All-Star Rodriguez Joins Puerto Rico For Baseball World Cup
September 1, 2009 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release
Lynchburg closer R. J. Rodriguez, a 2009 Carolina League mid-season All-Star, will pitch for Puerto Rico in the 2009 Baseball World Cup, which begins September 9. Rodriguez has been placed on the Temporary Inactive List by the Pittsburgh Pirates and he will miss the remainder of the Hillcats 2009 season.
Rodriguez, who pitched in San Diego's farm system from 2006 through 2008, signed with Pittsburgh as a minor league free agent prior to the start of the 2009 campaign. The right-hander enjoyed the most productive season of his career with the Hillcats, posting a 6-3 record with 27 saves and a 3.08 ERA in 47 appearances.
Rodriguez' 27 saves lead the Carolina League and ranks as the second-most saves recorded by a Hillcats reliever in a single season. Chicago White Sox reliever D. J. Carrasco, who saved 29 games for Lynchburg in 2002, remains the Hillcats single-season franchise record-holder in saves. Rodriguez was selected to the Carolina League's mid-season All-Star team and pitched in the California League/Carolina League All-Star game in Lake Elsinore on June 23. The game was a homecoming of sorts for Rodriguez, who pitched for Lake Elsinore in 2007 and 2008.
Third baseman Pedro Alvarez and reliever Dustin Molleken, two of Lynchburg's top players in the first half of the 2009 season, will also participate in the Baseball World Cup. Alvarez, who batted .247 with 14 home runs and 55 RBI in 66 games with Lynchburg, will play for the U.S. team in the Baseball World Cup. Since being promoted to Double-A Altoona, Alvarez has batted .333 with 13 home runs and 40 RBI in 60 games.
Molleken will pitch for Canada in the Baseball World Cup. The right-handed reliever went 3-1 with one save and a 3.48 ERA in 18 appearances, including one start, with Lynchburg. Molleken has compiled a 1-1 record with one save and a 4.62 ERA in 18 appearances with Altoona. Alvarez and Molleken were also placed on the Temporary Inactive List by Pittsburgh.
The Baseball World Cup begins on September 9 with pool play in a variety of different sites. Puerto Rico will begin play as member of Group B, along with Spain, Cuba and South Africa, in Barcelona, Spain. Canada opens in Stockholm, Sweden with Korea, Netherlands Antilles and Sweden in Group C. The U. S. will open in Regensburg, Germany with China, Germany and Venezuela in Group E. The final round of the tournament will take place in several different cities in Italy from September 22 through 27. The U. S. defeated Cuba to win the 2007 World Cup in Taiwan.
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