum improve to 5-3, 2.64.

Gabe Kapler's 11th inning single gave the Brewers a 4-3 win over the Nationals.

The Indians and White Sox went 12 innings before the Chisox scored 3 times for a 6-3 win. Starters Javier Vazquez and Paul Byrd each allowed 3 runs in 6 innings. The Indians had to know they were in trouble when they put Scott Elarton into the game to start the 12th.

The Braves beat the Diamondbacks 7-3 to hand Brandon Webb his second consecutive loss. The right-hander allowed 7 runs, 4 of them earned, in just 4.1 innings pitched. Jair Jurrjens couldn't go 5 to get the win, but the Braves bullpen did an excellent job over the final 4.1 innings. Mark Texeira lead the offense with 4 RBI and Brian McCann homered.

News and Notes

Mets outfielder Ryan Church will be examined by a neurologist today due to lingering effects from the concussion he suffered last week.

The Reds are reportedly calling up top prospect Jay Bruce today which could mean the end of Scott Hatteberg's days in Cincy.

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Minor League Recap - 5/15

We go from the bottom up this time around. Tough day and night for the Yankees farm teams on Wednesday. Charleston was held to one hit by the Greenville Drive in a rough 1-0 loss. Jason Stephens allowed just 3 hits over 6 innings, didn't walk a batter and struck out 5, but the RiverDogs were shooting blanks in the batters box.

Justin Snyder had the lone hit, a 4th inning single that followed a Carmen Angellini walk. With runners on the corners and one out, Jesus Montero hit into an inning ending double play. The RiverDogs would have just one other runner on the night, courtesy of a walk. Jesse Hoover pitched a solid 3 innings of relief, but the Drive scored the game's lone run off of him in the 7th inning.

Tampa had 3 times the hits of the RiverDogs, but not any more runs. The Class-A Yankees got blanked by the Lakeland Flying Tigers by the same exact 1-0 score. This time it was Al Aceves pitching with hard luck. He left the game with no decision after allowing just 2 hits over 7 innings.

The Yankees mounted a threat with one out in the 3rd when Jose Gil singled and Josue Calzado was hit by a pitch. But Kevin Smith lined into an inning ending double play. The Yankees also put the tying run on 2nd Base with one out in the 7th, but failed to push him across. Josue Selenes gave up the game's lone run in the 8th inning.

For as much pitching as there was at the bottom two levels, the Yankees got none of it at the top two levels. The Trenton Thunder were outscored by the Portland Sea Dogs 10-6 in an afternoon contest. Shortsop Reegie Corona entered the game with only one error on the season, but committed 3 of the 5 errors the Thunder would make on the day. The misplays lead to 8 unearned runs. All 4 runs that Mike Gardner allowed were unearned as he absorbed the loss.

Corona's day in the field spoiled his day at the plate where he was 2-3 with 2 RBI. Edwar Gonzalez continues to hit well since his promotion from Tampa. He was 3-4 with a pair of doubles and is batting .308.

Lousiville scored 8 runs in the 2nd inning to paste the Scranton Yankees 11-6 in another afternoon game. Heath Phillips was awful as the Bats battered him for 8 runs, 5 of them earned, in just 1.1 innings. The Yankees scored 5 runs in the 8th to just make the score semi-respectable. Cody Ransom and Justin Christian homered for the Yankees, and Jason Lane had 3 hits.

Reds stud prospect Jay Bruce was 3-3 with a double, triple, home run, 3 RBI, 2 runs scored, and 2 walks. He's now hitting .366, which begs the question, what the heck is he doing in the minors?

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Minor League Recap - 5/14

Jeff Marquez got knocked around for 5 runs over 7 innings as the Yankees dropped the opener of their series with the Louisville Bats, 5-3. Top prospect Jay Bruce was 2-4 with an RBI for the Reds Triple-A affiliate, while former Yankee Andy Phillips went 1-4. The game also marked the Triple-A debut of J.B. Cox who is at his third level this season. He retired all three batters he faced.

Dan McCutchen suffered with unusual control problems last night as the Portland Sea Dogs pounded the Trenton Thunder 7-1. McCutchen walked 5 and allowed 3 runs in 4 innings. The bullpen provided no relief either, allowed the final 4 runs. Jose Tabata was the lone bright spot with 2 hits and a stolen base. Tabata is hitting .333 over his last 10 games.

Ryan Pope threw an outstanding 6 innings and Kevin Whelan made his season debut in the Tampa Yankees 3-1 win over the Lakeland Flying Tigers. Pope allowed a run on 4 hits over 6 innings to boost his record 4-2, 2.13. Whelan threw 2 shutout innings as he returned from arm problems that ended his fall season prematurely. Mitch Fortenberry paced the offense with his first home run of the year.

Charleston dropped their 4th game in the last 6, 3-2 in 11 innings to the Greenville Drive. The go ahead run came across on a Chace Vacek wild pitch. Jesus Montero was 2-5 with an RBI double and singled in the bottom of the 11th to give the RiverDogs a chance, but the came up empty.

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Minor League Recap - 4/9

Tampa's Eric Hacker threw 7 no-hit innings last night in the Class-A Yankees 1-0 win over the Dunedin Blue Jays. Hacker left due to his pitch count, turning things over to Sean Henn. The lefty, on a rehab assignment, gave up a single to the first batter he faced in the 8th. The Yankees finally won it in the 10th. Jon Hovis got the 'W'.

Scranton got another good performance from Kei Igawa (4 IP 6 H 1 ER 6 K), but couldn't do much against Reds top pitching prospect Homer Bailey and the Louisville Bats bullpen. Chris Britton, Jon Albaladejo, and Edwar Ramirez combined for 5 shutout innings in relief. All three have not allowed an earned run this season. Reds top hitting prospect Jay Bruce drove in the only run of the game.

Pitching was the name of the game in the Trenton Thunder's 5-2 win over the Altoona Curve. After 5 solid innings from starter Chase Wright, Steven Jackson came on to retire off 9 men he faced, 7 of them by strikeout. Reegie (that's not a typo) Corona drove in a pair of runs.

The Charleston River Dogs improved to 5-1 with a 7-3 win over the Savannah Sand Gnats. Dellin Betances improved to 2-0 by striking out 8 in 5.1 innings. He had control problems, issuing 6 walks, but allowed just 2 hits. Jesus Montero hit his 1st home run of the season.

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Minor League Recap - 4/8

Jeff Marquez get clobbered in Scranton's 9-2 loss to the Louisville Bats last night. Reds phenom Jay Bruce hit his first home run of the season and added a triple. The bright spots? Jason Lane hit his 3rd home run and Heath Phillips extended his scoreless streak to 3.1 innings over 3 games.

The Trenton Thunder topped the Altoona Curve 3-2 behind the pitching of Jason Jones and a home run by Cody Ehlers.

The Tampa Yankees lost the finale of a 3-game series with the Sarasota Reds, 7-1. Starter Ivan Nova had a pretty good game, but the pen let it get out of hand. Mark Melancon gave up a 2-run home run in his 2 innings of work.

The Charleston River Dogs topped the Savannah Sand Gnats (that's the best they could come up with?). Zach McAllister tossed 5 shutout innings and Brandon Laird knocked in a pair of runs.

Kei Igawa makes his second start for Scranton tonight against Reds top prospect Homer Bailey.

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