CarL1 Lynchburg Hillcats

Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes

Published on July 25, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release


LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (10-19, 40-59) vs MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS (15-15, 55-44)

July 25th, 2011 -- 7:05 PM

BB&T Coastal Field

RHP David Hale (1-4, 4.06) vs RHP Wilfredo Boscan (3-7, 4.48)

THE HILLCATS: Sunday, the 'Cats were off...They beat the Salem Red Sox 7-3 on Saturday...Lynchburg's starter Chris Masters didn't allow a run until the sixth inning, finishing six frames, allowing just the one run on four hits while striking out six on his way to his sixth win of the season...A 10-batter sixth inning saw the Hillcats open the game up, scoring four and taking a 5-0 lead at that point...The Hillcats currently sit in fourth place in the Northern Division at 10-19, 9.0 games back of the Frederick Keys in first place...

VS. MYRTLE BEACH: The Hillcats are 6-6 against the Pelicans this season...Last time the Hillcats were in Myrtle Beach, they became the first club to take a series from the Pelicans on the road this season,and they remain one of just two to do so this year...The Pelican currently boast the league's best home record at 33-13...Lynchburg is currently affiliated with the Atlanta Braves, Myrtle Beach's 2010 affiliate...Seven active members of the Hillcats roster spent some time in Myrtle Beach last year, while five other players on the disabled list donned a Pelican uniform as well in 2010...

TRAVELING TIMES: Lynchburg is currently in the midst of their first three-series road trip of the season...They split a four-game set with Potomac last Sunday-Wednesday, and lost two of three to Salem Thursday-Saturday before having Sunday off...

SCORING ISSUES: For the first time since August 2 and 3, 2001, the Hillcats were shut out in consecutive games, losing Monday and Tuesday 1-0...In 2011, the 'Cats have now been held scoreless 11 times...They have been shut out more times than any other team in the league and hold a league-worst shutout record of 6-11...Through just 29 second half games the 'Cats have been held scoreless six times, already surpassing their first half total...They've only given up 11 runs in their shutout losses this half, losing 2-0, 4-0, 1-0, 2-0, 1-0, and 1-0...Wednesday night, a two-run homer for Phil Gosselin in the top of the first snapped a streak of 20 innings without a run for the 'Cats...Besides the shut outs the Hillcats have been held to three or less runs 16 times since the All-Star break and are averaging just 3.3 runs per game...

BEST OF THE BRAVOS: Eight members of the Hillcats are ranked amongst the top 30 prospects in the Atlanta Braves organization according to Baseball America...That list includes C Christian Bethancourt (12), SS Andrelton Simmons (15), RHP David Hale (17), RHP Dimasther Delgado (18), OF Todd Cunningham (20), OF Adam Milligan (22), INF Joe Leonard (23) and 2B Phil Gosselin (25)...

YOU CAN PUT THIS ONE IN THE BUCHS: LHP Ryan Buchter has been perfect in the closing role this season for the Hillcats since being acquired from the Cubs in a minor league trade for Rodrigo Lopez...He is 9-for-9 in save chances but has fallen on the rough times recently..Through his first 13 appearances, he tossed 16.2 innings, allowed just four runs, three earned, never allowing multiple runs in any one outing...He has surrendered two earned runs in three of five appearances since...His ERA in that span doubled from 1.62 to 3.63, however, he was still 2-for-2 in save chances during the stretch...

SIMMERING HOT JULY: After posting his worst statistics of the season in June, SS Andrelton Simmons has been on fire so far in July...He has hit safely in 19 of 21 July contests with nine multi-hit games...He went 0-for-3 with a walk Friday night snapping a 12-game hit-streak, his third double-digit streak of the season...Bounced back with a 2-for-5 effort Saturday night, extending his current on-base streak to 22 games...He's hitting .350 with 12 runs scored and four runs driven in this month after posting a season-worst .258 clip in the month of June...He leads the league in hits with 109, and ranks second in average at .304...

SAVE THOSE ARMS: RHP Zeke Spruill was skipped in the rotation Wednesday due to how many innings he's thrown this season...It was the first start he's missed all year...Leading the league with 123.2 innings pitched, Spruill has nearly doubled his innings count from last season already...He missed two months with a broken hand in 2010...

TONIGHT'S OPPOSING PITCHER:RHP Wilfredo Boscan was signed by the Rangers as a non-drafted free agent on July 10, 2006...Entered the 2010 season rated as the Rangers 27th best prospect by Baseball America...Spent the entire 2010 season with High-A Bakersfield...Was fifth in the league in strikeouts (130)...Was named the Rangers minor league Pitcher of the Month in April, 2009 with Hickory...Started the 2011 season in Double-A Frisco...Went 1-3 with a 6.95 ERA in five starts there...Sent to Myrtle Beach on May 3...Faced Lynchburg twice... Took the loss on May 15, pitching six innings and giving up five runs, all earned...Took loss on July 3 after giving up four runs on seven hits in seven innings pitched...Currently 3-7 with a 4.48 ERA with Myrtle Beach this season...

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