BATAVIA MUCKDOGS (26-37) vs. STATE COLLEGE SPIKES (31-33)Tuesday, August 28- 7:05 PM
Medlar Field at Lubrano Park - University Park, PA
Game # 65 / Home Game #31
RHP Nicolas Suero (3-4, 3.12) vs. RHP Clay Long (0-5, 3.94)
SPIKES STARTING PITCHER: RHP Nicolas Suero will make his 13th appearance (10th start) of the 2007 campaign tonight. The righty from Elias Pinas, DR is 3-4 with a 3.12 ERA having tossed 66.1 innings. Suero has established himself as one of the finer control artists in the New York-Penn League this year, as he has struck out 39 batters while walking only two. He has walked .23 batters per nine innings which is one of the lowest ratios in all of Minor League Baseball. Nicolas also enjoys the confines of Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, as the righty is 1-1 with a 2.62 ERA at home, while he has induced eight of his nine ground-ball double-plays at home. Suero has not faced the Batavia Muckdogs yet this year. In his last four starts, Suero is 2-1 and has allowed six earned runs in 23.0 innings of work. Against Jamestown on August 23, he took the loss after allowing four runs on 10 runs over his 6.0 innings of work.
MUCKDOGS STARTING PITCHER: RHP Clay Long will make his 17th appearance of the season, but only his seventh start when he toes the rubber this evening. Long comes into tonight's action with a record of 0-5 with one save and a 3.94 ERA over his 48.0 innings of work. In his last five outings he is 0-2 and has allowed nine runs on 16 hits while walking six and striking out 13. Long was signed as a non-drafted free agent prior to the 2007 season, out of Auburn University of Montgomery. He had previously been selected in the 43rd round of the 2005 MLB Draft by the Cincinnatti Reds. During his final season at AUM he went 9-1 with a 2.61 ERA in 15 starts. He had previously attended Chipola College and tied the school's career record for wins with 17.
ON TAP TONIGHT/ON DECK TOMORROW: The Spikes welcome the Batavia Muckdogs to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park for a quick two-game series beginning this evening. Batavia is the short-season affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, a team in which the Spikes were affiliated with during their inaugural year last year. Manager Mark DeJohn who piloted the Spikes to a 39-36 record, and a third-place finish last year in the Pinckney Division last year manages Batavia, while third-base coach Mike Shildt was on the Spikes staff a year ago as well.
LAST NIGHT'S GAME: The Spikes were able to avoid a fourth consecutive loss thanks to a coming out party offensively with an 8-3 win over the Williamsport Crosscutters at Historic Bowman Field on Monday night. RHP Brandon Williams (1-1), allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out three and walking one over five innings making just his third start of the year to get the win, but the story of the night was the offensive outburst of Spikes first-baseman Justin Byler.
WELCOME ABOARD! The Pirates today added three new players to the Spikes' roster as LHP Eddy Nunez, C Ron Pena, and RHP Gary Amato will all be joining the club. Nunez, a 6'1", 149-pound southpaw recently pitched in the Dominican Summer League, and posted great numbers as a starter. In 11 starts, Nunez was 2-2 with a 2.35 ERA while striking out 53 and walking just 15 in 53.2 innings of work. He held opposing hitters to a .195 batting average.
Pena also spent this summer with the DSL Pirates, and hit .224 with three home runs and 33 RBIs in 152 at-bats.
Amato, the most notable of the new arrivals to Happy Valley was drafted by the Pirates this June in the 49th round and was a college teammate of Spikes 2B Matt Cavagnaro. Amato started the season with the GCL Buccos and went 0-2 with a 3.15 ERA in 12 relief appearances in Bradenton. In those 12 appearances, Amato worked 23.0 innings, striking out 22 and walking just seven, while holding opponents to a .221 average. In his career for head coach Robbie Wine, the Cocoa Beach, Florida native went 5-5 with a 5.45 ERA in two seasons.
CALLING DANNY TANNER!: With the addition of the three current Spikes players Eddy Nunez, Ron Pena and Gary Amato, adding to an already full house, the Spikes roster is set at 36 players (18 pitchers, 4 catchers, 7 infielders, and 7 outfielders) which is the largest in the New York-Penn League. This includes players on the disabled list. Auburn and Batavia each have 35 players on their roster, while the Tri-City Valley Cats with 27 players have the fewest players on their roster.
SLUMPIN: Spikes outfielder and New York-Penn League All-Star, Austin McClune has been struggling with the bat over the last month. Since July 29, the 7th round selection in the 2006 MLB draft has seen his average fall from .316 to .269. Over this span, McClune is hitting only .208 (15-for-72). Over the last 10 games, the numbers have been even worse as he is only five for his last 31 for a .161 average.
WIN WITH JIM: James Barksdale, a utility outfielder for the Spikes has lately been finding himself in the middle of lots of Spikes rallies. The numbers support that, as Barksdale, who has been on fire over his last 10 games, has raised his batting average from .257, which it was on July 22 to its current .317 mark. Barksdale comes into tonight's game having gone 6-for-9 in the Spikes last five games, while in the last seven games in which Barksdale has played, the Spikes are 6-1.
SMELIN NOT SO SWEET: Spikes infielder Smelin Perez has been one of the weaker hitters in the Spikes lineup over the past month. He is hitting only .133 (10-for-75) since a 3-for-4 outing on July 25th. Known for his defense early in the season, Perez has committed nine errors during this stretch as well.
THE SPIKES VS. PEDRO? All-star RHP Pedro Martinez is on the mend with the New York Mets and has been pitching on rehab assignments over the last few weeks. Martinez, pitching for the St. Lucie Mets squared off against the Palm Beach Cardinals (A) last night, an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. Many former Spikes who currently makeup the Palm Beach roster faced Martinez. Outfielders Luke Gorsett, Nathan Southard, and Jim Rapoport got hits off of Martinez, Gorsett's hit was a double. Former State College 1B A.J. Van Slyke also singled off of Martinez, while three former Spikes hurlers pitched for Palm Beach. Tyler Norrick, who got the win, started for Palm Beach while Donnie Smith received a hold in relief, and Luke Gregerson nailed down his 27th save of the season. Martinez wound up receiving a no-decision going 6.0 innings giving up just one run on five hits. He struck out four and walked two.
AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh (57-72) were off last night and open a four-game set with Cincinnati tonight at PNC Park....Indianapolis (68-68) split a doubleheader with Columbus, winning, 7-0, and losing, 3-0. In the first game, RHP John Van Benschoten (10-6, 2.53) pitched a seven-inning, complete-game shutout, allowing four hits. He threw 62 of 95 pitches for strikes. In the nightcap, RHP Jesse Chavez (3-2, 3.99), allowed one run and three hits in three innings... Altoona (68-64) beat Reading, 3-0. RHP Luis Munoz (11-5, 3.82) pitched seven scoreless innings... Lynchburg (54-76) lost to Wilmington, 6-3. SS Angel Gonzalez (.255) went 2 for 5... Hickory (64-66) beat Asheville, 8-5. RF Jonel Pacheco (.309) hit his 25th home run and went 3 for 4 with a double and three RBIs... Bradenton (26-30) beat the Reds, 5-1, to end its Gulf Coast League season fourth in the South Division. LHP Zach Duke (0-0, 1.35), making his second rehabilitation start, allowed one run and three hits in four innings.
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