PCL1 New Orleans Baby Cakes

Hand Swats Away Aces with Ease

Published on August 4, 2013 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
New Orleans Baby Cakes News Release


Brad Hand tied a career high with 11 strikeouts in six scoreless innings, and the New Orleans Zephyrs claimed a 5-1 win over the Reno Aces on Sunday night.

In only his second start since spending nine weeks on the disabled list with an oblique injury, Hand limited the Aces to only one hit, a double off the center field wall by Brad Snyder in the third inning. The left-hander walked two, and matched his strikeout high set in 2010 while pitching for Class A Jupiter. At one point, six outs in a row came by strikeout.

Hand (3-3) has pitched 11 innings without allowing a run since returning from injury, has given up just one run in 22 innings at home this season, and owns a career 1.33 ERA in 16 starts at Zephyr Field.

After getting shutout for 12 innings on Saturday, the Zephyrs struck early by capitalizing on wildness by Reno starter Nate Adcock. Kevin Mattison was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the first, then stole second and went to third on a wild pitch.

Bryan Petersen stroked a double into the right field corner to score Mattison, and move Petersen into a tie with Raul Chavez for the Zephyrs' career doubles lead with 68.

Back-to-back two-out doubles by Chris Valaika, who broke out of a 1-for-20 skid, and Nick Green plated a run in the fourth inning.

Valaika later scored the Zephyrs' third run, as he was hit by an Adcock pitch leading off the seventh. Kyle Skipworth singled, and Gil Velazquez drew a two-out walk to load the bases and drive Adcock from the game. Reliever Chase Anderson then walked Petersen to force in a run.

Green followed a leadoff double by Jordan Brown in the eighth with a line drive home run to left, his eighth of the season to extend the Zephyrs' lead to 5-0.

The Z's turned the game over to Josh Wall in the seventh, and the Walker native worked around an RBI double by Matt Davidson in the ninth inning to finish off the final three frames for his first save with the Z's and fourth of the year.

With the series even at one game apiece, the Zephyrs and Aces meet in the third of the four-game set on Monday at 7 p.m.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from August 4, 2013


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