Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes
Published on August 4, 2009 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release
LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (15-22, 60-46) @ KINSTON INDIANS (12-25, 39-66)
August 4th, 2009 -- 7:00 PM
@ Grainger Stadium
LHP Jeff Locke (2-8, 5.42) vs. RHP Bryan Price (1-6, 6.54)
THE HILLCATS: Lynchburg blanked Kinston 2-0 in the series opener of their three-game series last night at Grainger Stadium...The Hillcats have won four games in a row for the first time in the second half...Tonight the Cats play the middle-game of this set and game two of a seven-game road trip that will complete a stretch of 13 out of 17 on the road...
VS. KINSTON: The Hillcats are 9-6 against the Indians thus far this season and are 6-2 at Grainger Stadium...The last time Lynchburg came to Kinston they swept the K-Tribe in a three-game series and outscored them by a combined score of 31-9...Lynchburg has the edge in the all-time series at 147-143, but they are 65-81 at Grainger Stadium...
FITTING THE PIECES: UTIL Josh Harrison went 3-for-5 last night with his first double and his first two stolen base for Lynchburg...On Sunday night RHP Nate Adcock made his first appearance for Lynchburg and earned the victory in his Carolina League debut...Last night LHP Rudy Owens Hillcats and Advanced-A debut and did not allow a run in four and 1/3 innings of action...Owens was a first half All-Star in the South Atlantic League had a 10-1 record with a 1.70 ERA for West Virginia...Owens became the 12th player to don the Green & Gold for the first time this season in the second half...
HAPPY TO HAVE YOU: UTIL Josh Harrison is hitting .438 (7-for-16) with a double, a triple, two RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base in just four games played with Lynchburg...He began the season with Low-A Peoria in the Cubs system and was a first half All-Star in the Midwest League with a .337 average...His last 18 games in the Chicago system Harrison was with Advanced-A Daytona and hit .286...H came to the Pirate along with RHP Kevin Hart and RHP Jose Ascanio for LHP Tom Gorzelanny and LHP John Grabow...
FOEIGNER: Last night's game featured a pair of left-handed starters that were new to their surroundings...LHP Rudy Owens made his Hillcats, Advanced-A and Carolina League debut last night and LHP Scott Barnes made just his second start with Kinston and his first in his new home ballpark since he was traded last week from the Giants organization...Both pitchers had to depart in the fifth inning because of a strict pitch count despite the fact that neither had allowed a run...The two southpaws have been two of the hottest pitchers in all of professional baseball...In his final eight starts with West Virginia Owens went 5-0 with a 0.39 ERA (two earned runs in 46 innings)...Barnes went 6-0 with a 1.30 ERA in his last seven outings with the San Jose Giants...Tonight features two more starters that are going to end the season with a different team then they began the campaign with...Hillcats starter LHP Jeff Locke was traded from the Braves system to the Pirates in the middle of the season...RHP Bryan Price will get the nod for Kinston, making his first start with the organization since coming over from the Red Sox...
WHEN I NEED YOU MOST: INF Jordy Mercer went 1-for-3 last night with a pair of walks and the game-winning two-out RBI single in the ninth inning...He is now batting .310 with men in scoring position this season, in comparison with his .248 overall clip...His ninth inning hit was followed with another run scoring single by his former Oklahoma State Cowboy teammate 1B Matt Hague...
BACK IN BUSINESS: INF Chase d'Arnaud returned to the line-up on Saturday night sooner than originally expected...The South Atlantic League All-Star had been out since June 15th with a sprained left thumb...In his first game back he went 1-for-4 with a walk...His single came in his first appearance back in the batters box...Last night d'Arnaud went 1-for-5 with a steal and he has now collected a hit in his first three games back in the line-up...
TONIGHT'S OPPOSING PITCHER: RHP Bryan Price was acquired in a trade deadline deal from the Boston Red Sox along with RHP Justin Masterson and LHP Nick Hagadone in exchange for C Victor Martinez...He was originally selected by Boston in the supplemental first round (45th overall) of the 2008 amateur entry draft out of Rice University...His junior season and final year with the Owls he went 4-4 with a a 3.72 ERA and two saves in 30 games (one start)...That same year he made his professional debut with Short-Season Low-A Lowell and posted a 1-3 record with a 3.83 ERA in 12 games (nine starts) with the Spinners...This season he began the year with Low-A Greenville and was 3-2 with a 2.45 ERA in eight starts prior to his promotion to Salem...He made 11 starts for the Sox and went 1-6 with a 6.54 ERA...He made his Advanced-A debut against Lynchburg on May 28th and allowed eight runs (six earned) in a loss in Salem...In his two starts combined against the Hillcats he is 0-2 with a 7.84 ERA (nine earned runs in 10 and 1/3 innings)...Price began the season ranked as the 20th best prospect in the Red Sox system according to Baseball America...Tonight is his Indians debut...
Carolina League Stories from August 4, 2009
- Cats Bullpen Allows Two Grand Slams in 12-Run Sixth - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Keys' 1B Widlansky Homers, Drives in Four in 7-3 Win - Frederick Keys
- Zimmermann, Espinosa Not Enough for Nats - Potomac Nationals
- Thompson and Miles Lead Pelicans to 4-1 Victory over Red Sox - Salem Red Sox
- KTribe Scores 12 in the 6th to Beat Lynchburg - Kinston Indians
- Pitching Pulls Blue Rocks Past Dash, Extend Win Streak to 10 - Winston-Salem Dash
- Justin Edwards Named Carolina League Pitcher of the Week - Winston-Salem Dash
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Zimmermann to Make Rehab Start for P-Nats on Tuesday - Potomac Nationals
- Potomac Nationals Game Notes - Potomac Nationals
- Nationals Pitcher Jordan Zimmerman To Start Tonight At Harry Grove Stadium - Frederick Keys
- K-Tribe Game Notes August 4th - Kinston Indians
- Keys Team With NAACP For First Negro League Night at Harry Grove Stadium - Frederick Keys
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